Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are...

78
Tekla Structures 2017i Release notes September 2017 ©2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation

Transcript of Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are...

Page 1: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Tekla Structures 2017iRelease notes

September 2017

copy2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation

Contents

1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 511 Spiral beams 6

Spiral beams in the model6Spiral beams in drawings8

12 Modeling improvements 11Easier way to create views 11Direct modification improvements12New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts13Improvements in pour management14Improvements in numbering 15Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model16Increased polygon point limit16

13 Reinforcement improvements 16Rebar sets in curved structures 16Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved17Rebar shape placing tool 17Improvements in Rebar shape catalog 18

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts19Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box22Disable template and table layout editing23

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures 2416 Other drawing improvements 33

Speed improvements 33Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable 34Adjustable mark and text background34Mark rotation 35Level marks in GA drawings 36Placing improvements36Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings37Scale option in Text file properties 37Dashed hardware line scaling 37Create snapshots at drawing creation 38New warning message at section view creation 38New commands available in Project Viewer configuration 39Printing improvements 39

17 Template Editor improvements3918 New DWGDXF drawing export4519 Base point improvements 48110 New Excel export for reference model version changes 51111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements 54

IFC4 - New version of IFC standard54Improvements in IFC object conversion 56

2

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements58Trimble Connector improvements59Unitechnik (79) improvements62BVBS improvements62NCDSTV improvements 63

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements 63Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version 63Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed 64

114 Component improvements 65Spiral beams in custom components65Change the language of the dialog editor 67Concrete components68Other improvements69

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar 69116 Changes in advanced options 69

New advanced options69Changed advanced options72Deleted advanced options73

117 New template attributes73New attributes for parts 73

118 New documentation sections and other documentationimprovements 73New and removed sectionsPDF guides 74 New workflow examples for Organizer74Instructions added for toggle groups74

2 Disclaimer75

3

4

1 Tekla Structures 2017i releasenotes

Welcome to the Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Check the links below for information on the many new features andimprovements in this version

bull Spiral beams (page 6)

bull Modeling improvements (page 11)

bull Reinforcement improvements (page 16)

bull New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures (page 24)

bull Other drawing improvements (page 33)

bull Template Editor improvements (page 39)

bull New DWGDXF drawing export (page 44)

bull Base point improvements (page 48)

bull New Excel export for reference model version changes (page 51)

bull IFC4 export and other IFC improvements (page 54)

bull Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements (page 58)

bull Tekla Model Sharing improvements (page 63)

bull Component improvements (page 65)

bull New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar (page 69)

bull Changes in advanced options (page 69)

bull New template attributes (page 73)

bull New documentation sections and other documentation improvements(page 73)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 5

bull Tekla Structures 2017i fix list

Also note this major new feature that was added between main releases inTekla Structures 2017 SP 3 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts (page 19)

Compatibility

We suggest that you complete any unfinished models using your currentversion of Tekla Structures

This version is not backwards compatible When you create or save a model inTekla Structures 2017i you cannot open it in older versions due to databasedifferences

Tekla Structures 2017i can only be installed on 64-bit Windows operatingsystems

See the hardware recommendations for more information

Tekla Structures 2017i requires Tekla Structures License Server 2017 Tocheck which license server version to use with your current Tekla Structuresversion see Which license server version to use

Administrators release notes

Advanced users should read the Tekla Structures administrators release notesfor information on how to apply the additional customizations available in thisrelease

Localization release notes

Environment-specific changes are explained in the Localization release notes

Tekla Open API release notes

The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API StartupPackage which you can download from Tekla Warehouse

11 Spiral beamsTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new part type spiral beam

Spiral beams in the modelYou can now create spiral beams using Tekla Structures Spiral beams can beused to model spiral staircases parking ramps and complex architecturalshapes for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 6 Spiral beams

The new Spiral beam command is available both for steel and concrete

Follow the instructions on the status bar to create a spiral beam You canmodify the rotation angle total rise and twist angle in the side pane or on thecontextual toolbar

1 Rotation angle

2 Total rise

3 Twist angle at start

4 Twist angle at end

For more information see Create a steel spiral beam and Create a concretespiral beam

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 7 Spiral beams

Spiral beams in drawingsbull Spiral beams can be shown in drawings either folded or unfolded In

unfolded views spiral beam is unfolded straight

In the example below the Unfolded option is set to Yes and in viewproperties Note that the part is cut in the view

In the following example the Unfolded option is set to No

New dimensioning type and rotation angle in marks

bull In view level dimensioning a new Dimensioning type Spiral beamdimensions is now available Using the new spiral beam rule editor youcan add straight dimensions angle dimensions and radius dimensions tospiral beams To apply the new dimensioning type you need to selectpredefined dimension properties in the Dimensioning rule propertiesdialog box If none of the available properties suit your needs open adrawing click Drawing --gt Properties --gt Dimension and edit and savethe needed dimension properties so that they are available for selecting inthe spiral beam Dimensioning rule properties dialog box for the three

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 8 Spiral beams

dimension types For more information about adding dimensions to spiralbeams see Dimension spiral beams

bull You can now add the rotation angle of the spiral beam in the spiral beampart mark The rotation angle is defined in the spiral beam properties in themodel

The example below shows a straight dimension and a part mark that containsthe rotation angle information

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 9 Spiral beams

The following example shows a radius dimension of a spiral beam

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 10 Spiral beams

12 Modeling improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in viewcreation direct modification numbering and pour management

Easier way to create viewsYou can now create model views more easily on the work plane or on existingpart planes Use the new Create view on plane command and select thedesired plane Tekla Structures creates the view accordingly

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 11 Modeling improvements

Direct modification improvementsbull The standard object dimensions and dimension lines are now hidden when

direct modification is on regardless of the XS_DISPLAY_DIMENSIONS_WHEN_SELECTING_OBJECTS advanced option Only the direct modificationdimensions are shown This makes it easier to know which dimensions canbe edited

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 12 Modeling improvements

bull You can now modify the dimensions of model objects even more quicklyClick a dimension type a new value and then press Enter The dimensionchanges immediately

The yellow arrow defines the direction in which the object is extended orshortened You can change the direction by clicking the arrows

New display settings for cast-in-place concrete partsWhen the pour management functionality is enabled you can view cast-in-place concrete structures in model views either as parts or as pour objects Inaddition to selecting between parts and pour objects you can now define howthe cast-in-place concrete parts appear in model views

The Display dialog box now has a new setting Cast in place parts with twooptions

bull Merged

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 13 Modeling improvements

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as merged in the model if their castunit type is cast in place if they have the same material grade and pourphase number and if they touch or overlap one another When thesecriteria are met Tekla Structures removes the outlines of the individualparts within each continuous concrete structure

bull Separated

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as individual parts and separated bytheir outlines

For more information see View cast-in-place concrete structures

Improvements in pour managementbull Pour unit calculation is now faster When you click Calculate pour units on

the Concrete tab Tekla Structures now attaches objects to pour objectsand creates pour units incrementally which means that only the new andchanged objects are re-calculated

bull Pour management has been improved in shared models and in multi-usermodels

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 14 Modeling improvements

bull You can now add pour breaks to phases and then use the phases and theCopy special --gt From another model command to copy pour breaksbetween models

When you do this the copied pour breaks adapt to the target model soremember to check the resulting pour geometry and pour breaks againstthe original model

When you create new pour breaks they are not added to the currentphase by default

Improvements in numberingbull In the Numbering Setup dialog box you can now select whether the

assembly name affects the numbering If you select the Assembly namecheck box Tekla Structures compares the assembly names whennumbering objects and gives otherwise identical assemblies differentnumbers if they have different names

For more information see Define what affects numbering and Adjust thenumbering settings

bull You can now have the user-defined attribute Fixed drawing main viewaffect the numbering of non-concrete parts This user-defined attributedefines which part face is shown in the main (front) view in drawings thathave Coordinate system set to Fixed If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they can now get differentassembly position numbers and different drawings

Use the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING to define which material types have this feature The allowedoptions are STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the optionsby using a comma () as a separator

See also Changes in advanced options (page 69)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 15 Modeling improvements

bull The position numbers are now kept better when there are conflicts innumbering

Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concreteparts in the modelWith the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING set you can now use the commands Set top-in-form face andShow top-in-form face also for non-concrete parts that have an optionselected for the Fixed drawing main view user-defined attribute

The commands Set top-in-form face and Show top-in-form face areavailable on the Concrete tab under Cast unit Note that you need to use theParts rendered (Ctrl+4) rendering option when you use these commands

For more information see Casting direction and Select the steel or timber partface that is shown

Increased polygon point limitYou can now create plates slabs polybeams and strip footings that containmore than 100 polygon points The new maximum number of polygon pointsis 1000 for parts and bolt groups and 999 for profile cross sections

13 Reinforcement improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many improvements in reinforcement

Rebar sets in curved structuresRebar sets can now have three guidelines This makes it easier to create rebarsets for curved concrete structures

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 16 Reinforcement improvements

In curved beams polybeams strip footings and wall panels Tekla Structuresautomatically creates three guidelines for longitudinal rebar sets For crossingrebar sets Tekla Structures creates a polyline guideline with three points and

the midpoint has the Arc point chamfer

For more information see Examples Rebar sets in curved structures

Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improvedTo easily create secondary guidelines for a selected rebar set you can now usethe new button on the contextual toolbar

To define if a secondary guideline inherits its spacing properties from theprimary guideline select the secondary guideline and use the button onthe contextual toolbar Alternatively you can set Inherit from primary to Yesor No in the secondary guideline properties in the property pane By defaultthe secondary guidelines inherit the spacing properties from the primaryguideline

Rebar shape placing toolTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new tool for creating rebar sets Rebarshape placing tool for rebar sets is similar to Reinforcing Bar Shape Catalogfor reinforcing bar groups with new useful functionality and improvedusability

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 17 Reinforcement improvements

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 2: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Contents

1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 511 Spiral beams 6

Spiral beams in the model6Spiral beams in drawings8

12 Modeling improvements 11Easier way to create views 11Direct modification improvements12New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts13Improvements in pour management14Improvements in numbering 15Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model16Increased polygon point limit16

13 Reinforcement improvements 16Rebar sets in curved structures 16Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved17Rebar shape placing tool 17Improvements in Rebar shape catalog 18

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts19Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box22Disable template and table layout editing23

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures 2416 Other drawing improvements 33

Speed improvements 33Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable 34Adjustable mark and text background34Mark rotation 35Level marks in GA drawings 36Placing improvements36Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings37Scale option in Text file properties 37Dashed hardware line scaling 37Create snapshots at drawing creation 38New warning message at section view creation 38New commands available in Project Viewer configuration 39Printing improvements 39

17 Template Editor improvements3918 New DWGDXF drawing export4519 Base point improvements 48110 New Excel export for reference model version changes 51111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements 54

IFC4 - New version of IFC standard54Improvements in IFC object conversion 56

2

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements58Trimble Connector improvements59Unitechnik (79) improvements62BVBS improvements62NCDSTV improvements 63

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements 63Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version 63Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed 64

114 Component improvements 65Spiral beams in custom components65Change the language of the dialog editor 67Concrete components68Other improvements69

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar 69116 Changes in advanced options 69

New advanced options69Changed advanced options72Deleted advanced options73

117 New template attributes73New attributes for parts 73

118 New documentation sections and other documentationimprovements 73New and removed sectionsPDF guides 74 New workflow examples for Organizer74Instructions added for toggle groups74

2 Disclaimer75

3

4

1 Tekla Structures 2017i releasenotes

Welcome to the Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Check the links below for information on the many new features andimprovements in this version

bull Spiral beams (page 6)

bull Modeling improvements (page 11)

bull Reinforcement improvements (page 16)

bull New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures (page 24)

bull Other drawing improvements (page 33)

bull Template Editor improvements (page 39)

bull New DWGDXF drawing export (page 44)

bull Base point improvements (page 48)

bull New Excel export for reference model version changes (page 51)

bull IFC4 export and other IFC improvements (page 54)

bull Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements (page 58)

bull Tekla Model Sharing improvements (page 63)

bull Component improvements (page 65)

bull New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar (page 69)

bull Changes in advanced options (page 69)

bull New template attributes (page 73)

bull New documentation sections and other documentation improvements(page 73)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 5

bull Tekla Structures 2017i fix list

Also note this major new feature that was added between main releases inTekla Structures 2017 SP 3 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts (page 19)

Compatibility

We suggest that you complete any unfinished models using your currentversion of Tekla Structures

This version is not backwards compatible When you create or save a model inTekla Structures 2017i you cannot open it in older versions due to databasedifferences

Tekla Structures 2017i can only be installed on 64-bit Windows operatingsystems

See the hardware recommendations for more information

Tekla Structures 2017i requires Tekla Structures License Server 2017 Tocheck which license server version to use with your current Tekla Structuresversion see Which license server version to use

Administrators release notes

Advanced users should read the Tekla Structures administrators release notesfor information on how to apply the additional customizations available in thisrelease

Localization release notes

Environment-specific changes are explained in the Localization release notes

Tekla Open API release notes

The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API StartupPackage which you can download from Tekla Warehouse

11 Spiral beamsTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new part type spiral beam

Spiral beams in the modelYou can now create spiral beams using Tekla Structures Spiral beams can beused to model spiral staircases parking ramps and complex architecturalshapes for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 6 Spiral beams

The new Spiral beam command is available both for steel and concrete

Follow the instructions on the status bar to create a spiral beam You canmodify the rotation angle total rise and twist angle in the side pane or on thecontextual toolbar

1 Rotation angle

2 Total rise

3 Twist angle at start

4 Twist angle at end

For more information see Create a steel spiral beam and Create a concretespiral beam

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 7 Spiral beams

Spiral beams in drawingsbull Spiral beams can be shown in drawings either folded or unfolded In

unfolded views spiral beam is unfolded straight

In the example below the Unfolded option is set to Yes and in viewproperties Note that the part is cut in the view

In the following example the Unfolded option is set to No

New dimensioning type and rotation angle in marks

bull In view level dimensioning a new Dimensioning type Spiral beamdimensions is now available Using the new spiral beam rule editor youcan add straight dimensions angle dimensions and radius dimensions tospiral beams To apply the new dimensioning type you need to selectpredefined dimension properties in the Dimensioning rule propertiesdialog box If none of the available properties suit your needs open adrawing click Drawing --gt Properties --gt Dimension and edit and savethe needed dimension properties so that they are available for selecting inthe spiral beam Dimensioning rule properties dialog box for the three

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 8 Spiral beams

dimension types For more information about adding dimensions to spiralbeams see Dimension spiral beams

bull You can now add the rotation angle of the spiral beam in the spiral beampart mark The rotation angle is defined in the spiral beam properties in themodel

The example below shows a straight dimension and a part mark that containsthe rotation angle information

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 9 Spiral beams

The following example shows a radius dimension of a spiral beam

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 10 Spiral beams

12 Modeling improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in viewcreation direct modification numbering and pour management

Easier way to create viewsYou can now create model views more easily on the work plane or on existingpart planes Use the new Create view on plane command and select thedesired plane Tekla Structures creates the view accordingly

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 11 Modeling improvements

Direct modification improvementsbull The standard object dimensions and dimension lines are now hidden when

direct modification is on regardless of the XS_DISPLAY_DIMENSIONS_WHEN_SELECTING_OBJECTS advanced option Only the direct modificationdimensions are shown This makes it easier to know which dimensions canbe edited

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 12 Modeling improvements

bull You can now modify the dimensions of model objects even more quicklyClick a dimension type a new value and then press Enter The dimensionchanges immediately

The yellow arrow defines the direction in which the object is extended orshortened You can change the direction by clicking the arrows

New display settings for cast-in-place concrete partsWhen the pour management functionality is enabled you can view cast-in-place concrete structures in model views either as parts or as pour objects Inaddition to selecting between parts and pour objects you can now define howthe cast-in-place concrete parts appear in model views

The Display dialog box now has a new setting Cast in place parts with twooptions

bull Merged

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 13 Modeling improvements

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as merged in the model if their castunit type is cast in place if they have the same material grade and pourphase number and if they touch or overlap one another When thesecriteria are met Tekla Structures removes the outlines of the individualparts within each continuous concrete structure

bull Separated

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as individual parts and separated bytheir outlines

For more information see View cast-in-place concrete structures

Improvements in pour managementbull Pour unit calculation is now faster When you click Calculate pour units on

the Concrete tab Tekla Structures now attaches objects to pour objectsand creates pour units incrementally which means that only the new andchanged objects are re-calculated

bull Pour management has been improved in shared models and in multi-usermodels

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 14 Modeling improvements

bull You can now add pour breaks to phases and then use the phases and theCopy special --gt From another model command to copy pour breaksbetween models

When you do this the copied pour breaks adapt to the target model soremember to check the resulting pour geometry and pour breaks againstthe original model

When you create new pour breaks they are not added to the currentphase by default

Improvements in numberingbull In the Numbering Setup dialog box you can now select whether the

assembly name affects the numbering If you select the Assembly namecheck box Tekla Structures compares the assembly names whennumbering objects and gives otherwise identical assemblies differentnumbers if they have different names

For more information see Define what affects numbering and Adjust thenumbering settings

bull You can now have the user-defined attribute Fixed drawing main viewaffect the numbering of non-concrete parts This user-defined attributedefines which part face is shown in the main (front) view in drawings thathave Coordinate system set to Fixed If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they can now get differentassembly position numbers and different drawings

Use the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING to define which material types have this feature The allowedoptions are STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the optionsby using a comma () as a separator

See also Changes in advanced options (page 69)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 15 Modeling improvements

bull The position numbers are now kept better when there are conflicts innumbering

Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concreteparts in the modelWith the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING set you can now use the commands Set top-in-form face andShow top-in-form face also for non-concrete parts that have an optionselected for the Fixed drawing main view user-defined attribute

