Phase Manager

Use Phase Manager to break a model up into sections.

Phases are often used to indicate erection sequences. You can create reports and views, hide and lock objects, and copy objects from other models, according to their phase number.

For example, you might have a large project which several users work on simultaneously in single-user mode. First create a basic model that includes, for example, the columns. This is phase 1. You then copy this basic model to all users.

Each user then works on a separate part of the building. When a part of the model is completed, you can copy it back to the basic model as a separate phase (phase 2, 3, etc.).

Note:

When you copy objects between models using phases, the target model must have been created using the same or a newer version of Tekla Structures as the source model. You cannot copy from a newer version to an older version.

Divide the model into phases

On the Manage tab, click Phases.

The Phase Manager dialog box appears.
Click Add to create new phases.
Click Set current to make the selected phase the current phase.

From now on, Tekla Structures assigns all objects you create to the current phase. The @ character in front of the phase number indicates the current phase.
Divide the model into phases.
1. To identify the phase of an object, select an object and click Phases by objects.
  
  Tekla Structures selects the phase of the object.
2. To see which objects belong to a certain phase, select a phase from the list and then click Objects by phases.
  
  Tekla Structures highlights the corresponding objects in the model.
3. To change the phase of one or more objects, select the objects, select a phase from the list, and then click Modify phase.
Click OK to save your changes.

Lock and unlock objects in specific phases

To protect model objects from being accidentally modified or deleted, you can lock them. For example, you can lock parts, bolts, welds, and reference models in a Tekla Structures model according to their phase.

When an object is locked, you cannot modify its properties or delete it. You can only change the object’s user-defined attributes that do not affect numbering. If you try to modify or delete a locked object, Tekla Structures displays the following warning message:

"There are locked objects, see report. The operation could not be performed."

On the Manage tab, click Phases.
In the Phase Manager dialog box, select the phases whose objects you want to lock or unlock.
Do one of the following:
- To lock objects, click Lock objects.
  Tekla Structures sets the user-defined attribute Locked to Yes for the objects in the selected phases.
- To unlock objects, click Unlock objects.
  Tekla Structures sets the user-defined attribute Locked to No for the objects in the selected phases.
Note: Note that assemblies, cast units, and pour units are not locked.

For information on how to protect model objects from being accidentally modified in the multi-user mode, see Access rights in multi-user mode.

Define custom phase properties

You can add custom phase properties, which will appear as extra columns in the Phase Manager dialog box.

Define the names of phase properties in the objects.inp file. To use phase properties in reports and templates, use the syntax PHASE.ATTRIBUTE_NAME in the phase property field name.

The default objects.inp file contains a Phase attributes section with syntax examples. For more information, see Properties of the objects.inp file and Define and update user-defined attributes (UDAs).