Optimizing Tekla Structures database for user-defined attributes (UDAs)

When dealing with user-defined attributes (UDAs) of type "string" and "option," the way their default values are defined can impact the size of the db1 database.

Option UDAs

For option-type UDAs, the default_switch is defined in the objects.inp file as follows:

value("attribute_value", default_switch)

• Using Type 1 for default_switch always occupies space in the database, even if no value is selected, unnecessarily increasing the size of db1. 

• We recommend using Type 2 for default_switch, which stores the value only when a user actively selects an option from the list.

 

String UDAs
For string-type UDAs, the default value is crucial. If the default value is empty, it is not saved to the database by default. However, if the default value is something like "N/A," it is always written to the database, increasing the database size even when not set.
See also

Properties of objects.inp files

 

Modified: 9 Sep 2025