The commands Set top-in-form face and Show top-in-form face areavailable on the Concrete tab under Cast unit Note that you need to use theParts rendered (Ctrl+4) rendering option when you use these commands

For more information see Casting direction and Select the steel or timber partface that is shown

Increased polygon point limitYou can now create plates slabs polybeams and strip footings that containmore than 100 polygon points The new maximum number of polygon pointsis 1000 for parts and bolt groups and 999 for profile cross sections

13 Reinforcement improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many improvements in reinforcement

Rebar sets in curved structuresRebar sets can now have three guidelines This makes it easier to create rebarsets for curved concrete structures

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 16 Reinforcement improvements

In curved beams polybeams strip footings and wall panels Tekla Structuresautomatically creates three guidelines for longitudinal rebar sets For crossingrebar sets Tekla Structures creates a polyline guideline with three points and

the midpoint has the Arc point chamfer

For more information see Examples Rebar sets in curved structures

Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improvedTo easily create secondary guidelines for a selected rebar set you can now usethe new button on the contextual toolbar

To define if a secondary guideline inherits its spacing properties from theprimary guideline select the secondary guideline and use the button onthe contextual toolbar Alternatively you can set Inherit from primary to Yesor No in the secondary guideline properties in the property pane By defaultthe secondary guidelines inherit the spacing properties from the primaryguideline

Rebar shape placing toolTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new tool for creating rebar sets Rebarshape placing tool for rebar sets is similar to Reinforcing Bar Shape Catalogfor reinforcing bar groups with new useful functionality and improvedusability

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 17 Reinforcement improvements

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 3: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements58Trimble Connector improvements59Unitechnik (79) improvements62BVBS improvements62NCDSTV improvements 63

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements 63Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version 63Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed 64

114 Component improvements 65Spiral beams in custom components65Change the language of the dialog editor 67Concrete components68Other improvements69

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar 69116 Changes in advanced options 69

New advanced options69Changed advanced options72Deleted advanced options73

117 New template attributes73New attributes for parts 73

118 New documentation sections and other documentationimprovements 73New and removed sectionsPDF guides 74 New workflow examples for Organizer74Instructions added for toggle groups74

2 Disclaimer75

3

4

1 Tekla Structures 2017i releasenotes

Welcome to the Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Check the links below for information on the many new features andimprovements in this version

bull Spiral beams (page 6)

bull Modeling improvements (page 11)

bull Reinforcement improvements (page 16)

bull New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures (page 24)

bull Other drawing improvements (page 33)

bull Template Editor improvements (page 39)

bull New DWGDXF drawing export (page 44)

bull Base point improvements (page 48)

bull New Excel export for reference model version changes (page 51)

bull IFC4 export and other IFC improvements (page 54)

bull Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements (page 58)

bull Tekla Model Sharing improvements (page 63)

bull Component improvements (page 65)

bull New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar (page 69)

bull Changes in advanced options (page 69)

bull New template attributes (page 73)

bull New documentation sections and other documentation improvements(page 73)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 5

bull Tekla Structures 2017i fix list

Also note this major new feature that was added between main releases inTekla Structures 2017 SP 3 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts (page 19)

Compatibility

We suggest that you complete any unfinished models using your currentversion of Tekla Structures

This version is not backwards compatible When you create or save a model inTekla Structures 2017i you cannot open it in older versions due to databasedifferences

Tekla Structures 2017i can only be installed on 64-bit Windows operatingsystems

See the hardware recommendations for more information

Tekla Structures 2017i requires Tekla Structures License Server 2017 Tocheck which license server version to use with your current Tekla Structuresversion see Which license server version to use

Administrators release notes

Advanced users should read the Tekla Structures administrators release notesfor information on how to apply the additional customizations available in thisrelease

Localization release notes

Environment-specific changes are explained in the Localization release notes

Tekla Open API release notes

The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API StartupPackage which you can download from Tekla Warehouse

11 Spiral beamsTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new part type spiral beam

Spiral beams in the modelYou can now create spiral beams using Tekla Structures Spiral beams can beused to model spiral staircases parking ramps and complex architecturalshapes for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 6 Spiral beams

The new Spiral beam command is available both for steel and concrete

Follow the instructions on the status bar to create a spiral beam You canmodify the rotation angle total rise and twist angle in the side pane or on thecontextual toolbar

1 Rotation angle

2 Total rise

3 Twist angle at start

4 Twist angle at end

For more information see Create a steel spiral beam and Create a concretespiral beam

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 7 Spiral beams

Spiral beams in drawingsbull Spiral beams can be shown in drawings either folded or unfolded In

unfolded views spiral beam is unfolded straight

In the example below the Unfolded option is set to Yes and in viewproperties Note that the part is cut in the view

In the following example the Unfolded option is set to No

New dimensioning type and rotation angle in marks

bull In view level dimensioning a new Dimensioning type Spiral beamdimensions is now available Using the new spiral beam rule editor youcan add straight dimensions angle dimensions and radius dimensions tospiral beams To apply the new dimensioning type you need to selectpredefined dimension properties in the Dimensioning rule propertiesdialog box If none of the available properties suit your needs open adrawing click Drawing --gt Properties --gt Dimension and edit and savethe needed dimension properties so that they are available for selecting inthe spiral beam Dimensioning rule properties dialog box for the three

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 8 Spiral beams

dimension types For more information about adding dimensions to spiralbeams see Dimension spiral beams

bull You can now add the rotation angle of the spiral beam in the spiral beampart mark The rotation angle is defined in the spiral beam properties in themodel

The example below shows a straight dimension and a part mark that containsthe rotation angle information

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 9 Spiral beams

The following example shows a radius dimension of a spiral beam

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 10 Spiral beams

12 Modeling improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in viewcreation direct modification numbering and pour management

Easier way to create viewsYou can now create model views more easily on the work plane or on existingpart planes Use the new Create view on plane command and select thedesired plane Tekla Structures creates the view accordingly

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 11 Modeling improvements

Direct modification improvementsbull The standard object dimensions and dimension lines are now hidden when

direct modification is on regardless of the XS_DISPLAY_DIMENSIONS_WHEN_SELECTING_OBJECTS advanced option Only the direct modificationdimensions are shown This makes it easier to know which dimensions canbe edited

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 12 Modeling improvements

bull You can now modify the dimensions of model objects even more quicklyClick a dimension type a new value and then press Enter The dimensionchanges immediately

The yellow arrow defines the direction in which the object is extended orshortened You can change the direction by clicking the arrows

New display settings for cast-in-place concrete partsWhen the pour management functionality is enabled you can view cast-in-place concrete structures in model views either as parts or as pour objects Inaddition to selecting between parts and pour objects you can now define howthe cast-in-place concrete parts appear in model views

The Display dialog box now has a new setting Cast in place parts with twooptions

bull Merged

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 13 Modeling improvements

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as merged in the model if their castunit type is cast in place if they have the same material grade and pourphase number and if they touch or overlap one another When thesecriteria are met Tekla Structures removes the outlines of the individualparts within each continuous concrete structure

bull Separated

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as individual parts and separated bytheir outlines

For more information see View cast-in-place concrete structures

Improvements in pour managementbull Pour unit calculation is now faster When you click Calculate pour units on

the Concrete tab Tekla Structures now attaches objects to pour objectsand creates pour units incrementally which means that only the new andchanged objects are re-calculated

bull Pour management has been improved in shared models and in multi-usermodels

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 14 Modeling improvements

bull You can now add pour breaks to phases and then use the phases and theCopy special --gt From another model command to copy pour breaksbetween models

When you do this the copied pour breaks adapt to the target model soremember to check the resulting pour geometry and pour breaks againstthe original model

When you create new pour breaks they are not added to the currentphase by default

Improvements in numberingbull In the Numbering Setup dialog box you can now select whether the

assembly name affects the numbering If you select the Assembly namecheck box Tekla Structures compares the assembly names whennumbering objects and gives otherwise identical assemblies differentnumbers if they have different names

For more information see Define what affects numbering and Adjust thenumbering settings

bull You can now have the user-defined attribute Fixed drawing main viewaffect the numbering of non-concrete parts This user-defined attributedefines which part face is shown in the main (front) view in drawings thathave Coordinate system set to Fixed If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they can now get differentassembly position numbers and different drawings

Use the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING to define which material types have this feature The allowedoptions are STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the optionsby using a comma () as a separator

See also Changes in advanced options (page 69)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 15 Modeling improvements

bull The position numbers are now kept better when there are conflicts innumbering

Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concreteparts in the modelWith the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING set you can now use the commands Set top-in-form face andShow top-in-form face also for non-concrete parts that have an optionselected for the Fixed drawing main view user-defined attribute

The commands Set top-in-form face and Show top-in-form face areavailable on the Concrete tab under Cast unit Note that you need to use theParts rendered (Ctrl+4) rendering option when you use these commands

For more information see Casting direction and Select the steel or timber partface that is shown

Increased polygon point limitYou can now create plates slabs polybeams and strip footings that containmore than 100 polygon points The new maximum number of polygon pointsis 1000 for parts and bolt groups and 999 for profile cross sections

13 Reinforcement improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many improvements in reinforcement

Rebar sets in curved structuresRebar sets can now have three guidelines This makes it easier to create rebarsets for curved concrete structures

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 16 Reinforcement improvements

In curved beams polybeams strip footings and wall panels Tekla Structuresautomatically creates three guidelines for longitudinal rebar sets For crossingrebar sets Tekla Structures creates a polyline guideline with three points and

the midpoint has the Arc point chamfer

For more information see Examples Rebar sets in curved structures

Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improvedTo easily create secondary guidelines for a selected rebar set you can now usethe new button on the contextual toolbar

To define if a secondary guideline inherits its spacing properties from theprimary guideline select the secondary guideline and use the button onthe contextual toolbar Alternatively you can set Inherit from primary to Yesor No in the secondary guideline properties in the property pane By defaultthe secondary guidelines inherit the spacing properties from the primaryguideline

Rebar shape placing toolTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new tool for creating rebar sets Rebarshape placing tool for rebar sets is similar to Reinforcing Bar Shape Catalogfor reinforcing bar groups with new useful functionality and improvedusability

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 17 Reinforcement improvements

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 4: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

4

1 Tekla Structures 2017i releasenotes

Welcome to the Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Check the links below for information on the many new features andimprovements in this version

bull Spiral beams (page 6)

bull Modeling improvements (page 11)

bull Reinforcement improvements (page 16)

bull New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures (page 24)

bull Other drawing improvements (page 33)

bull Template Editor improvements (page 39)

bull New DWGDXF drawing export (page 44)

bull Base point improvements (page 48)

bull New Excel export for reference model version changes (page 51)

bull IFC4 export and other IFC improvements (page 54)

bull Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements (page 58)

bull Tekla Model Sharing improvements (page 63)

bull Component improvements (page 65)

bull New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar (page 69)

bull Changes in advanced options (page 69)

bull New template attributes (page 73)

bull New documentation sections and other documentation improvements(page 73)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 5

bull Tekla Structures 2017i fix list

Also note this major new feature that was added between main releases inTekla Structures 2017 SP 3 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts (page 19)

Compatibility

We suggest that you complete any unfinished models using your currentversion of Tekla Structures

This version is not backwards compatible When you create or save a model inTekla Structures 2017i you cannot open it in older versions due to databasedifferences

Tekla Structures 2017i can only be installed on 64-bit Windows operatingsystems

See the hardware recommendations for more information

Tekla Structures 2017i requires Tekla Structures License Server 2017 Tocheck which license server version to use with your current Tekla Structuresversion see Which license server version to use

Administrators release notes

Advanced users should read the Tekla Structures administrators release notesfor information on how to apply the additional customizations available in thisrelease

Localization release notes

Environment-specific changes are explained in the Localization release notes

Tekla Open API release notes

The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API StartupPackage which you can download from Tekla Warehouse

11 Spiral beamsTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new part type spiral beam

Spiral beams in the modelYou can now create spiral beams using Tekla Structures Spiral beams can beused to model spiral staircases parking ramps and complex architecturalshapes for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 6 Spiral beams

The new Spiral beam command is available both for steel and concrete

Follow the instructions on the status bar to create a spiral beam You canmodify the rotation angle total rise and twist angle in the side pane or on thecontextual toolbar

1 Rotation angle

2 Total rise

3 Twist angle at start

4 Twist angle at end

For more information see Create a steel spiral beam and Create a concretespiral beam

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 7 Spiral beams

Spiral beams in drawingsbull Spiral beams can be shown in drawings either folded or unfolded In

unfolded views spiral beam is unfolded straight

In the example below the Unfolded option is set to Yes and in viewproperties Note that the part is cut in the view

In the following example the Unfolded option is set to No

New dimensioning type and rotation angle in marks

bull In view level dimensioning a new Dimensioning type Spiral beamdimensions is now available Using the new spiral beam rule editor youcan add straight dimensions angle dimensions and radius dimensions tospiral beams To apply the new dimensioning type you need to selectpredefined dimension properties in the Dimensioning rule propertiesdialog box If none of the available properties suit your needs open adrawing click Drawing --gt Properties --gt Dimension and edit and savethe needed dimension properties so that they are available for selecting inthe spiral beam Dimensioning rule properties dialog box for the three

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 8 Spiral beams

dimension types For more information about adding dimensions to spiralbeams see Dimension spiral beams

bull You can now add the rotation angle of the spiral beam in the spiral beampart mark The rotation angle is defined in the spiral beam properties in themodel

The example below shows a straight dimension and a part mark that containsthe rotation angle information

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 9 Spiral beams

The following example shows a radius dimension of a spiral beam

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 10 Spiral beams

12 Modeling improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in viewcreation direct modification numbering and pour management

Easier way to create viewsYou can now create model views more easily on the work plane or on existingpart planes Use the new Create view on plane command and select thedesired plane Tekla Structures creates the view accordingly

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 11 Modeling improvements

Direct modification improvementsbull The standard object dimensions and dimension lines are now hidden when

direct modification is on regardless of the XS_DISPLAY_DIMENSIONS_WHEN_SELECTING_OBJECTS advanced option Only the direct modificationdimensions are shown This makes it easier to know which dimensions canbe edited

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 12 Modeling improvements

bull You can now modify the dimensions of model objects even more quicklyClick a dimension type a new value and then press Enter The dimensionchanges immediately

The yellow arrow defines the direction in which the object is extended orshortened You can change the direction by clicking the arrows

New display settings for cast-in-place concrete partsWhen the pour management functionality is enabled you can view cast-in-place concrete structures in model views either as parts or as pour objects Inaddition to selecting between parts and pour objects you can now define howthe cast-in-place concrete parts appear in model views

The Display dialog box now has a new setting Cast in place parts with twooptions

bull Merged

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 13 Modeling improvements

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as merged in the model if their castunit type is cast in place if they have the same material grade and pourphase number and if they touch or overlap one another When thesecriteria are met Tekla Structures removes the outlines of the individualparts within each continuous concrete structure

bull Separated

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as individual parts and separated bytheir outlines

For more information see View cast-in-place concrete structures

Improvements in pour managementbull Pour unit calculation is now faster When you click Calculate pour units on

the Concrete tab Tekla Structures now attaches objects to pour objectsand creates pour units incrementally which means that only the new andchanged objects are re-calculated

bull Pour management has been improved in shared models and in multi-usermodels

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 14 Modeling improvements

bull You can now add pour breaks to phases and then use the phases and theCopy special --gt From another model command to copy pour breaksbetween models

When you do this the copied pour breaks adapt to the target model soremember to check the resulting pour geometry and pour breaks againstthe original model

When you create new pour breaks they are not added to the currentphase by default

Improvements in numberingbull In the Numbering Setup dialog box you can now select whether the

assembly name affects the numbering If you select the Assembly namecheck box Tekla Structures compares the assembly names whennumbering objects and gives otherwise identical assemblies differentnumbers if they have different names

For more information see Define what affects numbering and Adjust thenumbering settings

bull You can now have the user-defined attribute Fixed drawing main viewaffect the numbering of non-concrete parts This user-defined attributedefines which part face is shown in the main (front) view in drawings thathave Coordinate system set to Fixed If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they can now get differentassembly position numbers and different drawings

Use the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING to define which material types have this feature The allowedoptions are STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the optionsby using a comma () as a separator

See also Changes in advanced options (page 69)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 15 Modeling improvements

bull The position numbers are now kept better when there are conflicts innumbering

Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concreteparts in the modelWith the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING set you can now use the commands Set top-in-form face andShow top-in-form face also for non-concrete parts that have an optionselected for the Fixed drawing main view user-defined attribute

The commands Set top-in-form face and Show top-in-form face areavailable on the Concrete tab under Cast unit Note that you need to use theParts rendered (Ctrl+4) rendering option when you use these commands

For more information see Casting direction and Select the steel or timber partface that is shown

Increased polygon point limitYou can now create plates slabs polybeams and strip footings that containmore than 100 polygon points The new maximum number of polygon pointsis 1000 for parts and bolt groups and 999 for profile cross sections

13 Reinforcement improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many improvements in reinforcement

Rebar sets in curved structuresRebar sets can now have three guidelines This makes it easier to create rebarsets for curved concrete structures

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 16 Reinforcement improvements

In curved beams polybeams strip footings and wall panels Tekla Structuresautomatically creates three guidelines for longitudinal rebar sets For crossingrebar sets Tekla Structures creates a polyline guideline with three points and

the midpoint has the Arc point chamfer

For more information see Examples Rebar sets in curved structures

Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improvedTo easily create secondary guidelines for a selected rebar set you can now usethe new button on the contextual toolbar

