You can add weld marks manually in an open drawing. Tekla Structures creates manual drawing weld marks using the current drawing weld mark properties. To add manual drawing weld marks, you do not need to have a model weld present in the drawing.

1. In an open drawing, go to the Annotations tab, hold down Shift and click Weld mark.
2. Modify the content and the appearance of the drawing weld mark.
   • In Edge/Around, indicate whether only one edge of a face should be welded, or the entire perimeter.
   • In Workshop/Site, indicate where the weld should be made.
   • Set Stitch weld to Yes to create a staggered, intermittent weld. No creates a non-staggered intermittent weld.
   • Enter or select the drawing weld mark properties that you want to include in the weld mark under Above line and Below line.

     Click the and buttons to copy values between the Below line and Above line columns.

     Click the button to switch the linking on or off.

     The middle button is blue when the values are linked. This means that if you change a value in either of the columns, the corresponding value in the other column also changes.

   • Set the font and mark background properties and adjust the leader line type and color.
   • To exactly place the weld mark in the position that you pick and keep it there, set Placing method to Fixed. Free allows Tekla Structures to search for the first suitable location for the weld mark.

   • In Position, define the areas where Tekla Structures searches for a position to place the weld mark.

   • In Distance s, define the empty margin that you want to leave around the mark.
   • In Distance d min, define the minimum distance of the mark from the part.

   For more information about drawing weld mark properties, see Drawing weld mark properties.

3. Pick a position for the drawing weld mark.

   The drawing weld mark is created. You can drag the mark to a more suitable location by the leader base point handle.

You can add marks to model welds in an open drawing, for example, if you have not created those already at the drawing creation. To add model weld marks manually, you need to have a model weld present in the drawing. Tekla Structures creates model weld marks using the properties defined for the model weld in the model. You can also adjust the visibility and appearance of the model weld marks in the drawing.

1. Open a drawing that contains welds created in the model.
2. Do one of the following:
   • Select a model weld in the drawing.

     

   • Select several model welds in the drawing using the Select welds selection switch and area selection, or the selection functionality in Drawing content manager.

   If you cannot see any welds in the drawing, adjust the weld visibility settings in drawing view properties. Also check the section "What if welds or weld marks are not visible in a drawing" below.

3. Right-click and select Add weld mark.

   The weld mark is created.

   Note that when a weld mark is added through the context menu, it is visible even if its size is below the minimum weld size limit defined in the drawing view properties.

4. To modify the model weld mark properties, do one of the following:
   • Click a model weld mark in the drawing. If the property pane is not open, double-click the weld mark.
   • Select several model welds using the Select welds selection switch and area selection, or Drawing content manager. When the welds are selected, right-click and select Select weld marks and From current drawing view or From all drawing views. Activate all selection switches again . Then press down Shift and double-click a weld mark.
5. Modify the content and the appearance of the weld marks:

   • Activate the eye buttons next to weld properties to show the properties in model weld marks.

     Click the and buttons to copy values between the Below line and Above line columns.

     Click the button to switch the linking on or off.

     The middle button is blue when the values are linked. This means that if you change a value in either of the columns, the corresponding value in the other column also changes.

   • Set the font properties, adjust the leader line type and color, and select if you want to use an opaque or transparent background in the mark.
   • In Distance s, define the empty margin that you want to leave around the mark.
   • In Distance d min, define the minimum distance of the mark from the part.

   For more information about model weld mark properties, see Model weld mark properties in drawings.

6. Click Modify.

Model weld properties are set in the model. At drawing creation, you can define the weld mark properties, including the mark visibility and appearance. You can also modify which welding properties you want to show in model weld marks, and adjust the appearance of the model weld marks in weld mark properties on the drawing level (GA drawings) and on the drawing view level.

1. To modify the weld marks on the view level, in an open drawing, double-click a view frame to open the View Properties dialog box.
2. To open weld mark properties, click Weld mark in the options tree on the left.
3. Select whether to show the weld number in Weld number (No/Yes).
4. Under Visibility:
   • In Welds and Welds in sub-assemblies, select what kind of weld marks to show, or whether to hide all welds (None, Site, Workshop, Both ).
   • In Welds in hidden parts, select what kind of weld marks to show for hidden parts (None, Site, Workshop, Both).

   • In Weld size limit, enter a weld size limit to filter weld marks of that weld size out of the drawing.

     Even though you set the weld size limit, weld marks are always shown if they have reference texts.

     Note that you can also set the Weld size limit for all views at one go at drawing creation at the bottom of the View creation page in single-part and assembly drawing properties.

   • Note that the Weld mark visible setting controls the visibility of model weld marks in assembly drawings at drawing creation. This setting is located at the bottom of the View creation page in assembly drawing properties. You can set Weld mark visible to In one view or In all views.
5. Under Above line, Below line and Other, clear a check box in the Visible column next to a weld mark property that you do not want to show in the weld mark.
   Note that if you hide Size, Prefix is also hidden, and when you hide Length, Pitch is also hidden.
6. To adjust the placing properties, click Place....
7. Go to the Appearance tab and modify the weld mark text and line appearance.
8. Click Modify.
   Tip:

   To modify the properties of individual model weld marks in the property pane, in an open drawing, click a model weld mark. If the property pane is not open, double-click the model weld mark. To select several marks, for example for deleting, right-click the weld mark and select Select weld marks and From current drawing view or From all drawing views.

You can modify the model weld object representation and appearance manually on object level.

1. In an open drawing, click a weld seam. If the property pane is not open, double-click the weld seam.

   It is easier to select the model weld if you only activate the Select drawing welds selection switch .

   In the following image, weld seems are shown in red:

   

2. Select whether you want to show Hidden lines and Own hidden lines.
3. Select the desired Presentation type. The options are:

   Path

   

   Outline

   

4. Modify the color and line type of the Visible lines and Hidden lines.
5. Click Modify.

You can drag model weld marks by the associativity point of the weld mark leader line along the weld seam. This way you can position the weld marks more optimally for increased clarity in the drawings. Manual drawing weld marks not associated to model welds can be dragged freely.

1. Click the weld mark near the leader line associativity point.

   If you have Drawing drag & drop selected, you do not need to click the leader line, pointing is enough.

2. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the associativity point to a new location by the leader line associativity point handle located in the tip of the arrow.

   

You can force Tekla Structures to use the same mark for identical welds in a drawing by merging the weld marks.

1. Open a drawing.
2. Hold down Ctrl and select the weld marks to merge.
3. Right-click and select Merge in the context menu.

   Tekla Structures combines the marks.

4. If needed, you can split merged weld marks by right-clicking the merged mark and selecting Split in the context menu.

Description	Example
Original drawing
Merged weld marks.