Customize the property pane layout

Tekla Structures shows the model object or the drawing object properties in the property pane. Use the Property pane editor to customize the property pane to better suit your needs. You can select separately for each object type which properties you want to see in the property pane. You can show, hide and organize the settings in the property pane, and add your most needed user-defined attributes (UDAs) directly to the property pane.

To open the Property pane editor, click File menu > Settings > Customize > Property pane, or, in the property pane, click the Property pane settings button and select Customize....

With the Property pane editor, you can

organize properties to a suitable order or to suitable groups
hide or remove properties you do not use or need
create your own groups for properties that you find relevant, including user-defined attributes (UDAs)
add properties, including user-defined attributes (UDAs), to an existing group
create nested property groups
rename properties or groups
save the customized property pane layouts

The customized property pane layouts are saved to the PropertyTemplates.xml or PropertyTemplates.Drawing.xml files in the ..Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Trimble\Tekla Structures\<version>\UI\PropertyTemplates\ folder. If you cannot find the folder, ensure that you are able to view the hidden files and folders on your computer.

Company administrators can distribute the customized property pane layouts to the whole organization, in the same way as customized ribbons or customized tabs.

Add a property or a property group

The Property pane editor has three columns:

Object type list on the left. The list shows all the objects that have a property pane. Select from the list the object type whose property pane layout you want to modify.

Each object type's tooltip shows the source from where the object type definition is loaded: the default source, your environment, or a user-defined customization.
Property list in the middle. The list shows all the available properties for each model object or drawing object. For model objects, also the user-defined attributes (UDAs) for each object type are shown. You can add these properties and UDAs to the property pane layout as regular properties. Properties which are already in use cannot be added for a second time but you can reorganize them in the property pane layout. Properties that are incompatible with the selected object type cannot be added.
Property pane layout on the right. It shows the current layout of the property pane for the selected object type.


To	Do this
Select the object type whose property pane layout you want to modify	In the object type list on the left, browse through the list or use the Search box to filter content.
Add a new property to the property pane layout	In the middle column's Add section, select Property. In the property list, select a property. Use the Ctrl or Shift key to select multiple properties. Drag the property to the property pane layout on the right. You can drag the property to any group in the property pane.
Add a new group to the property pane layout	In the middle column's Add section, select Empty group. Enter a title for the new group. Drag the group template to the property pane layout on the right. You can create a new group, or insert a new group inside an existing group to create nested groups. You can reorganize the existing groups by dragging them.
Add the User-defined attributes button to the property pane layout	If you have accidentally removed the User-defined attributes button from the property pane layout, you can add it back to the property pane layout for model objects. In the middle column's Add section, select Special. Drag the User-defined attributes button to the property pane layout on the right. Note that the User-defined attributes button cannot be added for some object types, such as components.

Some model object types have user-defined attributes that are part of an attribute group and/or hidden in the Property pane editor. For example, the Bottom concrete cover belongs to the Concrete covers for rebar sets group. If you need to use these attributes individually, you can find them by entering __ (double underscore) in the middle column's search box. You can also use these attributes in templates. For example, to add the Bottom concrete cover to a report template, use the value field formula GetValue("USERDEFINED.__CovThickBottom").

Change the name of a property or a property group


To	Do this
Rename a property or a property group	In the property pane layout, select the property or the property group that you want to rename. Click . In the Rename dialog box, enter a new name and click OK. Alternatively, right-click the name of the property or the property group and select Rename....
Restore the original name of a property or a property group	In the property pane layout, select the group or the property whose name you want to restore to the original. Right-click and select Restore original name.

Copy properties from one object type to another object type

You can copy properties from one object type to another object type, for example, from steel beam to steel plate. If needed, you can copy several property groups at one go.

In the object type list on the left, select the object type from which you want to copy properties.
In the property pane layout on the right, select the properties you want to copy.

Use the Ctrl or Shift key to select multiple properties.
Click to copy the selected properties.

Alternatively, right-click and select Copy properties.

The copied properties are shown in the middle column, under the Content section.
In the object type list on the left, select the object type to which you want to copy the properties.
In the Add section, ensure that the Copied properties option is selected.
Drag the Copied properties box from the middle column to the property pane layout on the right.

The names and the content of the copied groups are shown in the middle column until you copy another group or close the Property pane editor.

If you copy nested groups, all the nested groups inside the main group are copied, too.