To define if a secondary guideline inherits its spacing properties from theprimary guideline select the secondary guideline and use the button onthe contextual toolbar Alternatively you can set Inherit from primary to Yesor No in the secondary guideline properties in the property pane By defaultthe secondary guidelines inherit the spacing properties from the primaryguideline

Rebar shape placing toolTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new tool for creating rebar sets Rebarshape placing tool for rebar sets is similar to Reinforcing Bar Shape Catalogfor reinforcing bar groups with new useful functionality and improvedusability

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 17 Reinforcement improvements

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 5: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

1 Tekla Structures 2017i releasenotes

Welcome to the Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Check the links below for information on the many new features andimprovements in this version

bull Spiral beams (page 6)

bull Modeling improvements (page 11)

bull Reinforcement improvements (page 16)

bull New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures (page 24)

bull Other drawing improvements (page 33)

bull Template Editor improvements (page 39)

bull New DWGDXF drawing export (page 44)

bull Base point improvements (page 48)

bull New Excel export for reference model version changes (page 51)

bull IFC4 export and other IFC improvements (page 54)

bull Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements (page 58)

bull Tekla Model Sharing improvements (page 63)

bull Component improvements (page 65)

bull New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar (page 69)

bull Changes in advanced options (page 69)

bull New template attributes (page 73)

bull New documentation sections and other documentation improvements(page 73)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 5

bull Tekla Structures 2017i fix list

Also note this major new feature that was added between main releases inTekla Structures 2017 SP 3 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts (page 19)

Compatibility

We suggest that you complete any unfinished models using your currentversion of Tekla Structures

This version is not backwards compatible When you create or save a model inTekla Structures 2017i you cannot open it in older versions due to databasedifferences

Tekla Structures 2017i can only be installed on 64-bit Windows operatingsystems

See the hardware recommendations for more information

Tekla Structures 2017i requires Tekla Structures License Server 2017 Tocheck which license server version to use with your current Tekla Structuresversion see Which license server version to use

Administrators release notes

Advanced users should read the Tekla Structures administrators release notesfor information on how to apply the additional customizations available in thisrelease

Localization release notes

Environment-specific changes are explained in the Localization release notes

Tekla Open API release notes

The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API StartupPackage which you can download from Tekla Warehouse

11 Spiral beamsTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new part type spiral beam

Spiral beams in the modelYou can now create spiral beams using Tekla Structures Spiral beams can beused to model spiral staircases parking ramps and complex architecturalshapes for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 6 Spiral beams

The new Spiral beam command is available both for steel and concrete

Follow the instructions on the status bar to create a spiral beam You canmodify the rotation angle total rise and twist angle in the side pane or on thecontextual toolbar

1 Rotation angle

2 Total rise

3 Twist angle at start

4 Twist angle at end

For more information see Create a steel spiral beam and Create a concretespiral beam

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 7 Spiral beams

Spiral beams in drawingsbull Spiral beams can be shown in drawings either folded or unfolded In

unfolded views spiral beam is unfolded straight

In the example below the Unfolded option is set to Yes and in viewproperties Note that the part is cut in the view

In the following example the Unfolded option is set to No

New dimensioning type and rotation angle in marks

bull In view level dimensioning a new Dimensioning type Spiral beamdimensions is now available Using the new spiral beam rule editor youcan add straight dimensions angle dimensions and radius dimensions tospiral beams To apply the new dimensioning type you need to selectpredefined dimension properties in the Dimensioning rule propertiesdialog box If none of the available properties suit your needs open adrawing click Drawing --gt Properties --gt Dimension and edit and savethe needed dimension properties so that they are available for selecting inthe spiral beam Dimensioning rule properties dialog box for the three

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 8 Spiral beams

dimension types For more information about adding dimensions to spiralbeams see Dimension spiral beams

bull You can now add the rotation angle of the spiral beam in the spiral beampart mark The rotation angle is defined in the spiral beam properties in themodel

The example below shows a straight dimension and a part mark that containsthe rotation angle information

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 9 Spiral beams

The following example shows a radius dimension of a spiral beam

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 10 Spiral beams

12 Modeling improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in viewcreation direct modification numbering and pour management

Easier way to create viewsYou can now create model views more easily on the work plane or on existingpart planes Use the new Create view on plane command and select thedesired plane Tekla Structures creates the view accordingly

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 11 Modeling improvements

Direct modification improvementsbull The standard object dimensions and dimension lines are now hidden when

direct modification is on regardless of the XS_DISPLAY_DIMENSIONS_WHEN_SELECTING_OBJECTS advanced option Only the direct modificationdimensions are shown This makes it easier to know which dimensions canbe edited

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 12 Modeling improvements

bull You can now modify the dimensions of model objects even more quicklyClick a dimension type a new value and then press Enter The dimensionchanges immediately

The yellow arrow defines the direction in which the object is extended orshortened You can change the direction by clicking the arrows

New display settings for cast-in-place concrete partsWhen the pour management functionality is enabled you can view cast-in-place concrete structures in model views either as parts or as pour objects Inaddition to selecting between parts and pour objects you can now define howthe cast-in-place concrete parts appear in model views

The Display dialog box now has a new setting Cast in place parts with twooptions

bull Merged

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 13 Modeling improvements

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as merged in the model if their castunit type is cast in place if they have the same material grade and pourphase number and if they touch or overlap one another When thesecriteria are met Tekla Structures removes the outlines of the individualparts within each continuous concrete structure

bull Separated

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as individual parts and separated bytheir outlines

For more information see View cast-in-place concrete structures

Improvements in pour managementbull Pour unit calculation is now faster When you click Calculate pour units on

the Concrete tab Tekla Structures now attaches objects to pour objectsand creates pour units incrementally which means that only the new andchanged objects are re-calculated

bull Pour management has been improved in shared models and in multi-usermodels

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 14 Modeling improvements

bull You can now add pour breaks to phases and then use the phases and theCopy special --gt From another model command to copy pour breaksbetween models

When you do this the copied pour breaks adapt to the target model soremember to check the resulting pour geometry and pour breaks againstthe original model

When you create new pour breaks they are not added to the currentphase by default

Improvements in numberingbull In the Numbering Setup dialog box you can now select whether the

assembly name affects the numbering If you select the Assembly namecheck box Tekla Structures compares the assembly names whennumbering objects and gives otherwise identical assemblies differentnumbers if they have different names

For more information see Define what affects numbering and Adjust thenumbering settings

bull You can now have the user-defined attribute Fixed drawing main viewaffect the numbering of non-concrete parts This user-defined attributedefines which part face is shown in the main (front) view in drawings thathave Coordinate system set to Fixed If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they can now get differentassembly position numbers and different drawings

Use the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING to define which material types have this feature The allowedoptions are STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the optionsby using a comma () as a separator

See also Changes in advanced options (page 69)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 15 Modeling improvements

bull The position numbers are now kept better when there are conflicts innumbering

Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concreteparts in the modelWith the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING set you can now use the commands Set top-in-form face andShow top-in-form face also for non-concrete parts that have an optionselected for the Fixed drawing main view user-defined attribute

The commands Set top-in-form face and Show top-in-form face areavailable on the Concrete tab under Cast unit Note that you need to use theParts rendered (Ctrl+4) rendering option when you use these commands

For more information see Casting direction and Select the steel or timber partface that is shown

Increased polygon point limitYou can now create plates slabs polybeams and strip footings that containmore than 100 polygon points The new maximum number of polygon pointsis 1000 for parts and bolt groups and 999 for profile cross sections

13 Reinforcement improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many improvements in reinforcement

Rebar sets in curved structuresRebar sets can now have three guidelines This makes it easier to create rebarsets for curved concrete structures

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 16 Reinforcement improvements

In curved beams polybeams strip footings and wall panels Tekla Structuresautomatically creates three guidelines for longitudinal rebar sets For crossingrebar sets Tekla Structures creates a polyline guideline with three points and

the midpoint has the Arc point chamfer

For more information see Examples Rebar sets in curved structures

Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improvedTo easily create secondary guidelines for a selected rebar set you can now usethe new button on the contextual toolbar

To define if a secondary guideline inherits its spacing properties from theprimary guideline select the secondary guideline and use the button onthe contextual toolbar Alternatively you can set Inherit from primary to Yesor No in the secondary guideline properties in the property pane By defaultthe secondary guidelines inherit the spacing properties from the primaryguideline

Rebar shape placing toolTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new tool for creating rebar sets Rebarshape placing tool for rebar sets is similar to Reinforcing Bar Shape Catalogfor reinforcing bar groups with new useful functionality and improvedusability

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 17 Reinforcement improvements

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 6: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull Tekla Structures 2017i fix list

Also note this major new feature that was added between main releases inTekla Structures 2017 SP 3 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts (page 19)

Compatibility

We suggest that you complete any unfinished models using your currentversion of Tekla Structures

This version is not backwards compatible When you create or save a model inTekla Structures 2017i you cannot open it in older versions due to databasedifferences

Tekla Structures 2017i can only be installed on 64-bit Windows operatingsystems

See the hardware recommendations for more information

Tekla Structures 2017i requires Tekla Structures License Server 2017 Tocheck which license server version to use with your current Tekla Structuresversion see Which license server version to use

Administrators release notes

Advanced users should read the Tekla Structures administrators release notesfor information on how to apply the additional customizations available in thisrelease

Localization release notes

Environment-specific changes are explained in the Localization release notes

Tekla Open API release notes

The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API StartupPackage which you can download from Tekla Warehouse

11 Spiral beamsTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new part type spiral beam

Spiral beams in the modelYou can now create spiral beams using Tekla Structures Spiral beams can beused to model spiral staircases parking ramps and complex architecturalshapes for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 6 Spiral beams

The new Spiral beam command is available both for steel and concrete

Follow the instructions on the status bar to create a spiral beam You canmodify the rotation angle total rise and twist angle in the side pane or on thecontextual toolbar

1 Rotation angle

2 Total rise

3 Twist angle at start

4 Twist angle at end

For more information see Create a steel spiral beam and Create a concretespiral beam

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 7 Spiral beams

Spiral beams in drawingsbull Spiral beams can be shown in drawings either folded or unfolded In

unfolded views spiral beam is unfolded straight

In the example below the Unfolded option is set to Yes and in viewproperties Note that the part is cut in the view

In the following example the Unfolded option is set to No

New dimensioning type and rotation angle in marks

bull In view level dimensioning a new Dimensioning type Spiral beamdimensions is now available Using the new spiral beam rule editor youcan add straight dimensions angle dimensions and radius dimensions tospiral beams To apply the new dimensioning type you need to selectpredefined dimension properties in the Dimensioning rule propertiesdialog box If none of the available properties suit your needs open adrawing click Drawing --gt Properties --gt Dimension and edit and savethe needed dimension properties so that they are available for selecting inthe spiral beam Dimensioning rule properties dialog box for the three

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 8 Spiral beams

dimension types For more information about adding dimensions to spiralbeams see Dimension spiral beams

bull You can now add the rotation angle of the spiral beam in the spiral beampart mark The rotation angle is defined in the spiral beam properties in themodel

The example below shows a straight dimension and a part mark that containsthe rotation angle information

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 9 Spiral beams

The following example shows a radius dimension of a spiral beam

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 10 Spiral beams

12 Modeling improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in viewcreation direct modification numbering and pour management

Easier way to create viewsYou can now create model views more easily on the work plane or on existingpart planes Use the new Create view on plane command and select thedesired plane Tekla Structures creates the view accordingly

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 11 Modeling improvements

Direct modification improvementsbull The standard object dimensions and dimension lines are now hidden when

direct modification is on regardless of the XS_DISPLAY_DIMENSIONS_WHEN_SELECTING_OBJECTS advanced option Only the direct modificationdimensions are shown This makes it easier to know which dimensions canbe edited

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 12 Modeling improvements

bull You can now modify the dimensions of model objects even more quicklyClick a dimension type a new value and then press Enter The dimensionchanges immediately

The yellow arrow defines the direction in which the object is extended orshortened You can change the direction by clicking the arrows

New display settings for cast-in-place concrete partsWhen the pour management functionality is enabled you can view cast-in-place concrete structures in model views either as parts or as pour objects Inaddition to selecting between parts and pour objects you can now define howthe cast-in-place concrete parts appear in model views

The Display dialog box now has a new setting Cast in place parts with twooptions

bull Merged

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 13 Modeling improvements

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as merged in the model if their castunit type is cast in place if they have the same material grade and pourphase number and if they touch or overlap one another When thesecriteria are met Tekla Structures removes the outlines of the individualparts within each continuous concrete structure

bull Separated

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as individual parts and separated bytheir outlines

For more information see View cast-in-place concrete structures

Improvements in pour managementbull Pour unit calculation is now faster When you click Calculate pour units on

the Concrete tab Tekla Structures now attaches objects to pour objectsand creates pour units incrementally which means that only the new andchanged objects are re-calculated

bull Pour management has been improved in shared models and in multi-usermodels

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 14 Modeling improvements

bull You can now add pour breaks to phases and then use the phases and theCopy special --gt From another model command to copy pour breaksbetween models

When you do this the copied pour breaks adapt to the target model soremember to check the resulting pour geometry and pour breaks againstthe original model

When you create new pour breaks they are not added to the currentphase by default

Improvements in numberingbull In the Numbering Setup dialog box you can now select whether the

assembly name affects the numbering If you select the Assembly namecheck box Tekla Structures compares the assembly names whennumbering objects and gives otherwise identical assemblies differentnumbers if they have different names

For more information see Define what affects numbering and Adjust thenumbering settings

bull You can now have the user-defined attribute Fixed drawing main viewaffect the numbering of non-concrete parts This user-defined attributedefines which part face is shown in the main (front) view in drawings thathave Coordinate system set to Fixed If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they can now get differentassembly position numbers and different drawings

Use the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING to define which material types have this feature The allowedoptions are STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the optionsby using a comma () as a separator

See also Changes in advanced options (page 69)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 15 Modeling improvements

bull The position numbers are now kept better when there are conflicts innumbering

Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concreteparts in the modelWith the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING set you can now use the commands Set top-in-form face andShow top-in-form face also for non-concrete parts that have an optionselected for the Fixed drawing main view user-defined attribute

The commands Set top-in-form face and Show top-in-form face areavailable on the Concrete tab under Cast unit Note that you need to use theParts rendered (Ctrl+4) rendering option when you use these commands

For more information see Casting direction and Select the steel or timber partface that is shown

Increased polygon point limitYou can now create plates slabs polybeams and strip footings that containmore than 100 polygon points The new maximum number of polygon pointsis 1000 for parts and bolt groups and 999 for profile cross sections

13 Reinforcement improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many improvements in reinforcement

Rebar sets in curved structuresRebar sets can now have three guidelines This makes it easier to create rebarsets for curved concrete structures

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 16 Reinforcement improvements

In curved beams polybeams strip footings and wall panels Tekla Structuresautomatically creates three guidelines for longitudinal rebar sets For crossingrebar sets Tekla Structures creates a polyline guideline with three points and

the midpoint has the Arc point chamfer

For more information see Examples Rebar sets in curved structures

Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improvedTo easily create secondary guidelines for a selected rebar set you can now usethe new button on the contextual toolbar

To define if a secondary guideline inherits its spacing properties from theprimary guideline select the secondary guideline and use the button onthe contextual toolbar Alternatively you can set Inherit from primary to Yesor No in the secondary guideline properties in the property pane By defaultthe secondary guidelines inherit the spacing properties from the primaryguideline

Rebar shape placing toolTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new tool for creating rebar sets Rebarshape placing tool for rebar sets is similar to Reinforcing Bar Shape Catalogfor reinforcing bar groups with new useful functionality and improvedusability

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 17 Reinforcement improvements

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 7: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

The new Spiral beam command is available both for steel and concrete

Follow the instructions on the status bar to create a spiral beam You canmodify the rotation angle total rise and twist angle in the side pane or on thecontextual toolbar

1 Rotation angle

2 Total rise

3 Twist angle at start

4 Twist angle at end

For more information see Create a steel spiral beam and Create a concretespiral beam

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 7 Spiral beams

Spiral beams in drawingsbull Spiral beams can be shown in drawings either folded or unfolded In

unfolded views spiral beam is unfolded straight

In the example below the Unfolded option is set to Yes and in viewproperties Note that the part is cut in the view

In the following example the Unfolded option is set to No

New dimensioning type and rotation angle in marks

bull In view level dimensioning a new Dimensioning type Spiral beamdimensions is now available Using the new spiral beam rule editor youcan add straight dimensions angle dimensions and radius dimensions tospiral beams To apply the new dimensioning type you need to selectpredefined dimension properties in the Dimensioning rule propertiesdialog box If none of the available properties suit your needs open adrawing click Drawing --gt Properties --gt Dimension and edit and savethe needed dimension properties so that they are available for selecting inthe spiral beam Dimensioning rule properties dialog box for the three

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 8 Spiral beams

dimension types For more information about adding dimensions to spiralbeams see Dimension spiral beams

bull You can now add the rotation angle of the spiral beam in the spiral beampart mark The rotation angle is defined in the spiral beam properties in themodel

The example below shows a straight dimension and a part mark that containsthe rotation angle information

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 9 Spiral beams

The following example shows a radius dimension of a spiral beam

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 10 Spiral beams

12 Modeling improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in viewcreation direct modification numbering and pour management

Easier way to create viewsYou can now create model views more easily on the work plane or on existingpart planes Use the new Create view on plane command and select thedesired plane Tekla Structures creates the view accordingly

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 11 Modeling improvements

Direct modification improvementsbull The standard object dimensions and dimension lines are now hidden when

direct modification is on regardless of the XS_DISPLAY_DIMENSIONS_WHEN_SELECTING_OBJECTS advanced option Only the direct modificationdimensions are shown This makes it easier to know which dimensions canbe edited

