Start Tekla Structures and open models using Tekla Launcher (Preview)

Tekla Launcher is an alternative way to start Tekla Structures and to open models.

Using the Tekla Launcher you can open and create models and open and join Tekla Model Sharing models without downloading and installing environments from Trimble Downloads. With the Tekla Launcher, the environments are stored and maintained in a cloud service, ensuring that everyone working on the model is using the same environment with consistent settings and files. With the Tekla Launcher you have an easy access to recent models, and you can create new models with readily available environments.

Tekla Structures 2025 introduces the Tekla Launcher functionality as a Preview feature. To find out more, see Preview features in Tekla Structures 2025.

The Tekla Structures environments in the cloud service and those downloaded from Trimble Downloads are built from the same source, so the content of the environment files is the same.

Note that hosting your own environments is not possible using the Tekla Launcher.

The Tekla Model Sharing models that have been created using the Tekla Launcher are restricted to the environment and environment version that they were created in. This ensures that all users in the shared model are using the same environment.

When you install Tekla Structures, two desktop icons appear:

that launches the Tekla Launcher startup screen.
that launches the classic Tekla Structures startup screen.

To use the Tekla Launcher to start Tekla Structures, double-click the desktop icon or select the Tekla Launcher from the Windows Start menu.

The first time when you open the Tekla Launcher, a dialog where you select your Tekla Structures subscription opens. The subscription option that includes the highest level of features is automatically selected. If you have multiple subscriptions, you can switch between the subscriptions.

Create a new model in Tekla Launcher

When you have opened the Tekla Launcher, you can create new models with any environment.

Go to the New tab.
To create a new model without using any model templates, go to the New blank model template and click Create.

The Create new dialog appears.
Enter a name and a description for the new model.
Select whether to use a cloud environment or a local environment with the model, and then select the specific environment from the list of environments.
- Cloud environments are hosted in a cloud service and anyone can use them. Cloud environment is downloaded when you create a model.
- Local environments are installed on your computer. Local environment is cached locally and it does not require downloading when you create a model. Local environments can also be legacy environments or custom environments.
Add a thumbnail image for the model, if needed.
Click Create new.

If you selected a cloud environment, the environment is downloaded from the cloud.
Select a Role that is used in the model.

The availability of roles depends on your environment.
Click Select.

All data is downloaded on the model creation and cached locally.

Tekla Structures is started and model opened.

Create a new model using a model template

If you want to create a model using a model template, select a suitable template on the New tab.

On the New tab, select a model template.

Model templates defined in XS_MODEL_TEMPLATE_DIRECTORY in user.ini are automatically imported to the Tekla Launcher. You can find these templates when you select Only my organization's templates checkbox.

Additionally, model templates in ..Users\<User>\AppData\Local\Trimble\Tekla Structures\<version>\UserSettings\ModelTemplates are imported to Tekla Launcher.

Each of the model templates in Tekla Launcher has a card that lists the environment and role used in the template. If the card has a Trimble logo, the model template has been created by Trimble.

You can mark the important model templates as favorites. Favorites are user settings and they are saved on your computer separately for each Tekla Structures version.

You can use the search on the left to find model templates. Use text in the template name or in the description as a search term, or search by region or by industry.
Click Create.
Enter a name and a description for the new model.
Add a thumbnail image for the model, if needed.
Click Create new.

All data is downloaded on the model creation and cached locally.

Tekla Structures is started and the model is opened.

Metadata for locally created model templates

Locally created model templates provide some metadata in the template-metadata.json file.

The supported metadata IDs are:

SupportedEnvironments, SupportedRegions, SupportedIndustries

SupportedEnvironments format is Environment{Role_b, Role_a}

example:
{
"metadataPairs":[
{
"MetadataDefinitionId":"SupportedEnvironments",
"Value":"SwitzerlandEnvironment"
},
{
"MetadataDefinitionId":"SupportedRegions",
"Value":"Switzerland"
},
{
"MetadataDefinitionId":"SupportedIndustries",
"Value":"All"
}
]
}

Open a recently used model in Tekla Launcher

Go the Recent tab.
Select a model in the list.
Click Open. Alternatively, double-click the selected row.

Tekla Structures is started and the model is opened.

Tekla Launcher opens the model using the same settings that were used most recently. This makes opening the model faster, because you do not need to select the role in the Role dialog.

Tip:
To quickly open a previously opened model, right-click the Tekla Launcher icon on the Windows taskbar or on the Windows Start menu.

Open any existing model in Tekla Launcher

Go to the Models tab.
Select a model in the list.
Click Open. Alternatively, double-click the selected row.
Select a suitable role in the Role dialog and click Select.

Tekla Structures is started and the model is opened.
If you need to perform some other actions on the selected model, click the three dots next to the Open button and select an action.
- Open using another environment: change the selected environment of the model. Note that when you save the model after changing the environment, the model setup is affected and the model might get corrupted.
- Open model folder: open the model folder in File Explorer in Windows.
- Modify model properties: add a description and a thumbnail image for the model.
- Rename: enter a new name for the model.
- Exclude from sharing: if you have a model that has been shared using Tekla Model Sharing, you can exclude yourself and your local version of the model from the sharing service.
- Pin model: pin the model so that is always stays on top in the model listing.

