Add clouds in drawings

You can create polygonal and rectangular clouds using the current cloud properties to highlight areas of interest, for example.

Before you draw a cloud:

Ensure that you have selected the right snap switches on the toolbar, so that you can select the right points. For more information, see Snap to points using snap switches and Snapping in drawings.

Draw polygonal cloud

To set the properties first and then create the cloud, hold down Shift, and on the Drawing tab, click Polygonal cloud.

Adjust the Bulge factor as needed, otherwise the cloud shape might not be drawn properly. For property details, see "Cloud properties" below.
Pick the points that the cloud will go through.
To create the cloud, click the middle mouse button, or press Space or Enter on the keyboard.
To continue creating clouds, pick more points.
To stop creating clouds, press Esc.

Tekla Structures creates the cloud. You can resize and reshape the cloud by dragging from the cloud handles. If you have activated the Drawing drag & drop switch through File > Settings, you do not need to click the handles separately to reshape or resize the objects.

Draw rectangular cloud

To set the properties first and then create the cloud, hold down Shift, and on the Drawing tab, click Rectangular cloud .

Adjust the Bulge factor as needed, otherwise the cloud shape might not be drawn properly. For property details, see "Cloud properties" below.
Pick the first corner point of the cloud.
Pick the second corner point of the cloud
To continue creating clouds, pick more points.
To stop creating clouds, press Esc.

Tekla Structures creates the rectangular cloud. You can resize the cloud by dragging from the cloud handles. If you have activated the Drawing drag & drop switch through File > Settings, you do not need to click the handles separately to reshape or resize the objects.

Cloud properties


Setting	Description
Save, load and search properties in property pane	To load cloud existing properties, select the properties from the list. To save the modified cloud properties, click . You can also save the properties with another name. To search for a property, start typing the property name.
Line
Line type	Define the line type of the cloud outline. To define your own line types, see Define customized line types.
Line color	Define the color of the cloud lines. You can use a standard color or a custom RGB color.
Width	Set the chord length (the distance between the endpoints of the arcs used to draw the cloud shape).
Bulge	Allowed values 0 - 1. The bulge factor defines the curvature of the arcs in clouds using the following calculation: Arc height = Line length * Bulge
Fill
Type	Define the fill type to be used. Clicking ... shows the available fill types. Note that all settings are not available for automatic or hardware hatches.
Color	Define the color of the fill. You can use a standard color or a custom RGB color. This setting is disabled for automatic hatches.
Background	Define the background color of the fill. You can use a standard color or a custom RGB color. This setting is disabled for hardware hatches.
Angle	Rotate the fill. Angle 0.0 is for horizontal and 90.0 for vertical rotation. This setting is disabled for hardware hatches and automatic hatches.
X offset for hatch Y offset for hatch	Move the fill pattern inside the object in the X and Y direction by the specified value. This setting is disabled for hardware hatches and automatic hatches.
Scaling in X direction Scaling in Y direction	Define the fill scales in the x and y direction. This setting is disabled for hardware hatches and automatic hatches.
Keep ratio of x and y	Retain the relative proportions in the hatch pattern. This setting is disabled for hardware hatches and automatic hatches.
Position
Behind model objects	Select the checkbox to place the cloud behind model objects.