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 12 Modeling improvements

bull You can now modify the dimensions of model objects even more quicklyClick a dimension type a new value and then press Enter The dimensionchanges immediately

The yellow arrow defines the direction in which the object is extended orshortened You can change the direction by clicking the arrows

New display settings for cast-in-place concrete partsWhen the pour management functionality is enabled you can view cast-in-place concrete structures in model views either as parts or as pour objects Inaddition to selecting between parts and pour objects you can now define howthe cast-in-place concrete parts appear in model views

The Display dialog box now has a new setting Cast in place parts with twooptions

bull Merged

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 13 Modeling improvements

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as merged in the model if their castunit type is cast in place if they have the same material grade and pourphase number and if they touch or overlap one another When thesecriteria are met Tekla Structures removes the outlines of the individualparts within each continuous concrete structure

bull Separated

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as individual parts and separated bytheir outlines

For more information see View cast-in-place concrete structures

Improvements in pour managementbull Pour unit calculation is now faster When you click Calculate pour units on

the Concrete tab Tekla Structures now attaches objects to pour objectsand creates pour units incrementally which means that only the new andchanged objects are re-calculated

bull Pour management has been improved in shared models and in multi-usermodels

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 14 Modeling improvements

bull You can now add pour breaks to phases and then use the phases and theCopy special --gt From another model command to copy pour breaksbetween models

When you do this the copied pour breaks adapt to the target model soremember to check the resulting pour geometry and pour breaks againstthe original model

When you create new pour breaks they are not added to the currentphase by default

Improvements in numberingbull In the Numbering Setup dialog box you can now select whether the

assembly name affects the numbering If you select the Assembly namecheck box Tekla Structures compares the assembly names whennumbering objects and gives otherwise identical assemblies differentnumbers if they have different names

For more information see Define what affects numbering and Adjust thenumbering settings

bull You can now have the user-defined attribute Fixed drawing main viewaffect the numbering of non-concrete parts This user-defined attributedefines which part face is shown in the main (front) view in drawings thathave Coordinate system set to Fixed If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they can now get differentassembly position numbers and different drawings

Use the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING to define which material types have this feature The allowedoptions are STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the optionsby using a comma () as a separator

See also Changes in advanced options (page 69)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 15 Modeling improvements

bull The position numbers are now kept better when there are conflicts innumbering

Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concreteparts in the modelWith the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING set you can now use the commands Set top-in-form face andShow top-in-form face also for non-concrete parts that have an optionselected for the Fixed drawing main view user-defined attribute

The commands Set top-in-form face and Show top-in-form face areavailable on the Concrete tab under Cast unit Note that you need to use theParts rendered (Ctrl+4) rendering option when you use these commands

For more information see Casting direction and Select the steel or timber partface that is shown

Increased polygon point limitYou can now create plates slabs polybeams and strip footings that containmore than 100 polygon points The new maximum number of polygon pointsis 1000 for parts and bolt groups and 999 for profile cross sections

13 Reinforcement improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many improvements in reinforcement

Rebar sets in curved structuresRebar sets can now have three guidelines This makes it easier to create rebarsets for curved concrete structures

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 16 Reinforcement improvements

In curved beams polybeams strip footings and wall panels Tekla Structuresautomatically creates three guidelines for longitudinal rebar sets For crossingrebar sets Tekla Structures creates a polyline guideline with three points and

the midpoint has the Arc point chamfer

For more information see Examples Rebar sets in curved structures

Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improvedTo easily create secondary guidelines for a selected rebar set you can now usethe new button on the contextual toolbar

To define if a secondary guideline inherits its spacing properties from theprimary guideline select the secondary guideline and use the button onthe contextual toolbar Alternatively you can set Inherit from primary to Yesor No in the secondary guideline properties in the property pane By defaultthe secondary guidelines inherit the spacing properties from the primaryguideline

Rebar shape placing toolTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new tool for creating rebar sets Rebarshape placing tool for rebar sets is similar to Reinforcing Bar Shape Catalogfor reinforcing bar groups with new useful functionality and improvedusability

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 17 Reinforcement improvements

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 8: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Spiral beams in drawingsbull Spiral beams can be shown in drawings either folded or unfolded In

unfolded views spiral beam is unfolded straight

In the example below the Unfolded option is set to Yes and in viewproperties Note that the part is cut in the view

In the following example the Unfolded option is set to No

New dimensioning type and rotation angle in marks

bull In view level dimensioning a new Dimensioning type Spiral beamdimensions is now available Using the new spiral beam rule editor youcan add straight dimensions angle dimensions and radius dimensions tospiral beams To apply the new dimensioning type you need to selectpredefined dimension properties in the Dimensioning rule propertiesdialog box If none of the available properties suit your needs open adrawing click Drawing --gt Properties --gt Dimension and edit and savethe needed dimension properties so that they are available for selecting inthe spiral beam Dimensioning rule properties dialog box for the three

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 8 Spiral beams

dimension types For more information about adding dimensions to spiralbeams see Dimension spiral beams

bull You can now add the rotation angle of the spiral beam in the spiral beampart mark The rotation angle is defined in the spiral beam properties in themodel

The example below shows a straight dimension and a part mark that containsthe rotation angle information

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 9 Spiral beams

The following example shows a radius dimension of a spiral beam

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 10 Spiral beams

12 Modeling improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in viewcreation direct modification numbering and pour management

Easier way to create viewsYou can now create model views more easily on the work plane or on existingpart planes Use the new Create view on plane command and select thedesired plane Tekla Structures creates the view accordingly

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 11 Modeling improvements

Direct modification improvementsbull The standard object dimensions and dimension lines are now hidden when

direct modification is on regardless of the XS_DISPLAY_DIMENSIONS_WHEN_SELECTING_OBJECTS advanced option Only the direct modificationdimensions are shown This makes it easier to know which dimensions canbe edited

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 12 Modeling improvements

bull You can now modify the dimensions of model objects even more quicklyClick a dimension type a new value and then press Enter The dimensionchanges immediately

The yellow arrow defines the direction in which the object is extended orshortened You can change the direction by clicking the arrows

New display settings for cast-in-place concrete partsWhen the pour management functionality is enabled you can view cast-in-place concrete structures in model views either as parts or as pour objects Inaddition to selecting between parts and pour objects you can now define howthe cast-in-place concrete parts appear in model views

The Display dialog box now has a new setting Cast in place parts with twooptions

bull Merged

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 13 Modeling improvements

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as merged in the model if their castunit type is cast in place if they have the same material grade and pourphase number and if they touch or overlap one another When thesecriteria are met Tekla Structures removes the outlines of the individualparts within each continuous concrete structure

bull Separated

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as individual parts and separated bytheir outlines

For more information see View cast-in-place concrete structures

Improvements in pour managementbull Pour unit calculation is now faster When you click Calculate pour units on

the Concrete tab Tekla Structures now attaches objects to pour objectsand creates pour units incrementally which means that only the new andchanged objects are re-calculated

bull Pour management has been improved in shared models and in multi-usermodels

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 14 Modeling improvements

bull You can now add pour breaks to phases and then use the phases and theCopy special --gt From another model command to copy pour breaksbetween models

When you do this the copied pour breaks adapt to the target model soremember to check the resulting pour geometry and pour breaks againstthe original model

When you create new pour breaks they are not added to the currentphase by default

Improvements in numberingbull In the Numbering Setup dialog box you can now select whether the

assembly name affects the numbering If you select the Assembly namecheck box Tekla Structures compares the assembly names whennumbering objects and gives otherwise identical assemblies differentnumbers if they have different names

For more information see Define what affects numbering and Adjust thenumbering settings

bull You can now have the user-defined attribute Fixed drawing main viewaffect the numbering of non-concrete parts This user-defined attributedefines which part face is shown in the main (front) view in drawings thathave Coordinate system set to Fixed If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they can now get differentassembly position numbers and different drawings

Use the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING to define which material types have this feature The allowedoptions are STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the optionsby using a comma () as a separator

See also Changes in advanced options (page 69)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 15 Modeling improvements

bull The position numbers are now kept better when there are conflicts innumbering

Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concreteparts in the modelWith the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING set you can now use the commands Set top-in-form face andShow top-in-form face also for non-concrete parts that have an optionselected for the Fixed drawing main view user-defined attribute

The commands Set top-in-form face and Show top-in-form face areavailable on the Concrete tab under Cast unit Note that you need to use theParts rendered (Ctrl+4) rendering option when you use these commands

For more information see Casting direction and Select the steel or timber partface that is shown

Increased polygon point limitYou can now create plates slabs polybeams and strip footings that containmore than 100 polygon points The new maximum number of polygon pointsis 1000 for parts and bolt groups and 999 for profile cross sections

13 Reinforcement improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many improvements in reinforcement

Rebar sets in curved structuresRebar sets can now have three guidelines This makes it easier to create rebarsets for curved concrete structures

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 16 Reinforcement improvements

In curved beams polybeams strip footings and wall panels Tekla Structuresautomatically creates three guidelines for longitudinal rebar sets For crossingrebar sets Tekla Structures creates a polyline guideline with three points and

the midpoint has the Arc point chamfer

For more information see Examples Rebar sets in curved structures

Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improvedTo easily create secondary guidelines for a selected rebar set you can now usethe new button on the contextual toolbar

To define if a secondary guideline inherits its spacing properties from theprimary guideline select the secondary guideline and use the button onthe contextual toolbar Alternatively you can set Inherit from primary to Yesor No in the secondary guideline properties in the property pane By defaultthe secondary guidelines inherit the spacing properties from the primaryguideline

Rebar shape placing toolTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new tool for creating rebar sets Rebarshape placing tool for rebar sets is similar to Reinforcing Bar Shape Catalogfor reinforcing bar groups with new useful functionality and improvedusability

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 17 Reinforcement improvements

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 9: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

dimension types For more information about adding dimensions to spiralbeams see Dimension spiral beams

bull You can now add the rotation angle of the spiral beam in the spiral beampart mark The rotation angle is defined in the spiral beam properties in themodel

The example below shows a straight dimension and a part mark that containsthe rotation angle information

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 9 Spiral beams

The following example shows a radius dimension of a spiral beam

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 10 Spiral beams

12 Modeling improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in viewcreation direct modification numbering and pour management

Easier way to create viewsYou can now create model views more easily on the work plane or on existingpart planes Use the new Create view on plane command and select thedesired plane Tekla Structures creates the view accordingly

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 11 Modeling improvements

Direct modification improvementsbull The standard object dimensions and dimension lines are now hidden when

direct modification is on regardless of the XS_DISPLAY_DIMENSIONS_WHEN_SELECTING_OBJECTS advanced option Only the direct modificationdimensions are shown This makes it easier to know which dimensions canbe edited

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 12 Modeling improvements

bull You can now modify the dimensions of model objects even more quicklyClick a dimension type a new value and then press Enter The dimensionchanges immediately

The yellow arrow defines the direction in which the object is extended orshortened You can change the direction by clicking the arrows

New display settings for cast-in-place concrete partsWhen the pour management functionality is enabled you can view cast-in-place concrete structures in model views either as parts or as pour objects Inaddition to selecting between parts and pour objects you can now define howthe cast-in-place concrete parts appear in model views

The Display dialog box now has a new setting Cast in place parts with twooptions

bull Merged

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 13 Modeling improvements

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as merged in the model if their castunit type is cast in place if they have the same material grade and pourphase number and if they touch or overlap one another When thesecriteria are met Tekla Structures removes the outlines of the individualparts within each continuous concrete structure

bull Separated

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as individual parts and separated bytheir outlines

For more information see View cast-in-place concrete structures

Improvements in pour managementbull Pour unit calculation is now faster When you click Calculate pour units on

the Concrete tab Tekla Structures now attaches objects to pour objectsand creates pour units incrementally which means that only the new andchanged objects are re-calculated

bull Pour management has been improved in shared models and in multi-usermodels

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 14 Modeling improvements

bull You can now add pour breaks to phases and then use the phases and theCopy special --gt From another model command to copy pour breaksbetween models

When you do this the copied pour breaks adapt to the target model soremember to check the resulting pour geometry and pour breaks againstthe original model

When you create new pour breaks they are not added to the currentphase by default

Improvements in numberingbull In the Numbering Setup dialog box you can now select whether the

assembly name affects the numbering If you select the Assembly namecheck box Tekla Structures compares the assembly names whennumbering objects and gives otherwise identical assemblies differentnumbers if they have different names

For more information see Define what affects numbering and Adjust thenumbering settings

bull You can now have the user-defined attribute Fixed drawing main viewaffect the numbering of non-concrete parts This user-defined attributedefines which part face is shown in the main (front) view in drawings thathave Coordinate system set to Fixed If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they can now get differentassembly position numbers and different drawings

Use the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING to define which material types have this feature The allowedoptions are STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the optionsby using a comma () as a separator

See also Changes in advanced options (page 69)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 15 Modeling improvements

bull The position numbers are now kept better when there are conflicts innumbering

Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concreteparts in the modelWith the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING set you can now use the commands Set top-in-form face andShow top-in-form face also for non-concrete parts that have an optionselected for the Fixed drawing main view user-defined attribute

The commands Set top-in-form face and Show top-in-form face areavailable on the Concrete tab under Cast unit Note that you need to use theParts rendered (Ctrl+4) rendering option when you use these commands

For more information see Casting direction and Select the steel or timber partface that is shown

Increased polygon point limitYou can now create plates slabs polybeams and strip footings that containmore than 100 polygon points The new maximum number of polygon pointsis 1000 for parts and bolt groups and 999 for profile cross sections

13 Reinforcement improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many improvements in reinforcement

Rebar sets in curved structuresRebar sets can now have three guidelines This makes it easier to create rebarsets for curved concrete structures

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 16 Reinforcement improvements

In curved beams polybeams strip footings and wall panels Tekla Structuresautomatically creates three guidelines for longitudinal rebar sets For crossingrebar sets Tekla Structures creates a polyline guideline with three points and

the midpoint has the Arc point chamfer

For more information see Examples Rebar sets in curved structures

Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improvedTo easily create secondary guidelines for a selected rebar set you can now usethe new button on the contextual toolbar

To define if a secondary guideline inherits its spacing properties from theprimary guideline select the secondary guideline and use the button onthe contextual toolbar Alternatively you can set Inherit from primary to Yesor No in the secondary guideline properties in the property pane By defaultthe secondary guidelines inherit the spacing properties from the primaryguideline

Rebar shape placing toolTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new tool for creating rebar sets Rebarshape placing tool for rebar sets is similar to Reinforcing Bar Shape Catalogfor reinforcing bar groups with new useful functionality and improvedusability

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 17 Reinforcement improvements

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 10: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

The following example shows a radius dimension of a spiral beam

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 10 Spiral beams

12 Modeling improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in viewcreation direct modification numbering and pour management

Easier way to create viewsYou can now create model views more easily on the work plane or on existingpart planes Use the new Create view on plane command and select thedesired plane Tekla Structures creates the view accordingly

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 11 Modeling improvements

Direct modification improvementsbull The standard object dimensions and dimension lines are now hidden when

direct modification is on regardless of the XS_DISPLAY_DIMENSIONS_WHEN_SELECTING_OBJECTS advanced option Only the direct modificationdimensions are shown This makes it easier to know which dimensions canbe edited

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 12 Modeling improvements

bull You can now modify the dimensions of model objects even more quicklyClick a dimension type a new value and then press Enter The dimensionchanges immediately

The yellow arrow defines the direction in which the object is extended orshortened You can change the direction by clicking the arrows

New display settings for cast-in-place concrete partsWhen the pour management functionality is enabled you can view cast-in-place concrete structures in model views either as parts or as pour objects Inaddition to selecting between parts and pour objects you can now define howthe cast-in-place concrete parts appear in model views

The Display dialog box now has a new setting Cast in place parts with twooptions

bull Merged

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 13 Modeling improvements

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as merged in the model if their castunit type is cast in place if they have the same material grade and pourphase number and if they touch or overlap one another When thesecriteria are met Tekla Structures removes the outlines of the individualparts within each continuous concrete structure

bull Separated

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as individual parts and separated bytheir outlines

For more information see View cast-in-place concrete structures

Improvements in pour managementbull Pour unit calculation is now faster When you click Calculate pour units on

the Concrete tab Tekla Structures now attaches objects to pour objectsand creates pour units incrementally which means that only the new andchanged objects are re-calculated

bull Pour management has been improved in shared models and in multi-usermodels

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 14 Modeling improvements

bull You can now add pour breaks to phases and then use the phases and theCopy special --gt From another model command to copy pour breaksbetween models

When you do this the copied pour breaks adapt to the target model soremember to check the resulting pour geometry and pour breaks againstthe original model

When you create new pour breaks they are not added to the currentphase by default

Improvements in numberingbull In the Numbering Setup dialog box you can now select whether the

assembly name affects the numbering If you select the Assembly namecheck box Tekla Structures compares the assembly names whennumbering objects and gives otherwise identical assemblies differentnumbers if they have different names

For more information see Define what affects numbering and Adjust thenumbering settings

bull You can now have the user-defined attribute Fixed drawing main viewaffect the numbering of non-concrete parts This user-defined attributedefines which part face is shown in the main (front) view in drawings thathave Coordinate system set to Fixed If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they can now get differentassembly position numbers and different drawings

Use the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING to define which material types have this feature The allowedoptions are STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the optionsby using a comma () as a separator

See also Changes in advanced options (page 69)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 15 Modeling improvements

bull The position numbers are now kept better when there are conflicts innumbering

Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concreteparts in the modelWith the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING set you can now use the commands Set top-in-form face andShow top-in-form face also for non-concrete parts that have an optionselected for the Fixed drawing main view user-defined attribute

The commands Set top-in-form face and Show top-in-form face areavailable on the Concrete tab under Cast unit Note that you need to use theParts rendered (Ctrl+4) rendering option when you use these commands

