Work with shapes and groups in the shape catalog

The shapes in the shape catalog can be arranged to a hierarchical group structure. The group structure is shown on the left side of the Shape catalog and Select shape dialog boxes. In the Shape catalog dialog box, you can add, modify, and delete groups and sub-groups, and move and copy shapes between the groups and sub-groups.

The group structure may vary depending on the Tekla Structures environment you are using, or your company or project administrator may have created and shared a group structure. The group structure is read from the ShapeCatalog.Groups.xml file in the model folder and from the *.ShapeCatalog.Groups.xml files in the shape subfolders in the project, firm, and system (XS_SYSTEM) folders. Some shapes may first be in the Ungrouped group, but if needed, you can regroup them.

The new shapes that you create in the model are also added to the Ungrouped group. If you import new shapes without the group structure, you can select a group for the shapes. You can also group shapes by tagging or starring them.

The groups that are marked with are system groups. The groups that are marked with are user-defined groups.

The current user-defined groups and the changes you make to the group structure are stored in the ShapeCatalog.Groups.user.<username>.xml file in the model folder.

Note that even if you modify the group structure, the actual definition files (.xml and .tez) of each shape remain in the original \Shapes and \ShapeGeometries folders.

In the Select shape dialog box, which is used for selecting a shape for an item, also the Recent group is shown. It contains the latest shapes that you have used.

Add a new group or sub-group

On the File menu, click Catalogs > Shape catalog to open the Shape catalog dialog box.
If you want to add a sub-group to an existing group, select the group on the left side of the dialog box.

You can add sub-groups to both user-defined groups and system groups, but not to the Starred, the Tags, or the Ungrouped group.
Click New group and do one of the following:
- To create a highest-level group, select New group.
- To add a sub-group under the selected group, select New sub-group.
In the New group name dialog box, type a name for the new group and click Create.
Add, move, or copy shapes to the new group, or modify the shape properties as needed.

See the instructions below.
Click Save to save the changes to the shape catalog.

Modify a group or sub-group

For example, you can rename groups and sub-groups.

On the File menu, click Catalogs > Shape catalog to open the Shape catalog dialog box.
Select the group or sub-group that you want to modify.
To rename the group, do the following:
1. Right-click and select Rename.
2. In the Rename group dialog box, type the new name and click Rename.
To modify group properties, such as the manufacturer or tags of the shapes in the group, do the following:
1. Select all shapes in the group.
2. In the property area on the right side of the Shape catalog dialog box, modify the properties.
Click Save to save the changes to the shape catalog.

Move or copy a group or sub-group

You can move and copy groups and sub-groups in the shape catalog. You can move and copy both user-defined groups and system groups.

You cannot move or copy the Starred, the Tags, or the Ungrouped group, or sub-groups to them.

On the File menu, click Catalogs > Shape catalog to open the Shape catalog dialog box.
Select the group or sub-group that you want to move or copy.
Do one of the following:
- To move the group, drag the group to a new location in the group structure.
  
  To move a sub-group to the highest level in the group structure, right-click and select Move to top level.
  
  Also the sub-groups of the selected group are moved.
- To copy the group, hold down Ctrl and drag the group to a new location.
  
  To copy a sub-group to the highest level, right-click and select Copy to top level.
  
  Also the sub-groups of the selected group are copied.
Click Save to save the changes to the shape catalog.

Select shapes

You can use the following methods when you select shapes in the Shape catalog dialog box.

Selecting different sets of shapes is useful when you want to export or add tags to certain shapes, or otherwise modify a sub-set of shapes.

Use the following commands on the catalog ribbon:
- Click Select all to select all the shapes in the currently visible group.
  
  Alternatively, you can select one shape and then press Ctrl+A.
- Click Select none to clear the current selection.
- Click Invert selection to select the currently unselected shapes and to deselect the currently selected shapes.
To select several consecutive shapes, select the first shape, then hold down Shift and select the last shape.
To select several non-consecutive shapes, select the first shape, then hold down Ctrl and select the other shapes.

Preview a shape

In the Shape catalog and Select shape dialog boxes, Tekla Structures shows a preview of the selected shape in the upper right corner of the dialog box. Use the following methods to examine the shape in the preview.

Zoom in and out by scrolling with the mouse wheel
Rotate the shape using the left mouse button ()
Pan using the middle mouse button ()
Adjust the viewing angle using the right mouse button ()

Move or copy shapes between groups

On the File menu, click Catalogs > Shape catalog to open the Shape catalog dialog box.
Browse to and select the group from which you want to move or copy shapes.
Do one of the following:
- To move one or more shapes to another group, select the shapes and drag them to the other group.
  
  The shapes are removed from the selected group.
- To copy one or more shapes to another group, select the shapes, hold down Ctrl, and then drag the shapes to the other group.
  
  The shapes also remain in the selected group.
- To remove one or more shapes from the selected group, select the shapes, right-click on one of the selected shapes, and then select Remove from group.
  
  If the shapes only belong to the selected group, the shapes are moved to the Ungrouped group. If the shapes also belong to any other group, they remain in that group.
Click Save to save the changes to the shape catalog.

Modify shape properties

On the File menu, click Catalogs > Shape catalog to open the Shape catalog dialog box.
Browse to and select the group in which you want to modify shape properties.
Select one or more shapes.
In the property area on the right side of the Shape catalog dialog box, modify the shape properties.

For example, you can add a description or tags to the selected shapes.

Note that you cannot rename shapes, or remove or change the solidity information, Tekla Structures version, source file location, or GUIDs of the shapes.
Click Save to save the changes to the shape catalog.

Delete a group or sub-group, or shapes

You can delete groups, sub-groups, and shapes within the groups from the shape catalog. You can delete both the groups and the actual shapes at the same time, or you can delete groups and shapes separately.

Before you delete shapes, ensure that any shape you want to delete is not used for items in your Tekla Structures model. When you delete a shape from the shape catalog, the shape is no longer available anywhere in the model.

If you try to delete shapes that are used for items in the model or whose definition files are not in the model folder, Tekla Structures will not delete those shapes.

On the File menu, click Catalogs > Shape catalog to open the Shape catalog dialog box.
Select a group or sub-group on the left side of the dialog box.
Do one of the following:
- To only delete the group but not the shapes in it, right-click on the group and select Delete.
  
  If the shapes only belong to the deleted group, the shapes are moved to the Ungrouped group. If the shapes also belong to any other group, they remain in that group.
- To delete both the group and the shapes in it, right-click on the group and select Delete with shapes.
- To only delete certain shapes in the group, select one or more unused model-folder shapes, right-click on one of the shapes, and then select Delete.
Click Yes to confirm the deletion.
Click Save to save the changes to the shape catalog.