Open a shared model in Tekla Launcher

You can open and join Tekla Model Sharing models on the Shared models tab. You can also see the basic information of the models that have been shared with you, such as the name of the project, the environment, and your Tekla Model Sharing role.

You can open a shared model also on the Recent or Models tabs.

Go to the Shared models tab.
Click the arrow on the left, next to the model name, to select a Tekla Model Sharing model and to open the list of actions you can perform.
If you have the Owner role in the Tekla Model Sharing model, you can do the following:
- Open: open the shared model.
- Change environment version: check and change the version of the environment used in the model. After making the changes, click Save changes. Select a suitable role in the Role dialog and click Select to open the model. Check that the model works correctly and write out the environment version changes to the sharing service. Other users are prompted in Tekla Structures to restart the application and to read in.
- Track environment version/ Stop tracking the environment version: check and change the environment and the environment version used in the model, and to enforce other users in the shared model to use the environment and the environment version that you have set.
  
  For models that have been created in the Tekla Launcher and then shared, the environment tracking is on by default.
  
  If the environment tracking is not on, click Track environment version to change the environment in use and/or select the version of the environment. After making the changes, click Save changes. Select a suitable role in the Role dialog and click Select to open the model. Check that the model works correctly and write out the environment setup changes to the sharing service. Other users are prompted in Tekla Structures to restart the application and to read in. They are then enforced to use the environment and version that you have set.
  
  To stop the enforced usage of the same environment and environment version, click Stop tracking the environment version and select a suitable role in the Role dialog and click Select to open the model. Write out the changes. Other users are prompted in Tekla Structures to restart the application and to read in. They are no longer enforced to use the same environment or version as you.
  
  For more information, see Tracked environment versions for Tekla Model Sharing models below.
- Open model folder: open the model folder in File Explorer in Windows.
- Model preview: check the model's project properties.
- Model versions: check the model versions of the shared model, and whether the type of the model version is update or baseline.
If you have any other role than Owner in the Tekla Model Sharing model, you can do the following:
- If you have not yet joined the model, you can click Join latest: join the latest version of the shared model.
- If you have not yet joined the model, you can click Join a previous version of the shared model: select any previous version of the shared model to join.
- After you have joined the model, you can click Open: open the shared model.
- Open model folder: open the model folder in File Explorer in Windows.
- Model preview: check the model's project properties.
- Model versions: check the model versions of the shared model, and whether the version is an update or a baseline.
Select a suitable role in the Role dialog and click Select.

Tekla Structures is started and the model is opened.

Tracked environment versions for Tekla Model Sharing models

If you start Tekla Structures using the classic startup screen, there is no enforcement to use a certain environment or environment version with Tekla Model Sharing. This means that you can start Tekla Structures with any environment and join any Tekla Model Sharing model without restrictions. This flexibility can be beneficial but it may also lead to inconsistencies in shared models, for example, in a situation where two Tekla Model Sharing users are working on the same model using different environment versions.

The environment tracking in the Tekla Launcher enforces the Tekla Model Sharing models that have been created using the Tekla Launcher to be restricted to the environment and environment version that they were created in.

The following applies to Tekla Model Sharing models that have been created and shared in the Tekla Launcher:

Only those Tekla Model Sharing users who have the Owner role can change the environment and its version.
Only those Tekla Model Sharing users who have the Owner role can track and untrack an environment.
Changes to environment and its version always need to be written out to the sharing service.
If the version of the environment changes, users are prompted in Tekla Structures to restart the application and to read in the new version of the environment.
Tekla Structures service pack updates do not enforce a new version of the environment. Those users who have the Owner role need to upgrade to the new version of the environment.

Adjust Tekla Launcher to your needs

Click to show the model listing as a table or as tiles.

You can sort the modes in the tiles view according to different sort criteria.
Use the search to find a model.
To change the model folder where Tekla Structures models are saved by default, go to .

By default, the models are saved in the TeklaStructuresModels folder. You can change the default folder by clicking Browse, or typing a new folder location.
In the upper right corner, click to give feedback on the Tekla Launcher and help to improve the tool.
In the upper right corner, click to switch to the classic Tekla Structures startup screen. The classic Tekla Structures startup does not use any of the cached environments that the Tekla Launcher uses, and you need to install the environments from Trimble Downloads on your computer.
In the upper right corner, click to show your subscription options and to switch to a different subscription, if you have multiple available. Note that only online subscriptions are supported.
In the upper right corner, click to change the language of the Tekla Launcher.
In the upper right corner, indicates that your are working in online mode and that you have access to the cloud environments enabled.

You need to have a license saved locally to use the Tekla Launcher in offline mode. When you close Tekla Structures, select the checkbox for saving the license. If you are in the offline mode, you can create a new model if you have locally installed environments, or you have cached environments. You can open a local model, but joining shared models requires an internet connection.