For more information see Casting direction and Select the steel or timber partface that is shown

Increased polygon point limitYou can now create plates slabs polybeams and strip footings that containmore than 100 polygon points The new maximum number of polygon pointsis 1000 for parts and bolt groups and 999 for profile cross sections

13 Reinforcement improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many improvements in reinforcement

Rebar sets in curved structuresRebar sets can now have three guidelines This makes it easier to create rebarsets for curved concrete structures

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 16 Reinforcement improvements

In curved beams polybeams strip footings and wall panels Tekla Structuresautomatically creates three guidelines for longitudinal rebar sets For crossingrebar sets Tekla Structures creates a polyline guideline with three points and

the midpoint has the Arc point chamfer

For more information see Examples Rebar sets in curved structures

Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improvedTo easily create secondary guidelines for a selected rebar set you can now usethe new button on the contextual toolbar

To define if a secondary guideline inherits its spacing properties from theprimary guideline select the secondary guideline and use the button onthe contextual toolbar Alternatively you can set Inherit from primary to Yesor No in the secondary guideline properties in the property pane By defaultthe secondary guidelines inherit the spacing properties from the primaryguideline

Rebar shape placing toolTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new tool for creating rebar sets Rebarshape placing tool for rebar sets is similar to Reinforcing Bar Shape Catalogfor reinforcing bar groups with new useful functionality and improvedusability

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 17 Reinforcement improvements

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 11: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

12 Modeling improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in viewcreation direct modification numbering and pour management

Easier way to create viewsYou can now create model views more easily on the work plane or on existingpart planes Use the new Create view on plane command and select thedesired plane Tekla Structures creates the view accordingly

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 11 Modeling improvements

Direct modification improvementsbull The standard object dimensions and dimension lines are now hidden when

direct modification is on regardless of the XS_DISPLAY_DIMENSIONS_WHEN_SELECTING_OBJECTS advanced option Only the direct modificationdimensions are shown This makes it easier to know which dimensions canbe edited

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 12 Modeling improvements

bull You can now modify the dimensions of model objects even more quicklyClick a dimension type a new value and then press Enter The dimensionchanges immediately

The yellow arrow defines the direction in which the object is extended orshortened You can change the direction by clicking the arrows

New display settings for cast-in-place concrete partsWhen the pour management functionality is enabled you can view cast-in-place concrete structures in model views either as parts or as pour objects Inaddition to selecting between parts and pour objects you can now define howthe cast-in-place concrete parts appear in model views

The Display dialog box now has a new setting Cast in place parts with twooptions

bull Merged

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 13 Modeling improvements

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as merged in the model if their castunit type is cast in place if they have the same material grade and pourphase number and if they touch or overlap one another When thesecriteria are met Tekla Structures removes the outlines of the individualparts within each continuous concrete structure

bull Separated

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as individual parts and separated bytheir outlines

For more information see View cast-in-place concrete structures

Improvements in pour managementbull Pour unit calculation is now faster When you click Calculate pour units on

the Concrete tab Tekla Structures now attaches objects to pour objectsand creates pour units incrementally which means that only the new andchanged objects are re-calculated

bull Pour management has been improved in shared models and in multi-usermodels

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 14 Modeling improvements

bull You can now add pour breaks to phases and then use the phases and theCopy special --gt From another model command to copy pour breaksbetween models

When you do this the copied pour breaks adapt to the target model soremember to check the resulting pour geometry and pour breaks againstthe original model

When you create new pour breaks they are not added to the currentphase by default

Improvements in numberingbull In the Numbering Setup dialog box you can now select whether the

assembly name affects the numbering If you select the Assembly namecheck box Tekla Structures compares the assembly names whennumbering objects and gives otherwise identical assemblies differentnumbers if they have different names

For more information see Define what affects numbering and Adjust thenumbering settings

bull You can now have the user-defined attribute Fixed drawing main viewaffect the numbering of non-concrete parts This user-defined attributedefines which part face is shown in the main (front) view in drawings thathave Coordinate system set to Fixed If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they can now get differentassembly position numbers and different drawings

Use the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING to define which material types have this feature The allowedoptions are STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the optionsby using a comma () as a separator

See also Changes in advanced options (page 69)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 15 Modeling improvements

bull The position numbers are now kept better when there are conflicts innumbering

Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concreteparts in the modelWith the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING set you can now use the commands Set top-in-form face andShow top-in-form face also for non-concrete parts that have an optionselected for the Fixed drawing main view user-defined attribute

The commands Set top-in-form face and Show top-in-form face areavailable on the Concrete tab under Cast unit Note that you need to use theParts rendered (Ctrl+4) rendering option when you use these commands

For more information see Casting direction and Select the steel or timber partface that is shown

Increased polygon point limitYou can now create plates slabs polybeams and strip footings that containmore than 100 polygon points The new maximum number of polygon pointsis 1000 for parts and bolt groups and 999 for profile cross sections

13 Reinforcement improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many improvements in reinforcement

Rebar sets in curved structuresRebar sets can now have three guidelines This makes it easier to create rebarsets for curved concrete structures

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 16 Reinforcement improvements

In curved beams polybeams strip footings and wall panels Tekla Structuresautomatically creates three guidelines for longitudinal rebar sets For crossingrebar sets Tekla Structures creates a polyline guideline with three points and

the midpoint has the Arc point chamfer

For more information see Examples Rebar sets in curved structures

Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improvedTo easily create secondary guidelines for a selected rebar set you can now usethe new button on the contextual toolbar

To define if a secondary guideline inherits its spacing properties from theprimary guideline select the secondary guideline and use the button onthe contextual toolbar Alternatively you can set Inherit from primary to Yesor No in the secondary guideline properties in the property pane By defaultthe secondary guidelines inherit the spacing properties from the primaryguideline

Rebar shape placing toolTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new tool for creating rebar sets Rebarshape placing tool for rebar sets is similar to Reinforcing Bar Shape Catalogfor reinforcing bar groups with new useful functionality and improvedusability

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 17 Reinforcement improvements

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 12: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Direct modification improvementsbull The standard object dimensions and dimension lines are now hidden when

direct modification is on regardless of the XS_DISPLAY_DIMENSIONS_WHEN_SELECTING_OBJECTS advanced option Only the direct modificationdimensions are shown This makes it easier to know which dimensions canbe edited

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 12 Modeling improvements

bull You can now modify the dimensions of model objects even more quicklyClick a dimension type a new value and then press Enter The dimensionchanges immediately

The yellow arrow defines the direction in which the object is extended orshortened You can change the direction by clicking the arrows

New display settings for cast-in-place concrete partsWhen the pour management functionality is enabled you can view cast-in-place concrete structures in model views either as parts or as pour objects Inaddition to selecting between parts and pour objects you can now define howthe cast-in-place concrete parts appear in model views

The Display dialog box now has a new setting Cast in place parts with twooptions

bull Merged

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 13 Modeling improvements

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as merged in the model if their castunit type is cast in place if they have the same material grade and pourphase number and if they touch or overlap one another When thesecriteria are met Tekla Structures removes the outlines of the individualparts within each continuous concrete structure

bull Separated

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as individual parts and separated bytheir outlines

For more information see View cast-in-place concrete structures

Improvements in pour managementbull Pour unit calculation is now faster When you click Calculate pour units on

the Concrete tab Tekla Structures now attaches objects to pour objectsand creates pour units incrementally which means that only the new andchanged objects are re-calculated

bull Pour management has been improved in shared models and in multi-usermodels

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 14 Modeling improvements

bull You can now add pour breaks to phases and then use the phases and theCopy special --gt From another model command to copy pour breaksbetween models

When you do this the copied pour breaks adapt to the target model soremember to check the resulting pour geometry and pour breaks againstthe original model

When you create new pour breaks they are not added to the currentphase by default

Improvements in numberingbull In the Numbering Setup dialog box you can now select whether the

assembly name affects the numbering If you select the Assembly namecheck box Tekla Structures compares the assembly names whennumbering objects and gives otherwise identical assemblies differentnumbers if they have different names

For more information see Define what affects numbering and Adjust thenumbering settings

bull You can now have the user-defined attribute Fixed drawing main viewaffect the numbering of non-concrete parts This user-defined attributedefines which part face is shown in the main (front) view in drawings thathave Coordinate system set to Fixed If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they can now get differentassembly position numbers and different drawings

Use the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING to define which material types have this feature The allowedoptions are STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the optionsby using a comma () as a separator

See also Changes in advanced options (page 69)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 15 Modeling improvements

bull The position numbers are now kept better when there are conflicts innumbering

Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concreteparts in the modelWith the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING set you can now use the commands Set top-in-form face andShow top-in-form face also for non-concrete parts that have an optionselected for the Fixed drawing main view user-defined attribute

The commands Set top-in-form face and Show top-in-form face areavailable on the Concrete tab under Cast unit Note that you need to use theParts rendered (Ctrl+4) rendering option when you use these commands

For more information see Casting direction and Select the steel or timber partface that is shown

Increased polygon point limitYou can now create plates slabs polybeams and strip footings that containmore than 100 polygon points The new maximum number of polygon pointsis 1000 for parts and bolt groups and 999 for profile cross sections

13 Reinforcement improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many improvements in reinforcement

Rebar sets in curved structuresRebar sets can now have three guidelines This makes it easier to create rebarsets for curved concrete structures

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 16 Reinforcement improvements

In curved beams polybeams strip footings and wall panels Tekla Structuresautomatically creates three guidelines for longitudinal rebar sets For crossingrebar sets Tekla Structures creates a polyline guideline with three points and

the midpoint has the Arc point chamfer

For more information see Examples Rebar sets in curved structures

Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improvedTo easily create secondary guidelines for a selected rebar set you can now usethe new button on the contextual toolbar

To define if a secondary guideline inherits its spacing properties from theprimary guideline select the secondary guideline and use the button onthe contextual toolbar Alternatively you can set Inherit from primary to Yesor No in the secondary guideline properties in the property pane By defaultthe secondary guidelines inherit the spacing properties from the primaryguideline

Rebar shape placing toolTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new tool for creating rebar sets Rebarshape placing tool for rebar sets is similar to Reinforcing Bar Shape Catalogfor reinforcing bar groups with new useful functionality and improvedusability

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 17 Reinforcement improvements

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 13: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull You can now modify the dimensions of model objects even more quicklyClick a dimension type a new value and then press Enter The dimensionchanges immediately

The yellow arrow defines the direction in which the object is extended orshortened You can change the direction by clicking the arrows

New display settings for cast-in-place concrete partsWhen the pour management functionality is enabled you can view cast-in-place concrete structures in model views either as parts or as pour objects Inaddition to selecting between parts and pour objects you can now define howthe cast-in-place concrete parts appear in model views

The Display dialog box now has a new setting Cast in place parts with twooptions

bull Merged

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 13 Modeling improvements

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as merged in the model if their castunit type is cast in place if they have the same material grade and pourphase number and if they touch or overlap one another When thesecriteria are met Tekla Structures removes the outlines of the individualparts within each continuous concrete structure

bull Separated

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as individual parts and separated bytheir outlines

For more information see View cast-in-place concrete structures

Improvements in pour managementbull Pour unit calculation is now faster When you click Calculate pour units on

the Concrete tab Tekla Structures now attaches objects to pour objectsand creates pour units incrementally which means that only the new andchanged objects are re-calculated

bull Pour management has been improved in shared models and in multi-usermodels

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 14 Modeling improvements

bull You can now add pour breaks to phases and then use the phases and theCopy special --gt From another model command to copy pour breaksbetween models

When you do this the copied pour breaks adapt to the target model soremember to check the resulting pour geometry and pour breaks againstthe original model

When you create new pour breaks they are not added to the currentphase by default

Improvements in numberingbull In the Numbering Setup dialog box you can now select whether the

assembly name affects the numbering If you select the Assembly namecheck box Tekla Structures compares the assembly names whennumbering objects and gives otherwise identical assemblies differentnumbers if they have different names

For more information see Define what affects numbering and Adjust thenumbering settings

bull You can now have the user-defined attribute Fixed drawing main viewaffect the numbering of non-concrete parts This user-defined attributedefines which part face is shown in the main (front) view in drawings thathave Coordinate system set to Fixed If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they can now get differentassembly position numbers and different drawings

Use the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING to define which material types have this feature The allowedoptions are STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the optionsby using a comma () as a separator

See also Changes in advanced options (page 69)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 15 Modeling improvements

bull The position numbers are now kept better when there are conflicts innumbering

Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concreteparts in the modelWith the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING set you can now use the commands Set top-in-form face andShow top-in-form face also for non-concrete parts that have an optionselected for the Fixed drawing main view user-defined attribute

The commands Set top-in-form face and Show top-in-form face areavailable on the Concrete tab under Cast unit Note that you need to use theParts rendered (Ctrl+4) rendering option when you use these commands

For more information see Casting direction and Select the steel or timber partface that is shown

Increased polygon point limitYou can now create plates slabs polybeams and strip footings that containmore than 100 polygon points The new maximum number of polygon pointsis 1000 for parts and bolt groups and 999 for profile cross sections

13 Reinforcement improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many improvements in reinforcement

Rebar sets in curved structuresRebar sets can now have three guidelines This makes it easier to create rebarsets for curved concrete structures

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 16 Reinforcement improvements

In curved beams polybeams strip footings and wall panels Tekla Structuresautomatically creates three guidelines for longitudinal rebar sets For crossingrebar sets Tekla Structures creates a polyline guideline with three points and

the midpoint has the Arc point chamfer

For more information see Examples Rebar sets in curved structures

Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improvedTo easily create secondary guidelines for a selected rebar set you can now usethe new button on the contextual toolbar

To define if a secondary guideline inherits its spacing properties from theprimary guideline select the secondary guideline and use the button onthe contextual toolbar Alternatively you can set Inherit from primary to Yesor No in the secondary guideline properties in the property pane By defaultthe secondary guidelines inherit the spacing properties from the primaryguideline

Rebar shape placing toolTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new tool for creating rebar sets Rebarshape placing tool for rebar sets is similar to Reinforcing Bar Shape Catalogfor reinforcing bar groups with new useful functionality and improvedusability

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 17 Reinforcement improvements

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 14: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as merged in the model if their castunit type is cast in place if they have the same material grade and pourphase number and if they touch or overlap one another When thesecriteria are met Tekla Structures removes the outlines of the individualparts within each continuous concrete structure

bull Separated

Tekla Structures shows concrete parts as individual parts and separated bytheir outlines

For more information see View cast-in-place concrete structures

Improvements in pour managementbull Pour unit calculation is now faster When you click Calculate pour units on

the Concrete tab Tekla Structures now attaches objects to pour objectsand creates pour units incrementally which means that only the new andchanged objects are re-calculated

bull Pour management has been improved in shared models and in multi-usermodels

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 14 Modeling improvements

bull You can now add pour breaks to phases and then use the phases and theCopy special --gt From another model command to copy pour breaksbetween models

When you do this the copied pour breaks adapt to the target model soremember to check the resulting pour geometry and pour breaks againstthe original model

When you create new pour breaks they are not added to the currentphase by default

Improvements in numberingbull In the Numbering Setup dialog box you can now select whether the

assembly name affects the numbering If you select the Assembly namecheck box Tekla Structures compares the assembly names whennumbering objects and gives otherwise identical assemblies differentnumbers if they have different names

For more information see Define what affects numbering and Adjust thenumbering settings

bull You can now have the user-defined attribute Fixed drawing main viewaffect the numbering of non-concrete parts This user-defined attributedefines which part face is shown in the main (front) view in drawings thathave Coordinate system set to Fixed If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they can now get differentassembly position numbers and different drawings

Use the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING to define which material types have this feature The allowedoptions are STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the optionsby using a comma () as a separator

See also Changes in advanced options (page 69)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 15 Modeling improvements

bull The position numbers are now kept better when there are conflicts innumbering

Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concreteparts in the modelWith the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING set you can now use the commands Set top-in-form face andShow top-in-form face also for non-concrete parts that have an optionselected for the Fixed drawing main view user-defined attribute

The commands Set top-in-form face and Show top-in-form face areavailable on the Concrete tab under Cast unit Note that you need to use theParts rendered (Ctrl+4) rendering option when you use these commands

For more information see Casting direction and Select the steel or timber partface that is shown

Increased polygon point limitYou can now create plates slabs polybeams and strip footings that containmore than 100 polygon points The new maximum number of polygon pointsis 1000 for parts and bolt groups and 999 for profile cross sections

13 Reinforcement improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many improvements in reinforcement

Rebar sets in curved structuresRebar sets can now have three guidelines This makes it easier to create rebarsets for curved concrete structures

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 16 Reinforcement improvements

In curved beams polybeams strip footings and wall panels Tekla Structuresautomatically creates three guidelines for longitudinal rebar sets For crossingrebar sets Tekla Structures creates a polyline guideline with three points and

the midpoint has the Arc point chamfer

For more information see Examples Rebar sets in curved structures

Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improvedTo easily create secondary guidelines for a selected rebar set you can now usethe new button on the contextual toolbar

To define if a secondary guideline inherits its spacing properties from theprimary guideline select the secondary guideline and use the button onthe contextual toolbar Alternatively you can set Inherit from primary to Yesor No in the secondary guideline properties in the property pane By defaultthe secondary guidelines inherit the spacing properties from the primaryguideline

Rebar shape placing toolTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new tool for creating rebar sets Rebarshape placing tool for rebar sets is similar to Reinforcing Bar Shape Catalogfor reinforcing bar groups with new useful functionality and improvedusability

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 17 Reinforcement improvements

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 15: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull You can now add pour breaks to phases and then use the phases and theCopy special --gt From another model command to copy pour breaksbetween models

When you do this the copied pour breaks adapt to the target model soremember to check the resulting pour geometry and pour breaks againstthe original model

