User coordinate system (UCS)

UCS is a local user coordinate system you can use in a drawing view. It is easier to position drawing objects in view, when you can place objects relative to a user-defined point of origin, or a base point, in the drawing view.

Tekla Structures shows the UCS symbol in the current drawing view, when you create, copy, move, or modify objects.

You can define a different point of origin for the UCS for each drawing view, and change the UCS point of origin as often as you like.

The following example shows several views, each with their own UCS.

Note:

To position an object using the global coordinate system, you need to calculate the coordinates of the object from the point of origin of the drawing, not a drawing view.

Set a new UCS

You can set a new UCS (user coordinate system) using one point or two points.

Open a drawing.
On the Views tab, click User coordsys and click one of the following commands:
- Select Set origin to set the new UCS using one point.
- Select Set origin by two points to set the new UCS using two points.
Tekla Structures displays the UCS symbol with a crosshair marking the center point.
Click the view where you want to place the origin.
If you are using two points, pick a point to define the direction of the x axis.

Toggle between two user coordinate systems

You can toggle between two user coordinate systems that have the same point of origin: the UCS following the axes of the drawing view and the oriented UCS you have created.

To toggle between the coordinate systems, open a drawing, go to the Views tab and click User coordsys > Toggle orientation (Ctrl + T).

Reset UCS

You can reset the UCS to its original position in the current drawing view or in all drawing views.

Do one of the following:


To	Do this
Reset the UCS in the current drawing view	In an open drawing, go to the Views tab, and click User coordsys > Reset current(Ctrl + 1).
Reset the UCS in all drawing views	In an open drawing, go to the Views tab, and click User coordsys > Reset all(Ctrl + 0).