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Manage references

Tekla Structural Designer
Modified: 31 Oct 2025
2025
Tekla Structural Designer

Manage references

Individual entities in Tekla Structural Designer models are automatically assigned names in accordance with a flexible referencing system. The referencing system is fully customizable and has been specifically designed considering the use of multiple materials within the same model.

Define default references for new projects

  1. On the Home ribbon, click Settings.

    The Settings dialog box opens.

  2. Go to Settings Sets.
  3. Select a suitable settings set in the list, and click >> Active to make it active.
  4. Go to the appropriate sub-page under References:
    1. General: This page is used to define initial values for members and grid lines, and also for selecting the grid line and grid point naming styles.
    2. Groups: This page is used to define the texts used for sub-group names.
    3. Formats: This page is used to define the reference formats applied to each entity type.
    4. Texts: When a reference format includes (characteristic), or (material), this page is used to specify the text displayed for each characteristic and material.
  5. Adjust the way in which the above default references are applied to suit your projects. (See the appropriate topic sections below for further details.)
  6. Click OK.
  7. To start a new project using the new references, on the Home tab, click New.

Modify references in an existing project

  1. On the Home tab, click Model Settings.

    The Model Settings dialog box opens.

  2. Go to the appropriate sub-page under References:
    1. General: This page is used to define initial values for members and grid lines, and also for selecting the grid line and grid point naming styles.
    2. Formats: This page is used to define the reference formats applied to each entity type.
    3. Texts: When a reference format includes (characteristic), or (material), this page is used to specify the text displayed for each characteristic and material.
  3. Adjust the way in which the above references are applied to suit the current project. (See the appropriate topic sections below for further details.)
  4. Click OK.

Basics of reference formats

Reference formats are user definable. Each entity type has its own reference format that has been built using individual components. You can customize the reference format by adding or removing components as required.

See some of the typical components in the following table:

Icon Item Further information
Material Fully user-definable text.
For example:

  • S for Steel

  • C for Concrete

Characteristic Fully user-definable text.
For example:

  • B for Beam

  • C for Column

Start Level Reference The reference of the construction level at end 1 of the member.
End Level Reference The reference of the construction level at end 2 of the member.
Start Point Reference Grid or construction point reference.

The start and end reference points P1 and P2 work from the grids that you define, and from the construction points that have been created automatically when you place members that do not lie between existing points.

Note:

When reference points are constructed using two grid reference points, you must always use a separator.

For example, type A/11 to avoid confusion with A1 and 1.

End Point Reference
Direction Applies for beams only.

  • H for a beam with its first span more closely aligned to building direction 1 than building direction 2.

  • V for a beam with its first span more closely aligned to building direction 2 than building direction 1.
Count Tekla Structural Designer keeps a separate count for each level for each entity type.
Note:

Tekla Structural Designer does not keep a count by material. For example, steel beams and concrete beams are included in the same count on a level.

If the direction prefix is specified, Tekla Structural Designer keeps separate counts for each direction. Direction 1 is defined as entities falling within ± 45 degrees of the horizontal, and Direction 2 ± 45 degrees of the vertical of the global axis.

Not applicable Reinforcement > Bar Layer:
  • T1
  • T2
  • B1
  • B2

  • T1 is the top surface reinforcement in the 1st (outer) layer.

  • T2 is the top surface reinforcement in the 2nd (inner) layer.

  • B1 is the bottom surface reinforcement in the 1st (outer) layer.

  • B2 is the bottom surface reinforcement in the 2nd (inner) layer.

Reinforcement > Bar Size Not applicable
Reinforcement > Center Spacing The center spacing between bars.
Reinforcement > Detailing prefix An item that is typically added in front of the bar size.
Custom text Fixed text that you can include at any position within the reference.

For example:

  • Block C

Separators
  • backslash
  • dash
  • slash
  • space
  • times
Optional items that you can place between items.

Note that:

  • When you create entities of a certain type, the default references from the active settings set are applied.

  • You can modify the syntax of the reference format at any time. Entities created after the changes will adopt the new format.

  • Once entities have been created, they can be further individualized by editing their Name on an entity-by-entity basis.