When you create new pour breaks they are not added to the currentphase by default

Improvements in numberingbull In the Numbering Setup dialog box you can now select whether the

assembly name affects the numbering If you select the Assembly namecheck box Tekla Structures compares the assembly names whennumbering objects and gives otherwise identical assemblies differentnumbers if they have different names

For more information see Define what affects numbering and Adjust thenumbering settings

bull You can now have the user-defined attribute Fixed drawing main viewaffect the numbering of non-concrete parts This user-defined attributedefines which part face is shown in the main (front) view in drawings thathave Coordinate system set to Fixed If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they can now get differentassembly position numbers and different drawings

Use the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING to define which material types have this feature The allowedoptions are STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the optionsby using a comma () as a separator

See also Changes in advanced options (page 69)

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 15 Modeling improvements

bull The position numbers are now kept better when there are conflicts innumbering

Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concreteparts in the modelWith the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING set you can now use the commands Set top-in-form face andShow top-in-form face also for non-concrete parts that have an optionselected for the Fixed drawing main view user-defined attribute

The commands Set top-in-form face and Show top-in-form face areavailable on the Concrete tab under Cast unit Note that you need to use theParts rendered (Ctrl+4) rendering option when you use these commands

For more information see Casting direction and Select the steel or timber partface that is shown

Increased polygon point limitYou can now create plates slabs polybeams and strip footings that containmore than 100 polygon points The new maximum number of polygon pointsis 1000 for parts and bolt groups and 999 for profile cross sections

13 Reinforcement improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many improvements in reinforcement

Rebar sets in curved structuresRebar sets can now have three guidelines This makes it easier to create rebarsets for curved concrete structures

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 16 Reinforcement improvements

In curved beams polybeams strip footings and wall panels Tekla Structuresautomatically creates three guidelines for longitudinal rebar sets For crossingrebar sets Tekla Structures creates a polyline guideline with three points and

the midpoint has the Arc point chamfer

For more information see Examples Rebar sets in curved structures

Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improvedTo easily create secondary guidelines for a selected rebar set you can now usethe new button on the contextual toolbar

To define if a secondary guideline inherits its spacing properties from theprimary guideline select the secondary guideline and use the button onthe contextual toolbar Alternatively you can set Inherit from primary to Yesor No in the secondary guideline properties in the property pane By defaultthe secondary guidelines inherit the spacing properties from the primaryguideline

Rebar shape placing toolTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new tool for creating rebar sets Rebarshape placing tool for rebar sets is similar to Reinforcing Bar Shape Catalogfor reinforcing bar groups with new useful functionality and improvedusability

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 17 Reinforcement improvements

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 16: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull The position numbers are now kept better when there are conflicts innumbering

Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concreteparts in the modelWith the advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING set you can now use the commands Set top-in-form face andShow top-in-form face also for non-concrete parts that have an optionselected for the Fixed drawing main view user-defined attribute

The commands Set top-in-form face and Show top-in-form face areavailable on the Concrete tab under Cast unit Note that you need to use theParts rendered (Ctrl+4) rendering option when you use these commands

For more information see Casting direction and Select the steel or timber partface that is shown

Increased polygon point limitYou can now create plates slabs polybeams and strip footings that containmore than 100 polygon points The new maximum number of polygon pointsis 1000 for parts and bolt groups and 999 for profile cross sections

13 Reinforcement improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many improvements in reinforcement

Rebar sets in curved structuresRebar sets can now have three guidelines This makes it easier to create rebarsets for curved concrete structures

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 16 Reinforcement improvements

In curved beams polybeams strip footings and wall panels Tekla Structuresautomatically creates three guidelines for longitudinal rebar sets For crossingrebar sets Tekla Structures creates a polyline guideline with three points and

the midpoint has the Arc point chamfer

For more information see Examples Rebar sets in curved structures

Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improvedTo easily create secondary guidelines for a selected rebar set you can now usethe new button on the contextual toolbar

To define if a secondary guideline inherits its spacing properties from theprimary guideline select the secondary guideline and use the button onthe contextual toolbar Alternatively you can set Inherit from primary to Yesor No in the secondary guideline properties in the property pane By defaultthe secondary guidelines inherit the spacing properties from the primaryguideline

Rebar shape placing toolTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new tool for creating rebar sets Rebarshape placing tool for rebar sets is similar to Reinforcing Bar Shape Catalogfor reinforcing bar groups with new useful functionality and improvedusability

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 17 Reinforcement improvements

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 17: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

In curved beams polybeams strip footings and wall panels Tekla Structuresautomatically creates three guidelines for longitudinal rebar sets For crossingrebar sets Tekla Structures creates a polyline guideline with three points and

the midpoint has the Arc point chamfer

For more information see Examples Rebar sets in curved structures

Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improvedTo easily create secondary guidelines for a selected rebar set you can now usethe new button on the contextual toolbar

To define if a secondary guideline inherits its spacing properties from theprimary guideline select the secondary guideline and use the button onthe contextual toolbar Alternatively you can set Inherit from primary to Yesor No in the secondary guideline properties in the property pane By defaultthe secondary guidelines inherit the spacing properties from the primaryguideline

Rebar shape placing toolTekla Structures 2017i introduces a new tool for creating rebar sets Rebarshape placing tool for rebar sets is similar to Reinforcing Bar Shape Catalogfor reinforcing bar groups with new useful functionality and improvedusability

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 17 Reinforcement improvements

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 18: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Rebar shape placing tool is available on the Concrete tab under Rebar set

With Rebar shape placing tool you can reinforce both parts and pour objectsusing predefined bar shapes The rebar sets you create may extend acrosssingle or multiple objects

You can easily select cross sections or object faces that you want to reinforceand then using a preview and direct modification place rebar sets in themodel

For more information see Create a rebar set using Rebar shape placing tool

Improvements in Rebar shape catalogIn Tekla Structures 2017i the bar shape preview in the Reinforcing Bar ShapeCatalog dialog box has been updated

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 18 Reinforcement improvements

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 19: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

For example

For more information see Create a reinforcing bar group using Rebar shapecatalog

14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layoutsLayout editor is a completely new way to edit your table layouts where thetable layout of a drawing can be edited directly on a drawing In the layouteditor mode you can select which tables you want to include in the tablelayout and where to place the tables You can also adjust the table scalerotation and overlapping with views Layout editor was added between mainreleases in Tekla Structures 2017 SP3 with the same features as describedhere

When the layout editor mode is active you can see the drawing but only editthe table layout You cannot edit the drawing content views or properties andmost of the commands on the ribbon are not available Drawing contentneeds to be visible so that you can see how the layout items relate to otherdrawing content at least in the current drawing

When you save a layout with a new name no new files for the table layout arecreated The layout is a part of the drawing layout file

If you need to edit the individual tables in your table layout you can open andedit the tables in Template Editor

You can apply the modified table layout to one particular drawing or tomultiple drawings at once

bull To open the Layout editor on the drawing mode File menu click Editors--gt Layout editor

You can also open the Layout editor in any of the following ways

bull Select and right-click an existing table in a drawing and select Open Layouteditor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 19 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 20: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull Double-click an existing table and select Edit drawing layout To edit atable select Edit template in Template Editor Note that this functionalitymight be disabled by your company settings

In the layout editor mode the Layout editor pane is shown on the right

The Layout editor button on the right indicates that the Layouteditor is active

In Layout editor you can

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 20 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 21: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull Show the table names on the tables

bull Show hidden tables

bull Search for available tables

bull Add new graphical Template Editor templates key plans and DWGDXFfiles

bull Refresh the tables (templates) in a drawing in layout editor mode and indrawing mode

bull Adjust the table properties Scale Rotation and Overlap with views(which was called Transparency in the old Tables dialog box)

bull Select a table in the table layout by selecting a table in the Current tableslist When you select a table in the table layout the table gets selected inthe Current tables list

bull Move re-anchor and rotate tables and delete unnecessary tables

bull Anchor tables to a needed location and offset them from the anchoringpoint by moving them

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 21 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 22: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull Save your changes by overwriting the current table layout or by creating anew table layout with a new name

When you save a new table layout it is saved inside the drawing layout nonew files are created

For more information about the Layout editor see Edit the layout directly ona drawing

Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the oldLayout dialog boxThe Layout editor is mainly meant for customizing existing table layoutsdirectly quickly and easily The old drawing Layout dialog box and layoutediting functionality is still available and more advanced layout editing stillneeds to be done through the Layout dialog box Note that

bull Fixed sizes and calculated sizes mapping is available through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull View placement set-up Margins and spaces can be set through the oldLayout dialog box only

bull In Layout editor you can only create new table layouts by modifyingexisting table layouts and saving them with a new name You cannot createa drawing layout from scratch in Layout editor you always need to havean existing layout to start with However you can edit a drawing layout thatonly has a name and no table layouts defined You can create new layoutsfrom scratch through the old Layout dialog box only

The image below compares the old table layout editing with the new Layouteditor and shows where you can find the old features in the new editor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 22 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 23: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

For more information about the old way of working with table layouts seeCreate a new drawing layout add table layouts and tables

Disable template and table layout editingBy default you are allowed to edit drawing templates and table layouts It ispossible to prevent the template and table layout editing by setting theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE intheDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Whenyou do this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 23 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way toedit table layouts

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 24: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out picturesWith the new Rebar group dimensioning Rebar group marking Drawrebar pull-outs and Rebar pull-out picture and marking applications youcan efficiently create quality reinforcement drawings according to the marketrequirements These applications are located in the Applications section inthe Applications amp components catalog

Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application

The Rebar group dimensioning application offers different styles forpresenting rebar group dimension lines and dimension marks flexibly Forexample you can mark and dimension multiple stirrups at one go

bull On the Parameters tab define the appearance and contents of thedimensions You can also define the content of the stirrup dimensionmarks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 24 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 25: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull On the Extra marks tab create an extra mark in front of or behind thedimension line

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 25 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 26: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull On the Advanced settings tab define the offsets spaces and cc distancesfor the stirrup dimension marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 26 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 27: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull On the Rebar lines tab define the generation settings and the appearanceof the leader lines belonging to the stirrup dimensions

For detailed instructions and examples see Dimension rebars with Rebargroup dimensioning application

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 27 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 28: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Add reinforcement marks with Rebar group marking application

The Rebar group marking application offers different styles to create marksto rebar groups and distribution areas flexibly

bull On the Geometry tab define the shape and position of the rebar markand mark line and leader line settings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 28 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 29: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull On the Mark 1 Mark 2 and Mark 3 tabs define the content for the rebarmark such as the diameter and the cc distances You can have threeseparate marks with the desired content within one rebar mark

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 29 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 30: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull On the Lines and symbols tab define the generation settings and thelayout of the lines and symbols of the rebar mark

For detailed instructions and examples see Add reinforcement marks withRebar group marking application

Draw rebar pull-outs with Draw rebar pull-outs application

The Draw rebar pull-outs application creates exploded drawings ofreinforcement by using the settings defined in the Rebar pull-out picture andmarking application or in associative notes The application can be used forcreating pull-out pictures automatically for multiple rebars at one go To

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 30 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 31: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

optimize flexible working with different types of drawings use Draw rebarpull-outs together with Rebar pull-out picture and marking

This application creates rebar pull-out pictures based on the objects that youselect You can select

bull Reinforcement Bending shapes are only created for the selected rebars

bull Parts Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected concrete part

bull Views Bending shapes are created for rebars in the selected drawing view

bull A drawing from the Drawing List Bending shapes are created for rebars inthe selected drawings

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withDraw rebar pull-outs application

Draw rebar pull-out pictures with Rebar pull-out picture and markingapplication

With the Rebar pull-out picture and marking application you can visualizerebars by using bending shapes Bending shapes can be positioned both

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 31 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 32: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

inside and outside the concrete shape You can also add marks to bendingshapes containing information about the rebar

bull On the Rebar tab define the representation and the location of thebending shape and the hook directions

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 32 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking andpull-out pictures

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 33: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull On the Marks tab define the content appearance and the position of themarks associated with the bending shape

For detailed instructions and examples see Draw rebar pull-out pictures withRebar pull-out picture and marking application

16 Other drawing improvementsTekla Structures 2017i comes with many important improvements in manyfeatures such as drawing speed partial profile representation adjustable markand text background mark rotation GA plan view level marks automaticsnapshots section view creation spiral beam dimensioning and marks andprinting

Speed improvementsbull Some drawing templates were very slow to open Earlier the cancelling

message box at drawing opening just showed that objects were renderedNow the message box also shows when tables are being updated and youcan cancel the opening faster

bull GA drawing cloning is now faster

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 33 Other drawing improvements

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 34: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull Cast unit drawings of big cast units that contain many small section andordetail views are now faster to open

Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and locationnow adjustableYou can now adjust the length and location of the part symbol when you usethe part representation option Symbol with partial profile in drawing partproperties on drawing view and object level

bull Adjust the length in the Length box The default value is 1000 mm

bull Adjust the location in the Offset from middle point box The default valueis 0 mm

Example of using the default settings

Example after adjusting the length and the offset

Adjustable mark and text backgroundYou can now select whether to use opaque or transparent background in

bull dimension marks

bull associative notes

bull drawing texts

bull marks (for parts bolts neighbor parts levels connections reinforcementneighbor reinforcement surface treatment pour objects)

The new setting Background mask is located in the properties dialog box oftexts marks and notes The option Opaque hides the area of the drawing thatis covered by the mark or text whereas the option Transparent shows thedrawing content in the mark or text background so that drawing linework isvisible The new setting is available for all drawing types in drawing view andobject level properties

Example of a part mark set to Transparent

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 34 Other drawing improvements

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 35: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Example of a part mark set to Opaque

Limitation The background mask does not work for weld marks

Mark rotationYou can now rotate marks in all drawing types on all property levels using thenew Rotation option in the mark properties dialog box

The new option is available for the following mark types

bull part marks

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 35 Other drawing improvements

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 36: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull neighbor part marks

bull bolt marks

bull surface treatment marks

bull connection marks

bull pour object marks

bull associative notes

Level marks in GA drawingsIn Tekla Structures 2017i level marks in GA drawings show the real level of thepart also in plane views (XY views) You can add a level mark without a leaderline by selecting the new Leader line option None

Below is an example showing concrete stairs marked with level marks in aplane view Leader line is set to None

Placing improvementsbull Weld marks are now be placed inside the part area regardless of the

protection settings

bull Bolts are now protected on single bolt accuracy instead of bolt groupaccuracy

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 36 Other drawing improvements

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 37: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawingsUse the new Toggle graphical object dimensions command to hide thedimensions of the graphical objects in drawings To turn the dimensions offand back on use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+d or find the command by nameusing the Quick Launch

By default the dimensions are visible

When the dimensions are visible a small d is displayed on the status bar

For more information about hiding and showing drawing objects see Show orhide drawing objects

Scale option in Text file propertiesIn the Text file properties dialog the Scale settings tells how much the rtfcontent should be scaled

If you define 1 as the scale the letters will keep the same size as the letters inthe original rtf file

Dashed hardware line scalingSince Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 37 Other drawing improvements

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 38: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dashed hardware line scaleis the same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardwarelines work in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

Create snapshots at drawing creationYou no longer need to open a drawing and save it to create a snapshot nowyou can create a drawing snapshot automatically at drawing creationSnapshots are created automatically when you have set the new advancedoption XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION to TRUE inthe Drawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box Thedefault values is FALSE

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

New warning message at section view creationIn Tekla Structures 2017i the following warning message is displayed if you tryto create a section view and you pick a point outside a view You cannotcreate a section view from outside a view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 38 Other drawing improvements

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 39: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

New commands available in Project Viewer configurationThe commands Create section view Create curved section view and Addlevel mark are now available in Project Viewer configuration drawings tohelp in studying the drawings The changes that you make disappear whenyou close the drawing You can use these commands through Quick Launchand also create keyboard shortcuts for them

Printing improvements

Print preview hidden by default

The print preview is now disabled by default You can display the print previewby clicking the preview area

Printing errors written in a log file

All printing errors are now written to a log file in the model folder logsDPMPrinter_ltusernamegtlog

New way to show corrupted images in printouts

Corrupted image files in drawings are now replaced by a rectangle and crossplaceholder in printouts

PDF file names

Earlier you could use invalid characters in PDF file names which preventedthem from printing Now any invalid characters are automatically replaced byunderscores (_)

Printing from large models

The speed of drawing printing and PDF output is no longer affected by the sizeof the model so printing is now faster with big models

17 Template Editor improvementsWe have made some improvements in Template Editor to make it moreversatile and flexible

Access external files in templates

bull You can now access external files in templates You need to create a textfile containing the required data which you can then access from atemplate Include a space at the end of each line in the otherwise the filewill not be read

You might want to use this feature for company name changes or toquickly add comments to items in a table for example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 39 Template Editor improvements

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 40: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull Value field rule allows you to define a file name and to pick a certainposition inside a file This feature can be used in row rules and in value fieldformulas

bull You can use ASCII files for the needed data Tekla Structures searches forthe files in the following search order model project firm and system

bull The format for reading files is the following fvf (ltfile_namegtltkey_value_of_rowgt ltcolumn_numbergt)

NOTE The external file should be located in the same folder as the templatethat it is referring to or in one of the folders defined by the followingvariables XS_PROJECT XS_FIRM XS_SYSTEM or XS_PROFDB If thefile is in the model folder it will also be read

Example of a valid data file

fvfUse this function to find a value in the external fileParameters file name row column numberThe following function gets the profile P20(200x1200) fromthe third column (3) in the external filehollowcore_slab_dimdat

CopyField

The CopyField command copies values from any location This works only forsingle value rows not for multiple row results You can copy a value from

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 40 Template Editor improvements

