New selection tool and other modeling improvements

Tekla Structures
2018
Tekla Structures

New selection tool and other modeling improvements

In Tekla Structures 2018, there is a new tool for selecting objects, and several improvements in construction objects, the Inquire tool, numbering, welds, and shapes.

Select previous objects

Sometimes you need to select again the same objects that you selected previously but have then deselected. For example, you have first selected some objects and moved them, then you have deselected the objects, and now you want to copy the same objects.

You can now better control the object selection with a new command Select previous objects.

To select previously selected objects, do one of the following:

  • On the ribbon, click the down arrow next to thebutton, and then click Select previous objects.

  • Press Alt+P.
  • Use Quick Launch to find the command.

The Select previous objects command is available both in the modeling and in the drawing mode.

Improvements in construction objects

  • You can now change the line type of the construction lines and circles. Use the following model-specific advanced options in the Modeling Properties category:

    Enter an integer value from 1 to 5.

    • 1 =(The default value for construction circles.)
    • 2 =(The default value for construction lines.)
    • 3 =
    • 4 =
    • 5 =

    Redraw the model view after changing the values to update the existing construction objects in the view.

  • The construction points that are on the view plane are now blue, and better visible on the gray background than the previous yellow points.

  • You can now add construction objects to phases.

    For more information about working with phases, see Phase Manager.

  • You can now use the properties of construction objects in filtering. You can filter by phase and type ( Line , Circle , Plane ).

    For more information, see Object properties in filtering and Filter objects.

Improvements in the Inquire tool

When you click the down arrow next toon the ribbon, and then select Point coordinates , the Inquire point coordinates dialog box is displayed. You can then click the Pick button in the dialog box and pick a point in the model to see the coordinates of the point in:

  • Local coordinates
  • Model coordinates (global)
  • Project base point coordinates
  • Current base point coordinates

Improvements in numbering

  • In the Numbering Setup dialog box, you can now select whether the object's phase affects the numbering. If you select the Phase check box, Tekla Structures compares the phases when numbering objects, and gives otherwise identical objects different numbers if the objects belong to different phases.

    For more information, see Define what affects numbering and Adjust the numbering settings.

  • In design group numbering, you can now use letters instead of numbers after the prefix. Specify the allowed letters using the advanced option XS_​VALID_​CHARS_​FOR_​ASSEMBLY_​POSITION_​NUMBERS. By default, letters A–Z are used.

    For more information, see Number parts by design group.

  • Using the new advanced option XS_IGNORE_​CROSSBAR_​LOCATION_​IN_​REBAR_​MESH_​NUMBERING you can define whether the location of the crossing bars (e.g. above or below the main bars) affects the numbering of the reinforcement meshes or not. The default value is FALSE , which means that the crossing bar location is taken into account when meshes are numbered. The otherwise identical meshes receive different numbers if the crossing bars are on the different sides of the main bars.

Improvements in compound welds

  • In Tekla Structures 2018, compound welds can be shown as solid objects in model views. This means that the weld types and now look more realistic in the model.

    For more information, see Set the visibility and appearance of welds and List of weld types.

  • You can now define the size of both welds in compound welds. In weld properties in the property pane, two boxes for Size appear when you select a compound weld type. For example:

  • You can also define the size of both welds in compound welds when you create manual drawing welds. See Other improvements in drawings.
  • In reports of compound welds, you can show the size of the additional weld above line and below line using the new template attributes WELD_ADDITIONAL_SIZE1, WELD_ADDITIONAL_SIZE2.

Improvements in polygon welds

  • Polygon welds can now be double-sided solid model objects, and they may still consist of several segments. Also double-sided welds along the entire part face perimeter can be created.

    When you use the Steel > Weld > Create polygon weld command with both Above line and Below line properties, and pick the polygon points on one side of a part, Tekla Structures automatically searches for the corresponding points on the other side of the part, and creates a double-sided solid polygon weld in the model.

    If needed, you can modify the welds by dragging their handles.

  • You can now use the Steel > Weld > Convert to polygon weld command to convert separate double-sided weld segments to a polygon weld.

    If the welds to be converted consist of more than one polygon, or if there is a different number of weld segments on the sides of the welded part, Tekla Structures does not create the double-sided polygon weld but separate single-sided polygon welds.

  • You can split a selected double-sided polygon weld into two single-sided polygon welds by using the new Split command on the pop-up menu.

Improvements in shapes

Tekla Structures 2018 introduces a new compressed file format .tez for shape geometry files.

By using the .tez format and compressing the shape geometry files, you can save disk space. This is useful if you want to use an older model with many shape files in Tekla Structures 2018.

When you import new shapes to Tekla Structures 2018, Tekla Structures saves the shape geometry files in the \ShapeGeometries subfolder in the current model folder and automatically uses the compressed .tez format.

If an imported shape geometry file has the same name as an existing shape in the model, the imported file overrides the existing shape geometry file, and a .tez file is created instead of an .xml file in the \ShapeGeometries folder.

Tekla Structures 2018 also provides an application that compresses existing shape geometry files. The Compress shape geometries application converts all the shape geometry files stored in the \ShapeGeometries folder from .xml format to the compressed .tez format.

The Compress shape geometries application is available in the Applications & components catalog.

Note:

Compression is a permanent action, and you cannot undo it even if you do not save the model.

Do not compress shape geometry files if you need them in models that you will open using Tekla Structures 2017i or an older version. The .tez files do not work in those versions.

If your project, company, or environment uses a common location for shapes that are used in several Tekla Structures versions including 2017i and older, do not convert those shape geometry files to .tez format. Otherwise the shapes will not work in all versions.

Other modeling improvements

  • When you set values in filter rules, you can now use a new option Multi-select from model.

    Then select multiple objects in the model, and click the middle mouse button to finish selecting. The current values of the selected objects appear, separated with spaces, in the Value cell on the filter row.

  • When you use the View > Navigate > Set view point command, or the keyboard shortcut V , and then pick the view point for rotation, Tekla Structures now uses all active snap switches and theSnap to any position switch. Previously, only the Snap to any position switch was used, and you could accidentally pick a wrong view point.
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