Switch between automatic and manual applying of properties in the property pane

When you modify object properties in the property pane, you can switch between automatic and manual applying of properties. This means that you can select whether only the selected object is modified, or whether Tekla Structures also uses the current values the next time you create an object of the same type.

You can switch between manual and automatic applying of properties at any time in the Property pane settings by selecting the Set default values automatically option. The option is not dependent on the selected object type.

Enable automatic applying of properties (the default option)

Select an object in the model or in the drawing.
Click the Property pane settings button in the property pane to open a dropdown menu.
Ensure that the Set default values automatically option is selected.

When the Set default values automatically option is selected, Tekla Structures automatically uses the current values the next time you create an object of the same type.
Change the properties as needed.
Click Modify.

Tekla Structures modifies the object and uses the current values the next time you create an object of the same type.

Enable manual applying of properties

Select an object in the model or in the drawing.
Click the Property pane settings button in the property pane to open a dropdown menu.
Ensure that the Set default values automatically option is not selected.

A Set as default button appears at the bottom of the property pane.

Note that if you have selected multiple objects in the model, the Set as default button does not appear.
Change the properties as needed.
Select how to proceed.
- To modify only the selected object, click Modify.
- To modify the selected object and to use the current values the next time you create an object of the same type, click the Set as default button and then click Modify.
- To use the current values the next time you create an object of the same type but not to modify the selected object, click the Set as default button.
Depending on your actions, Tekla Structures either modifies the selected object or creates the next object of the same type using the current values.

Control the visibility of the Copy to clipboard and Copy to other object buttons in the property pane

You can control in the Property pane settings which methods for copying the object properties are visible in the property pane.

If you do not need both of the copying methods, Copy to other object and Copy to clipboard, you can make the property pane less cluttered and hide the option that is not needed. You can control the visibility of the buttons separately in modeling mode and in drawing mode.

Click the Property pane settings button to open a dropdown menu.

The options Copy properties to object and Copy properties to clipboard control the visibility of the corresponding buttons in the property pane.
Ensure that the option you wish to use is selected.

The option that is not selected is hidden in the property pane.

Control the visibility of property groups in the property pane

You can control in the Property pane settings which property groups are visible in the property pane, without customizing the property pane layout.

Click the Property pane settings button to open a dropdown menu.
If you want to expand or collapse all the property groups, click Expand all or Collapse all.

In modeling mode:

You can select between showing only those properties that have a value, or showing the property groups that you have defined to be visible.

Show properties that have a value: property pane shows all the properties and user-defined attributes (UDAs) for which you or someone else has entered a value. UDAs with a value are listed in the Additional matches property group.


Property	Visibility
Properties of text type	Properties are visible if they contain text, meaning that they have a value.
Properties of other type	Properties are always visible.
Composite properties	Properties are visible if any of the properties in the composite property has a value.
UDAs of text type	UDAs are visible if they contain text, meaning that they have a value.
UDAs of other type	UDAs are always visible if something else than an empty value is selected.
UDAs of other type such as integer, float, and date	UDAs are visible if they contain a value.

The Show properties that have a value option is common for all object types. For example, if you select a steel beam in the model and use the Show properties that have a value option, and then select a concrete beam in the model, only properties that have a value are shown for the concrete beam.

Show properties based on group visibility: property pane shows all the property groups that are marked to be visible. Property groups with the icon are visible. Property groups with the icon are hidden. Click the property group names to change the visibility. You can show and hide only the main level property groups, not nested groups.

The Show properties based on group visibility option is common for all object types. If different object types have property groups of the same name, the visibility of a property group is adjusted for all the object types. For example, if you select a steel beam and hide the Position property group, and then select a concrete beam, the Position property group is hidden for the concrete beam as well.

The default visibility of property groups can be defined in the Property pane editor. Note that the changes in the visibility settings in the property pane override the default settings done in the Property pane editor.

In drawing mode:

Show and hide property groups. Property groups with the icon are visible. Property groups with the icon are hidden. Click the property group names to change the visibility. You can show and hide only the main level property groups, not nested groups.

Showing and hiding of property groups is common for all object types. If different object types have property groups of the same name, the visibility of a property group is adjusted for all the object types.

The default visibility of property groups can be defined in the Property pane editor. Note that the changes in the visibility settings in the property pane override the default settings done in the Property pane editor.

Where the property pane settings are saved

When you click the Property pane settings button and select an option, the current settings are saved to the PropertyPaneSettings.xml or to the PropertyPaneDrawingSettings.xml file. The files are located in the ..\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Trimble\Tekla Structures\<version>\UI\PropertyPane\ folder.

If you do not change the settings, the PropertyPaneSettings.xml or the PropertyPaneDrawingSettings.xml file is not created.

The settings in the file are:

FilterMode: ByData for Show properties that have a value
FilterMode: ByGroups for Show properties based on group visibility
AutoApply: True when Set default values automatically is selected
AutoApply: False when Set default values automatically is not selected
ShowCopyProperties: True when Copy properties to object is selected
ShowCopyToClipboard: True when Copy properties to clipboard is selected

The PropertyPaneSettings.xml and the PropertyPaneDrawingSettings.xml files are read when Tekla Structures is started and a model is opened.

If the settings in the PropertyPaneSettings.xml and the PropertyPaneDrawingSettings.xml files are customized, the company administrators can distribute the customized property pane settings to other users in the company.

Create a sub-folder called \PropertyPane either in a model, project (XS_PROJECT), firm (XS_FIRM) or environment (XS_SYSTEM) folder.
Place the PropertyPaneSettings.xml and the PropertyPaneDrawingSettings.xml file to the \PropertyPane folder.
Restart Tekla Structures.

The property pane settings in the ..\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Trimble\Tekla Structures\<version>\UI\PropertyPane\ folder has the highest priority, and after that Tekla Structures uses the default search order.

If the PropertyPaneSettings.xml and the PropertyPaneDrawingSettings.xml file is placed in several different folder locations, Tekla Structures reads the settings from different folders and merges them.

Modify the property pane settings