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 41: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull a row to another row

bull a sub-row to an upper row

bull an upper row to a sub-row

bull a row to a header

bull a row to a footer

bull a header to a row

bull a footer to a row

bull a Sum field

Value field formulas

bull Value field formulas now have similar options as row rule formulas

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 41 Template Editor improvements

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 42: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Support for multiple lines of text

bull You can now enter multiple lines of text in the Text Properties dialog box

Support for multiple lines of values

bull You can now enter multiple lines of values in the Name field in the ValueField Properties dialog box You also need to enter the number of linesThe lines will be reserved even if you do not enter multiple lines

To get the end result to go to multiple lines press Enter at the end of therow

Profile + n+ GetValue(PROFILE)If you do not press Enter and if the value does not fit in one value field celldue to length limitations the value continues to the next line if you haveset the line count to more than 1 and the row height allows that

Organize data in columns

You can now organize data in columns that start from top left top rightbottom left or bottom right These settings can be modified in the RowProperties dialog box To use columns select the Use columns check boxand then define the order

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 42 Template Editor improvements

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 43: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Content browser improvements

bull You can now adjust the height of the Content browser pane located onthe left side of the Template Editor main window

bull The Content browser pane can now only be docked to left or right Earlieryou could also dock it to top and bottom which made it difficult to use

bull You can now change the width of the pane by undocking it changing thewidth by dragging the borders and then docking it again

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 43 Template Editor improvements

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 44: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Refresh the work area

bull The usability of moving graphical objects front or back is improved whenitems are moved in Content browser the changes are visible immediatelyEarlier the work area did not refresh properly

Sample templates

bull You can now create a sample template and save it for later use

bull Global settings including the templates are located in nttpledsettings

bull To create a template of a template

1 In Template Editor select File --gt New and select a graphical templateor a textual template

2 Go to File --gt Template --gt Save and give a name for your new sampletemplate

More characters allowed in formulas and rules

bull The character limitation in formulas and rules is now 4000 charactersSpaces are also counted as characters Earlier the limitation was 2000characters

For more information about Template Editor see Template Editor UsersGuide

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 44 New DWGDXF drawing export

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 45: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

18 New DWGDXF drawing exportYou can now export Tekla Structures drawings to 2D DWG and DXF formatusing the new DWG export You can export several drawings at a time

The new DWGDXF export is object based and not line based In the new DWGexport if you export a part that is drawn using hidden line types the result is arectangular object drawn with a dashed line In the old line-based DWG exportthe result would be many separate short straight lines Now hatches are alsoexported as hatch objects in CAD and not separate lines

In the new DWGDXF export you can

bull easily set layers for different objects and separate mark frames from marktext and leader lines for example

bull separate different parts from another by using filters

bull use layers that have been predefined by standard CAD layer settings

bull use base points and model coordinates

bull embed images in the export file so that the images are no longer exportedas links

You can start the export from

bull the model File menu by clicking Export --gt Drawings and selecting thedrawings from the displayed Drawing List

bull the Drawing List by selecting the drawings that you want to export right-clicking and selecting Export

bull the drawing File menu when a drawing is open by clicking Exportdrawings

Options tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 45 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 46: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull You can pick another drawing from the list at the top Click Refreshpreview for the drawing preview

bull You can export drawings to DWG and DXF and define the DWG version tobe used in the export

bull By default the files are exported to the PlotFiles folder under thecurrent model folder but you can change the file location

bull You can define a specific prefix or suffix to be used in the file name

bull The DWG export supports the following drawing-specific advanced optionswhich you can use to modify the name of the exported file

XS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_AXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_CXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_GXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_MXS_DRAWING_PLOT_FILE_NAME_WFor more information about the values that you can give to these optionssee Customize print output file names

bull Embed images inside the file embeds all images inside the export file Noextra image files are created in the export

bull Drawing as snapshot to CAD model space exports all included objects tothe model space and paper space of a CAD file Model and globalcoordinates and paper space switch in the layer settings will be ignored

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 46 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 47: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull Define the scale for the exported DWG in the Scale box which is onlyavailable if you have selected the Drawing as snapshot to CAD modelspace check box

For example if you have a drawing between the coordinates 00 and 800and you define a scale value 5 the resulting DWG is 5 times bigger and theDWG is located between the coordinates 00 and 4000

In another example if you have set the drawing view scale in TeklaStructures to 150 and wish to export the drawing in 11 scale using exportoption scale value 50 will produce the desired result

If you set the advanced option XS_EXPORT_DRAWING_TRY_TO_KEEP_LOCATION to TRUE Tekla Structurestries to keep the DWG origin in the same position as the drawing vieworigin This can only be done in plan views and elevation views If thedrawing has more than one plan view or elevation view Tekla Structuresplaces the DWG origin in the bottom-left corner of the drawing frame

bull If you select Ungroup objects in blocks graphical objects are exported asindividual objects not added to blocks For example a line hatch andrectangle will be a DWG object line hatch and rectangle rather than ablock When this option is selected the option Update Tekla Structureslinework only is disabled

bull In Model space coordinates select one of the following

bull Local export to the 0 point in the CAD coordinate system

bull Model align Tekla Structures the 0 point with CAD 0 point and rotatethe CAD coordinate system accordingly in X and Y coordinates

bull Base point match the selected base points with CAD 0 point androtate the CAD coordinate system accordingly

bull Update Tekla Structures linework only updates the Tekla Structuresdrawing content and keeps other content that is created in a CAD softwareintact in the same file Blocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will beupdated

This setting is shown if you have set the advanced option XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in the Exportcategory in the Advanced Options dialog box

bull For more information and details about DWG export settings on theOptions tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

Layer rules tab

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 47 New DWGDXF drawing export

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 48: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull On the Layer rules tab you can define explicitly the layers where differentmodel and drawing objects or parts of objects are exported to Forexample you can separate outline from fills and hatches

You can also define here whether the line color style and weight will beused from Tekla Structures settings or from the specified DWG templatelayer settings Note that Tekla Structures line weight style and colors stayas you see them in the Tekla Structures drawing and there is nofunctionality to modify them just for the DWG export

bull For more information and details about layer rules and options on theLayer rules tab see Export a drawing to 2D DWGDXF

19 Base point improvementsThe base points were introduced already in Tekla Structures 2016i The basepoint functionality has been improved further and now you can set one basepoint to be the base point for the whole project inquire base point valuesusing template attributes and use base points in drawings

Set the project base point

You can set one base point to be the project base point in one of the followingways

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 48 Base point improvements

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 49: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull Select a new project base point from the Location by list in the Projectproperties pane This can be either a base point or the model origin

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 49 Base point improvements

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 50: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull In the Base point dialog box select a new project base point from the listat the top and then select the Project base point check box at the bottom

Note that it is not recommended to change the project base point temporarilyduring a project

New template attributes for project base point values

In Tekla Structures 2017i there are new template attributes available forreporting the base point values

bull You can add the ending _PROJECT at the end of certain attributes to getthe project base point value or the ending_BASEPOINT to get the currentbase point value For a list of template attributes where you can use theseendings see Base point in reports and templates

bull The ending _PROJECT provides relative base point values and if it is notset relative model origin values

bull The ending _BASEPOINT provides values in the current base point

Base points in drawings

You can now use base points in drawings

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 50 Base point improvements

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 51: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull Base point data can be used in drawings on drawing and view level to setthe coordinate system The base point can be used instead of the datumoffset

bull You can select the base in the Location by list on the Attributes 2 tab inview properties

bull When the base point is set the level attributes and template attributes inmarks attributes provide values in a specific base-point-defined coordinatesystem

bull When the base point is set on the drawing level you can use attributesending with _BASEPOINT in drawing templates

110 New Excel export for reference model versionchangesWhen the reference model change management is active you can now exportthe contents of the changes list into an Excel file You can select if the exportedExcel file contains all properties or changed properties only The information isexported in the current language

bull To export the Excel file In the Change detection section of the reference

model side pane click Export to Excel After this define the needed

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 51 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 52: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

settings in the Export data to Excel dialog box When you are ready clickExport

bull Template Select a new Excel template for the export

bull Export without column headers If you do not want to show thechanges list column headers in the Excel sheet select this option

bull Export details Exports all property details Property details are showncollapsed by default When you open the collapsed details by clickingthe plus (+) button all details are listed under titles Name Old valueand New value

bull Changed details only Only exports those property details that havechanged between reference model versions

The changes list is exported to an Excel sheet Objects that you filter out usingcomparison set filtering are not exported The exported file contains thefollowing columns

bull Status

bull Name

bull profile

bull Material

bull Type

bull GUID

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasnot been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 52 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 53: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details check box hasbeen selected If you include details in the export all property details arelisted and the detail rows are by default collapsed You can open the details byclicking the plus (+) button

Example of the exported Excel sheet when the Export details and Changeddetails only check boxes have been selected

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 53 New Excel export for reference model versionchanges

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 54: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

IFC4 - New version of IFC standardThe new version of the IFC standard IFC4 provides some advantages to thecurrently used IFC2x3 format when the new features are taken fully into useWhile the IFC4 export and import are not certified yet the IFC2x3 still providesbetter quality data transfer between different BIM tools IFC4 was alreadyavailable in Tekla Structures 2017 SP1 now there are some more optionsavailable in the dialog box and the whole functionality has been developedfurther

bull Before you can start the IFC4 export in Tekla Structures you need to set theadvanced option XS_IFC4_EXPORT_PLEASE to TRUE inteklastructuresini

bull To start the IFC4 export on the File menu click Export --gt IFC4

IFC4 contains the following new and improved features compared to theIFC2x3 export

bull In the IFC4 export there are two new export types available

bull The Reference view is intended to support the referencing workflowand the exported files can be used as reference files and viewed in aviewer The Reference view export type is not meant to be used forconversion to native objects

The export type Reference view also exports cuts and openings Theyare considered reference information and that is why they are notshown in IFC file viewers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 54 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 55: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull For conversion purpose there is another export type Design transferview Design transfer view is intended for the handover workflowmeaning import for further editing This requires the conversion of theIFC entities into native objects One example is the takeover of thestructural engineering model (or part of it) into the basis of thestructural detail modeling The IFC object conversion will be used forconverting the IFC entities to Tekla Structures native objects Typicallythe import and conversion are only needed a couple of times or evenonce only The result may require some rework to accomplish a propermodel

bull The dialog box has a new look and feel All options are now on one pagenot on several tabs

bull The basic functionality is the same as that of the IFC2x3 export

bull The Layer names as setting now supports also phases and attributes inaddition to part names

bull You can export a default set of properties or a minimum set of properties

bull Default exports the default set of properties

bull Minimum exports the minimum set of properties required by thebuildingSMART IFC standard

bull You can export flat wide beams as plates

bull You can also use locations from Organizer which means that you use thespatial hierarchy created in Organizer in export

bull After the export an info dialog box is displayed In this dialog box you canopen the folder where the exported IFC model is stored and view the logfile in a browser The log file gives detailed information about the exportprocess exported entities and errors during the export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 55 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 56: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Limitations in IFC4 export

bull The export is not certified by buildingSMART and may therefore havesyntax and content issues

bull The user interface does not provide all the features included in the IFC2x3export user interface

bull Rebars created by using the rebar set commands are not exported to IFC4

bull The Reference view is intended to be used for design coordination and forreferencing workflow Due to the API change all the needed pieces of datamay not be available and therefore the resulting IFC model may beincomplete

bull We do not recommend using IFC4 in production projects yet

Improvements in IFC object conversion

New colors in IFC object conversion

The IFC object conversion list now has more distinctive colors

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 56 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 57: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull If there is an error in the conversion the object is marked as lila on theconversion list and in the model view

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 57 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 58: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull Converted objects appear as blue on the conversion list and in the modelview When you reopen the conversion change management the objectsappear gray

112 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovementsTrimble Connector now has a new markup functionality and there are alsosome improvements in Unitechnic (79) NC and BVBS export

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 58 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 59: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Trimble Connector improvements

New Trimble Connect ribbon tab and Quick Launch commands

bull You can now use ribbon commands to launch Trimble Connect DesktopTrimble Connect Web and Trimble Connect

bull Now you can also launch these applications using Quick Launch

bull You need to login using your Trimble Identity to open Trimble ConnectDesktop Trimble Connect Web or Trimble Connect For moreinformation and to log in see httpconnecttrimblecom

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Web

bull Trimble Connect Web opens the Trimble Connect project attached tothe Tekla Structures model

bull If you have attached a project the project activity page is opened

bull If you have not attached a projectTrimble Connect main page isdisplayed

bull When you launch Trimble Connect Desktop

bull Trimble Connect Desktop opens the desktop project attached to thecurrent Tekla Structures model

bull If you have not attached a project Trimble Connect Projects page isopened

bull If you have not installed Trimble Connect Desktop the web pageTrimble Connect Applications will be opened There you can downloadTrimble Connect Desktop

bull When you launch Trimble Connect

bull Trimble Connect opens and you can attach a project if you have notdone that earlier For more information about using Trimble Connectsee Trimble Connector

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 59 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 60: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

New markups in Trimble Connector ToDo notes

You can now create ToDo markups in Trimble Connect and show the markupsin Tekla Structures and in Trimble Connect

To create a markup in your ToDo open a Tekla Structures model and a Trimble Connect project create the markups in the model create a ToDoselect the related model objects from the model and save the ToDo

For more information about creating the markups see Create markups inToDo notes

The markup toolbar contains the following buttons

bull removes all clip planes from all model views

bull removes all markups from the model

bull creates a measurement markup In the model pick two points andthen a point to place the measurement You can pick points edges or partfaces

bull creates a cloud markup In the model pick the cloud center and aposition on the cloud edge Tekla Structures creates the cloudperpendicular to the view plane defined by the center location you picked

bull creates a line markup In the model pick the start point and the endpoint The arrow is created at the start point

bull creates a text markup consisting of text or UDAReport attributeand a leader line Type the text or a prefix in the markup text box select aUDA or Report attribute from the list pick the leader line start point andthen pick a location for the text

To add more UDA or Report attributes in your own attributes list or addnew attributes to the Text markup attribute options list so that they areavailable for selection click the Maintain text markup attribute options

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 60 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 61: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

button in the bottom-right corner The Text markup attribute optionsdialog box is displayed

Here you can select the UDA or Report attributes that you want to add inmarkups and add new attributes using the options at the top To add anassembly attribute remember to select the assembly check box The plus(+) button adds the defined attribute in the list

bull creates a pencil or freehand markup In the model pick a start pointmove the mouse pointer to create the shape that you want (do not holddown the left mouse button) and pick the end point Tekla Structurescreates the markup perpendicular to the view plane defined by the startpoint you picked

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 61 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 62: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Unitechnik (79) improvementsbull You can now add spacer type information to the first layer of the

reinforcement (Unitechnik reinforcement type 1) The spacer type is addedto the respective spacer type block in the rodstock within the Unitechnikfile You can do this by using the Spacer type setting on theReinforcement tab The options are

Automatic Calculates the spacer type automatically according to the coverthickness The cover thickness is divided by 5 and rounded up to thenearest integer For example if the cover thickness is 21 - 25 mm thespacer type is 5 and if it is 26 - 30 mm the spacer type is 6

User defined spacer type Enter the spacer type to be input in all firstlayer rebars

No Leaves 0 as spacer type

bull You can now set the rotation of the mesh plane in the export file by usingthe new option Turned to pallet of the setting Export meshes as on theReinforcement tab When you select this option all meshes will beindividually rotated in line with the pallet axes

bull On the embeds tab you can now specify embed Z coordinate positions tobe set as Z = 0 Then all exported mountparts will be plotted on the level ofthe pallet In the spec_assemblies_deftxt file the special assemblysymbol plotting for Z=0 is pallet for Minimum to pallet bottom and forStart point middle

bull There are two more new settings on the embeds tab Using All cutouts ascorner symbols you can export rectangular cutouts as 4 corner symbolmount parts You can define the size of the symbol in the dialog box

Using Opening with corner symbols you can specify classes of embedsfor openings that will be exported with corner symbols instead of mountpart symbols

BVBS improvementsIn BVBS export any tapered groups where the bar legs have the same lengthare now exported as a normal group If the length of the legs varies linearly orregularly the bars are exported as stepped bars regardless of the group typeor spacing type

If you set the option Export stepped bars as separate items to Yes steppedbars are exported as separate items with sub-item numbers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 62 Trimble Connector and other interoperabilityimprovements

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 63: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

NCDSTV improvementsbull You can now select whether to convert I profiles to T profiles when a flange

is missing by using the new setting Convert I profile to T profile whenflange is missing located on the Advanced Options tab

bull On the same tab the new optionSkip unnecessary points allows you toselect whether to keep or skip the points that are almost collinear

113 Tekla Model Sharing improvementsManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing is a tool for companyadministrators to manage shared models Administrators can now useManagement Console to restore shared models by deleting the modelversions that are causing problems In addition Tekla Model Sharing containsseveral performance and speed improvements

Removing versions from shared models and reverting toprevious model versionManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing provides a web-based accessfor administrators to manage all shared models in an organization UsingManagement Console for Tekla Model Sharing requires a valid Trimble Identitywith administrator rights

Locking a shared model for investigation and deleting model versions

It may sometimes be necessary to lock a model for investigation to identity amodel version that causes problems and to find the last valid version Forexample a user may have accidentally deleted too many objects and it needsto be investigated which version has these changes Locking the model cansave a lot of time and prevent further issues as the users of the model cannotwrite out changes while the model is locked The administrator can name oneuser as the lock owner who can investigate and identify the problem in themodel

While the model is locked the sharing commands in Tekla Structures areavailable as follows

bull The Read in and Write out buttons have yellow arrows Only the lock owner can use these commands

bull On the File menu the Read in Write out Create baseline and Userscommands are available for the lock owner

