Installation and licensing workflow

To use Tekla Structures, you must have a Tekla Structures subscription or a legacy on-premises license.

For legacy on-premises licensing, you must install additional tools. These tools are not necessary when you use Tekla Structures subscriptions.

Click to expand the section relevant to you and follow the links in the text for detailed instructions.

Tekla Structures license types

There are two types of licenses: Tekla Structures subscriptions and legacy on-premises licenses.

A Tekla Structures subscription is connected to your Trimble Identity. The subscription is delivered directly to the Tekla Online Admin tool, where your company's Tekla Online account administrators can assign the subscriptions to individual users. When Tekla Structures starts, you sign in to Trimble's cloud to reserve your subscription license seat.

If you do not yet have a Tekla Structures subscription as a commercial user, you can start a free trial. For more information, see Get started with your Tekla Structures trial. To start your free trial, follow the steps on the free trial Download page.

For a free Tekla Student subscription to try out and learn Tekla Structures, visit the Tekla Campus site. Using a Tekla Student subscription for any commercial work is prohibited.

If you have legacy on-premises or on-demand licenses, you must install a license server on your computer or on a separate server in your internal network. Tekla Structures connects to your local license server to check your license.

If you manage your own installation of Tekla Structures

Note: To ensure a good experience using our software, ensure that your computer meets the Tekla Structures 2023 hardware recommendations.

To start a free trial of Tekla Structures, follow the steps on the Free Trial Download page.

If your organization has no main user who manages Tekla Structures for you, your installation follows this process:

Create your Trimble Identity, complete your profile details, and join your Tekla Online organization.
- If you have received an email invitation from Trimble to create a Trimble Identity, follow the instructions in the email to create your account to ensure that you have the correct access rights.
  
  If you want to use a different email address for this account, create the account using your invitation first, then change the email address.
- If you have not received an invitation, create a new Trimble Identity to download the software.
  
  To have access to your Tekla subscriptions, you must be added to a Tekla Online organization by your company's account administrator.
Download the installation package for Tekla Structures and at least one of the Tekla Structures environments from Tekla Downloads.

For a guided experience that ensures that you have all necessary files, click Download.
Install the software.
1. Run the Tekla Structures installer and ensure that the installation finishes successfully.
  
  See Install the Tekla Structures software if you need more detailed instructions.
2. Run one or more environment installers.
  
  If you do not install any environments, only the Blank environment is available. Do not use the Blank environment to edit models or drawings. The Blank environment is only a basis for building your own full customized environment and does not contain all of the tools and configurations that you need to work efficiently.
After you have completed the Tekla Structures and environment installation:
- If you have a Tekla Structures subscription, you can now start Tekla Structures and sign in.
  
  After you sign in, you can select from the configurations that have been activated for you. Subscriptions can be from your Tekla Online organization, or assigned to you as an external license user in some other organization. If you purchase your own subscriptions, you can manage them in the Tekla Online Admin tool.
  
  For more information about the Tekla Online Admin tool and how to manage Tekla subscriptions, see the Tekla Online Admin tool documentation in Tekla User Assistance.
- If you have legacy on-premises licenses, install the license server software on your computer and activate your license before starting Tekla Structures.
  
  For details, see Tekla Structures legacy on-premises licensing.

Start learning how to use Tekla Structures:

For a brief overview, see Get familiar with Tekla Structures.
Find the Instructor side pane on the right-hand side of the Tekla Structures modeling or drawings view to see instructions for each command as you activate them.
Take one of our free online eLearning courses.

If someone manages Tekla Structures for you

If your organization has a Tekla Structures administrator (IT administrator or main user), follow their instructions for installation and licensing.

You might still need to consider the following points:

You need an account to access Tekla online services and subscriptions. If your company's administrator has not invited you to your organization and assigned subscriptions to you, ask to join so that you have access to all Tekla online services and licenses: Create your Trimble Identity.
In most cases, your company's Tekla Structures administrator prepares a customized installation package for you or installs the software for you. Ask your administrator for further instructions.

Start learning how to use Tekla Structures:

For a brief overview, see Get familiar with Tekla Structures.
Find the Instructor side pane on the right-hand side of the Tekla Structures modeling or drawings view to see instructions for each command as you activate them.
Take one of our free online eLearning courses.

If you manage Tekla Structures for other users

For detailed administrator instructions, see the Manage Tekla Structures section.

Ensure that you have set up your Trimble Identity. See Create your Trimble Identity.
Install Tekla Structures for your own use and start customizing it for your organization. See Install the Tekla Structures software.
If you are responsible for managing Tekla Structures users and subscriptions, add users to your organization in the Tekla Online Admin tool to give them access to Tekla Online services and the necessary subscriptions.

For more information about the Tekla Online Admin tool and managing Tekla subscriptions, see Tekla Online Admin tool.
Deploy Tekla Structures to the users in your organization.
Continue developing your organization's customizations and distribute them as needed.