Note:
Properties that are already in use cannot be added for a second time. If you copy properties that are already in use, the copied properties have the text In use in the Content section.

Properties that cannot be added to the selected object type have the text Incompatible in the Content section.

Set the default visibility for a single property

You can define separately for each object type which properties are visible or hidden by default in the property pane, and create your favorite sets of properties.

By default, some object types have a large number of properties visible in the property pane, and it can be cumbersome to find the needed property among all the properties. To make the property pane less cluttered, you can mark properties as frequently or infrequently used and thus hide the infrequently needed properties.

In the property pane layout on the right, select the property you want to mark as frequently or infrequently used. Use the star to mark it frequently used.
- Clear the star selection to mark the property infrequently used. The property will be hidden in the property pane.
- Select the star to mark the property frequently used. The property will be visible in the property pane.
To mark several properties as frequently or infrequently used at one go, use the Ctrl or Shift key to select multiple properties.

When you save the customized property pane layout, only the properties that have been marked as frequently used are visible.

Set the default visibility for a property group

You can define whether selected property groups are by default visible or hidden in the property pane.

In the property pane layout on the right, select the property groups you want to hide.
Right-click and select Hide by default.

The eye icon changes to hidden: . The selected property groups are now by default hidden in the property pane.
To have the property groups by default visible again in the property pane, right-click and select Show by default.

The eye icon changes to visible: . The selected property groups are now by default visible in the property pane.

Note that the property group visibility changes in the property pane override these default settings.

Remove a customization


To	Do this
Delete a property or a property group	In the property pane layout, select the property or the property group to be deleted. Use the Ctrl or Shift key to select multiple properties. Click . Alternatively, right-click a property or a property group, and select Delete.
Discard changes	Click the Revert all button to discard changes and to revert to the previous save.
Remove a single customization	Click the Restore button to remove the customization of a selected object type's property pane. Alternatively, right-click the selected object type and select Restore to default.
Remove all customizations	Click the Restore all button to remove the customization of all property pane layouts.

Save the changes

When you are happy with the changes, save the customized property pane layout.

Click the Save all button.
When you return to Tekla Structures, Tekla Structures asks if you want to reload the changed property pane templates.
Click Yes to apply the customized property pane layout.

User-defined attributes (UDAs) in the customized property pane

In the property pane of model objects, the User-defined attributes button in the More property group opens the user-defined attributes (UDAs) dialog box. If you customize the property pane, you can add your most important UDAs directly to the property pane, so that you do not need to open separate UDA dialog boxes.

Note that the User-defined attributes button is not available for some object types, such as components. Drawing objects do not have UDAs.

When you create or modify model objects, UDAs are automatically applied together with all the other object properties. UDAs are automatically applied regardless of them being in the property pane or in the UDA dialog boxes.

UDAs with the following unit types are supported and work correctly if they are added in the property pane: Option, String, Integer, Float, Date, Distance, Weight, Force, Moment, Angle, Factor, and Area. UDAs with other unit types need to be used through the UDA dialog boxes.

Note:

You can control the visibility of UDAs in the property pane also without customizing the property pane layout. Use the property visibility options and search in the property pane.

Example: How to add IFC related user-defined attributes to the property pane layout and copy them to another object type

This example shows how to add a group of IFC related user-defined attributes (UDAs) to the steel column property pane layout, and copy the group to the steel beam property pane layout.

In the object type list, select Steel column.
In the Add section, select Empty group. Enter IFC as the title for the new group.
Drag the group template to the property pane layout on the right.
In the Add section, select Property. In the search, enter IFC to search the IFC related UDAs.
Select all the IFC UDAs and drag them to the group you created in the property pane layout.
When you have added the needed UDAs to the new group, copy the group so that you can add the group also to the steel beam property pane layout. Select the title of the group and click the Copy selected items button.

The name of the copied property group and the content of the group is shown in the middle column. You can see that the properties are copied from steel column.
To add the copied property group in the steel beam property pane layout, select Steel beam in the object type list.
Drag the copied group from the middle column to the steel beam property pane layout on the right.

Now the IFC related UDAs are available both in the steel column property pane layout and in the steel beam property pane layout.
Click the Save all button to save the changes. When you return to Tekla Structures, Tekla Structures asks if you want to reload the changed property pane templates. Click Yes to apply the customized property pane layout.