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 63 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 64: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

bull In the Shared models dialog box the Edit model Manage users and

Remove model from cloud commands and joining a particularmodel are available for the lock owner

For other users the sharing commands are not available

When the lock owner finds the model version that causes problems theadministrator can delete the model version in Management Console for TeklaModel Sharing If the model has newer versions Management Console deletesthese versions as well After the versions have been deleted the administratorunlocks the model If a user of the shared model has already read in or writtenout any of the deleted versions the Write out and Read in buttons have red

arrows for the user and the user needs to rejoin the model

Reverting to a previous version

It is also possible to revert to an earlier version of the model without furtherinvestigating the model The administrator can lock the model delete theversions that are not needed or that contain errors and then unlock themodel

Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance andspeed

Selecting sharing service at start sharing and joining a model

When the on-premises sharing service is enabled you need to activate theservice when you use Tekla Model Sharing for the first time You can set upand use an on-premises service connection or you can use the Tekla service

Tekla Structures remembers the service you selected so that the same serviceis used the next time you use Tekla Model Sharing unless you select to useanother service This makes connecting to the service faster The Tekla ModelSharing on-premises server requires a separate license and installation

Faster conflict resolution

In Tekla Model Sharing optimized model sharing conflict resolution is nowalways in use for components with many dependencies The conflict solutionthat was available in previous Tekla Structures versions is not used in TeklaStructures 2017i anymore

Improved checking of incrementally shared databases

The compatibility of incrementally shared databases is now checked whenopening a shared model If the database file versions do not match the TeklaStructures model (xslibdb1 environmentdb options_modeldb

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 64 Tekla Model Sharing improvements

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 65: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

options_drawingsdb) Tekla Structures displays a warning message Thedatabase files need to be replaced before sharing can be used

If Tekla Structures finds a matching backup file it will be used Otherwise thewarning message indicates the version (packet number) from which the filesneed to be copied

Improved performance for read in

Tekla Model Sharing performance has been improved when reading in manypackets in a model that contains a large number of files

114 Component improvements

Spiral beams in custom componentsYou can now use spiral beams in custom components The following objectproperties have been added to the Custom component browser

bull Rotation angle

bull Total rise

bull Twist angle at start

bull Twist angle at end

You can bind spiral beam handles to a plane For example you can bind thestart point handle to the outer surface of a cylinder When you increase theradius of the cylinder the spiral beams radius changes accordingly so that thedistance between the start point and cylinder stays the same

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 65 Component improvements

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 66: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

You can also link variables to the spiral beam object properties For example

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 66 Component improvements

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 67: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

For more information on spiral beams see Create a steel spiral beam andCreate a concrete spiral beam

Change the language of the dialog editorYou can now change the language of the custom component dialog editorPreviously the dialog editor user interface was always shown in Englishregardless of the language you had selected If you select the Auto option thedialog editor automatically follows the language of the Tekla Structures userinterface

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 67 Component improvements

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 68: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Concrete components

Wall layout

Wall layout tools is a set of components that you can use for creating andmodifying all common types of concrete walls such as solid precast panelsfrom single layers to double walls and sandwich walls and different wallstructures that are cast on the site You can now use the Wall layout maincomponent from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Panel --gt Wall layout

Floor layout

Floor Layout creates floors built of precast filigree and hollow core slabs Youcan now use Floor Layout from the Concrete tab on the ribbon click Slab --gtFloor layout

On the Advanced tab you can now set the minimum required width of asingle neck on either side of the slab when there is a large opening in the slab

If either of the necks on the sides of the opening is smaller than the definedneck width the neck is cut off completely In addition the total width of thenecks must be bigger than the minimum slab middle zone neck widthotherwise the slab is split into two separate slabs (the width of the actualopening is the same as the width of the slab)

The handling of the end nose has been improved so that if there are noses onboth sides of the slab these two end noses are checked separately and cut offif the width of the single nose gets smaller than the given minimum requirednose width Earlier the end noses were never cut off no matter how narrowthey were

Rebar end trimming

Rebar end trimming has been changed so that now it is possible to modifythe end covers of rebars that have end anchors created with Rebar endanchor

The Rebar end trimming dialog box now has two tabs Rebar coupler andRebar end anchor On the new Rebar end anchor tab you can define theend cover thickness and anchor offset gap at the bar end By selecting Yes inthe Get free gap from auto attribute file option you can control the anchor

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 68 Component improvements

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 69: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

offset with the attribute tables (anchorcsv) in column AnchorOffset Givethe bar size specific values at each row

If the anchor offset is not defined the default value is the same as the anchoroffset defined in the Rebar end anchor component

Other improvementsbull You can now bind bent plate handles to a plane in custom components

115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbarYou can now add user-defined attributes (UDAs) whose type is Float orInteger to the contextual toolbar Previously only UDAs of the type String andOptions were supported

116 Changes in advanced optionsThere are some changes in the advanced options in Tekla Structures version2017i they are listed below

New advanced options

XS_IMPORT_DWG_TEXT_AS_POLYGON

This advanced option can be used when adding DWG files to drawings If youhave problems with fonts in DWG files set this advanced option to TRUE andTekla Structures will import fonts as polygons instead of fonts By default theoption is set to FALSE

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder the user folder

XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION

The setting Update Tekla Structures linework only is only shown in theExport drawings to DWGDXF dialog box if you have set the new advancedoption XS_DWG_EXPORT_UPDATE_TS_LINEWORK_OPTION to TRUE in theExport category in the Advanced Options dialog box Update TeklaStructures linework only updates the Tekla Structures drawing content andkeeps other content that is created in a CAD software intact at the same fileBlocks (groups) created by Tekla Structures will be updated Note that youneed to have the same drawing exported already and the layer setup and thelayer template must be the same as during the previous export All CAD lines

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 69 New UDA types supported in the contextualtoolbar

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 70: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

that were added previously will stay in the file and only Tekla Structurescontent will get updated unless editing was done in CAD blocks editor Thedefault value is FALSE

This setting is user specific and it is saved in the optionsbin under the userfolder

Note that if you edit content of a block (CAD object) and then select theUpdate Tekla Structures linework only option the whole block will be re-written and the changes made in CAD will not be kept To keep the changes inCAD you need to explode a block before editing it

For example you may want to use this option if you have added drawing titleblocks in the CAD after the first export of the drawing from Tekla Structuresand want to keep these tables as they are and update only the objects thatexported from Tekla Structures

For more information about the new DWG export see Export a drawing to a2D DWG or DXF file

XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT

If you want to use the old DWGDXF export set the new advanced option XS_USE_OLD_DWG_EXPORT to TRUE in an ini file This advanced option is bydefault set to FALSE

For instructions on using the old export see Export a drawing to 2D DWG orDXF (old export)

XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING

The Show top-in-form face command is now available also for non-concretematerial with the new advanced option XS_SET_FIXEDMAINVIEW_UDA_TO_AFFECT_NUMBERING The allowed optionsare STEEL TIMBER and MISC You can also combine the options use a comma() as a separator

To set which drawing view is used as the main (front) view go to the user-defined properties of a part and select the Fixed drawing main view optionthat you want The options are Top Back Bottom Start End and Front

This advanced option also affects numbering If parts have different optionsselected for Fixed drawing main view they get different assembly positionnumbers

This advanced option is located in the Numbering category in the AdvancedOptions

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about the top-in-form functionality see Show the top-in-form face

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 70 Changes in advanced options

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 71: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

XS_DRAWING_CREATE_SNAPSHOT_ON_DRAWING_CREATION

Set this new advanced option to TRUE in the Drawing Properties category inthe Advanced Options dialog box to create a snapshot of a drawing at thesame time that you create the drawing If you set this option to TRUE you nolonger need to open a drawing to save it to create the snapshot The defaultvalues is FALSE

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

For more information about snapshots see Create and view drawingsnapshots

XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_ PROPERTY_LOADING

To switch off the functionality of loading custom properties from the extensionfolder commonextensionscustomproperties set the new advancedoption XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING to FALSE in astartup ini file using the following command

set XS_ENABLE_FAST_CUSTOM_PROPERTY_LOADING=FALSEWhen you do this the custom properties are loaded from all folders andsubfolders in commonextensions and from the locations defined in XS_EXTENSION_DIRECTORY This may cause performance issues and loadingfailures when custom properties are used

Loading custom properties from commonextensionscustomproperties speeds up the loading process and solves loading problemscaused by other software components in other extension folders

XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE

Since Tekla Structures 2017 dashed hardware lines have not been scaled bypixels and if they were drawn in a corner they started with a line It has notbeen possible to scale dashed hardware lines to make them easier to read onthe screen

Dashed hardware lines are the first couple of lines in the line list

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 71 Changes in advanced options

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 72: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Now these dashed hardware line types are again scaled by pixels by defaultwhich means that they look the same in all zoom levels By setting the newadvanced option XS_SHOW_HARDWARE_DASHED_LINE_IN_PIXEL_SCALE to FALSE in the Drawing Properties category of the Advanced options dialogbox you can activate the new functionality where dash hardware line scale isthe same as in printed and exported drawings and the dashed hardware lineswork in the same way as the custom lines The default value is TRUE Thefunctionality of the custom lines has not changed

This advanced option is model specific and the setting is saved in the optionsdatabase

Changed advanced options

XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK

The functionality of this advanced option has changed and it now affects right-click as well To prevent the template and table layout editing set theadvanced option XS_DISABLE_TEMPLATE_DOUBLE_CLICK to TRUE in theDrawing Properties category in the Advanced Options dialog box When youdo this

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layouts by double-clicking atemplate in a drawing Instead the Drawing properties dialog box will bedisplayed

bull You cannot start editing templates or table layout by right-clicking atemplate in a drawing and selecting the corresponding commands

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 72 Changes in advanced options

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 73: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

By default this advanced option is set to FALSE and you are allowed to editdrawing templates and table layouts

This advanced option is user specific and the setting is saved in optionsbinunder user folder Restart Tekla Structures to activate the new value

Deleted advanced options

XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX

The model-specific advanced option XS_NC_DISABLE_PIECE_IDENTIFICATION_FIX has been removed fromTekla Structures 2017 and upwards

When set to TRUE (default) this advanced option disabled the fix that wasmade in Tekla Structures 110 to DSTV format The fix switched the places ofphase and drawing identification in the DSTV file header to follow the DSTVstandard better

With the new customizable NC file header you can now customize and controlthe order in which information is displayed in a DSTV file The advanced optionis consequently no longer needed and using it could cause a conflict with theuser-defined order of the header information

117 New template attributes

New attributes for parts

IS_BENT_PLATE

The new IS_BENT_PLATE attribute tells whether an object is a bent plate Theattribute returns 1 if the object is a bent plate otherwise it returns 0

IS_SPIRAL_BEAM

The new IS_SPIRAL_BEAM attribute tells whether an object is a spiral beamThe attribute returns 1 if the object is a spiral beam otherwise it returns 0

118 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvementsIn this version of the documentation we have made changes in theorganization of the sections and PDF guides Further instructions on existingfeatures have been added based on requests from our readers

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 73 New template attributes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 74: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

New and removed sectionsPDF guidesIn this version of the documentation we have collected topics related tocustomizing Tekla Structures as a new section (and PDF guide) calledCustomize Tekla Structures The content is largely the same as could befound elsewhere before but we hope it is now easier to find and access

There is also a new section (and PDF guide) for Planning tools which containsthe documentation for Organizer Task Manager Layout Manager etc

The Advanced modeling section (and PDF guide) has been removed as all ofthe content can be now found under the other sections

New workflow examples for Organizer

There are now two new workflow examples for Organizer

bull Example Report areas based on object groups in Organizer whereproperty categories are used for reporting different area calculations forthe selected object groups

bull Example Calculate and report areas based on object type and projectstatus in Organizer where property categories are created based on theproject status and used for reporting the area calculations for the selectedobject groups

Instructions added for toggle groupsbull Instructions on how to create toggle groups for custom component dialog

boxes have now been added as requested by many of our readers Atoggle group contains one or more check boxes without labels for exampleto complement an image

Tekla Structures 2017i release notes 74 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 75: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

2 Disclaimer

copy 2017 Trimble Solutions Corporation and its licensors All rights reserved

This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referencedSoftware Use of the Software and use of this Software Manual are governedby a License Agreement Among other provisions the License Agreement setscertain warranties for the Software and this Manual disclaims otherwarranties limits recoverable damages defines permitted uses of theSoftware and determines whether you are an authorized user of the SoftwareAll information set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forthin the License Agreement Please refer to the License Agreement for importantobligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights Trimbledoes not guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies ortypographical errors Trimble reserves the right to make changes andadditions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise

In addition this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and byinternational treaties Unauthorized reproduction display modification ordistribution of this Manual or any portion of it may result in severe civil andcriminal penalties and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law

Tekla Tekla Structures Tekla BIMsight BIMsight Tekla Civil Tedds SolveFastrak and Orion are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TrimbleSolutions Corporation in the European Union the United States andor othercountries More about Trimble Solutions trademarks httpwwwteklacomtekla-trademarks Trimble is a registered trademark or trademark of TrimbleInc in the European Union in the United States andor other countries Moreabout Trimble trademarks httpwwwtrimblecomtrademarksaspx Otherproduct and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may betrademarks of their respective owners By referring to a third-party product orbrand Trimble does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsementby such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement exceptwhere otherwise expressly stated

Portions of this software

D-Cubed 2D DCM copy 2010 Siemens Industry Software Limited All rightsreserved

Disclaimer 75 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 76: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

EPM toolkit copy 1995-2006 Jotne EPM Technology as Oslo Norway All rightsreserved

Open Cascade Express Mesh copy 2015 OPEN CASCADE SAS All rights reserved

PolyBoolean C++ Library copy 2001-2012 Complex A5 Co Ltd All rights reserved

FLY SDK - CAD SDK copy 2012 VisualIntegritytrade All rights reserved

Teigha copy 2002-2016 Open Design Alliance All rights reserved

CADhatchcom copy 2017 All rights reserved

FlexNet Publisher copy 2014 Flexera Software LLC All rights reserved

This product contains proprietary and confidential technology informationand creative works owned by Flexera Software LLC and its licensors if any Anyuse copying publication distribution display modification or transmission ofsuch technology in whole or in part in any form or by any means without theprior express written permission of Flexera Software LLC is strictly prohibitedExcept where expressly provided by Flexera Software LLC in writingpossession of this technology shall not be construed to confer any license orrights under any Flexera Software LLC intellectual property rights whether byestoppel implication or otherwise

To see the third party open source software licenses go to Tekla Structuresclick File menu --gt Help --gt About Tekla Structures and then click the 3rdparty licenses option

The elements of the software described in this Manual are protected byseveral patents and possibly pending patent applications in the United Statesandor other countries For more information go to page httpwwwteklacomtekla-patents

Disclaimer 76 New documentation sections and otherdocumentation improvements

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 77: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

Index

Rrelease notes 5

77

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index
Page 78: Tekla Structures 2017i release notes Open API release notes The Tekla Open API release notes are included in the Tekla Open API Startup ... Tekla Tekla Structures 2017i release notes

78

  • Contents
  • 1 Tekla Structures 2017i release notes
    • 11 Spiral beams
      • Spiral beams in the model
      • Spiral beams in drawings
        • 12 Modeling improvements
          • Easier way to create views
          • Direct modification improvements
          • New display settings for cast-in-place concrete parts
          • Improvements in pour management
          • Improvements in numbering
          • Indicating the drawing main view face of non-concrete parts in the model
          • Increased polygon point limit
            • 13 Reinforcement improvements
              • Rebar sets in curved structures
              • Secondary guidelines of rebar sets improved
              • Rebar shape placing tool
              • Improvements in Rebar shape catalog
                • 14 Direct table layout editing - Quick and easy way to edit table layouts
                  • Direct layout editing vs layout editing through the old Layout dialog box
                  • Disable template and table layout editing
                    • 15 New tools for rebar dimensioning marking and pull-out pictures
                    • 16 Other drawing improvements
                      • Speed improvements
                      • Symbol with partial profile Symbol length and location now adjustable
                      • Adjustable mark and text background
                      • Mark rotation
                      • Level marks in GA drawings
                      • Placing improvements
                      • Showhide dimensions in graphical objects in drawings
                      • Scale option in Text file properties
                      • Dashed hardware line scaling
                      • Create snapshots at drawing creation
                      • New warning message at section view creation
                      • New commands available in Project Viewer configuration
                      • Printing improvements
                        • 17 Template Editor improvements
                        • 18 New DWGDXF drawing export
                        • 19 Base point improvements
                        • 110 New Excel export for reference model version changes
                        • 111 IFC4 export and other IFC improvements
                          • IFC4 - New version of IFC standard
                          • Improvements in IFC object conversion
                            • 112 Trimble Connector and other interoperability improvements
                              • Trimble Connector improvements
                              • Unitechnik (79) improvements
                              • BVBS improvements
                              • NCDSTV improvements
                                • 113 Tekla Model Sharing improvements
                                  • Removing versions from shared models and reverting to previous model version
                                  • Improvements in Tekla Model Sharing performance and speed
                                    • 114 Component improvements
                                      • Spiral beams in custom components
                                      • Change the language of the dialog editor
                                      • Concrete components
                                      • Other improvements
                                        • 115 New UDA types supported in the contextual toolbar
                                        • 116 Changes in advanced options
                                          • New advanced options
                                          • Changed advanced options
                                          • Deleted advanced options
                                            • 117 New template attributes
                                              • New attributes for parts
                                                • 118 New documentation sections and other documentation improvements
                                                  • New and removed sectionsPDF guides
                                                  • New workflow examples for Organizer
                                                  • Instructions added for toggle groups
                                                      • 2 Disclaimer
                                                      • Index