  • When members are displayed in 2D and 3D views the reference can be shown by selecting Text 2D - Name in Scene Content, similarly the member size can be shown by selecting Text 2D - Attributes.

  • The reference does not include the group reference, geometric shape, and section size as part of the reference descriptor. Separate controls are provided in Drawing Settings to allow this information to be shown in GA drawings.

Modify the reference format syntax

To modify the reference format syntax in the currently open project, open the Model Settings dialog box, else to change the default syntax for new projects, open the Settings dialog box, then:
  1. In the dialog box, go to References > Formats
  2. Click the ... button on the right side of the desired reference format.
  3. Do one of the following:
    To Do this
    Add an extra item to the reference format

    • Click Add... and select the desired item.

      The selected item appears at the end of the reference format.

    To Do this
    Re-order the items in the reference format

    1. Select the item you want to move.

    2. Drag the item to reposition it.

    To Do this
    Add custom text to the reference format

    1. Click Add... and select Custom Text.

    2. Drag the new component to the desired position.

    3. Click the Custom Text component to edit it.

    4. Type the desired text in the box.

    5. Click Set.

    To Do this
    Remove an item from the reference format

    1. Select the item you want to remove.

    2. Drag the item outside the Edit Reference Format dialog box.

  4. Click OK.
Example:

If the reference format for concrete beams is defined as:

Where:

  • = Start Level Reference

  • = B (i.e. the Beam text on the Texts > Characteristics page shown below.)

  • = Count

In an example model the resulting concrete beam references would be displayed as:

If the reference format for concrete beams is redefined as:

Where:

  • = C (i.e. the Concrete text on the Texts > Materials page shown below.)

  • = Characteristic = B

  • = Start Level Reference

  • = Direction

  • = Count

For the same model the resulting concrete beam references would now be displayed as:

Change the text used for the materials and characteristics in the reference format

To modify the texts in the currently open project, open the Model Settings dialog box, else to change the default texts for new projects, open the Settings dialog box, then:
  1. In the dialog box, go to References > Texts.
  2. According to your needs, go to the Characteristics or Materials tab.
  3. Modify the desired text according to your needs.
  4. Click OK.
Example:

If the reference format for steel columns is defined as:

Where:

  • = S (i.e. the Steel text on the Texts > Materials page shown below.)

  • = C (i.e. the Column text on the Texts > Characteristics page shown below.)

  • = Start Point Reference

The resulting steel column references would be displayed as:

  • If the Steel text on Texts > Materials page is edited so that = St

  • and, the Column text on Texts > Characteristics page is edited so that = Col

The resulting steel column references would immediately update to:

Display references in 2D and 3D views

You can see the references for entities of different types in 2D and 3D views by switching on an appropriate label in Scene Content. This is illustrated as follows:
  1. Open the Scene Content side pane
  2. To see the references for “Grid & Construction Lines” or “Slab Items”, select Text2D

    The label is displayed near the middle of each slab item:

    • As shown above, for slab items the Text2D label consists of the slab item reference (i.e. Name), the parent slab, and the slab thickness.
  3. For "Members", or "Walls" etc. select Text 2D - Name

    When viewed in plan, the Text 2D - Name label is displayed above the middle of each member and consists solely of the member's span reference (i.e. Name):

    Note:

    Additional labels can be switched on to display more information. For example, by switching on Text 2D - Attributes member sizes can also be displayed, as shown below. To find out more, see: Scene content entity categories.

Renumber members, walls, slabs, isolated foundations

You can use the Renumber command to simultaneously renumber all entities of a selected type in the model whose reference format includes the count item.

Entity types are initially numbered in the order in which they are created. Renumbering makes the entities easier to find in the model and on drawings.

By default, the Renumber command works from the lowest plane or level upwards. The count starts at 1 and continues sequentially.

  1. Go to Model Settings > References > General and if necessary adjust the initial starting value, and direction that you require the numbering to run.
  2. On the Structure tab of Project Workspace, right-click the branch containing the entity types to be renumbered.
  3. In the context menu, select Renumber.

    Tekla Structural Designer automatically renumbers all entities in the selected branch that include a count in their reference format.

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