Use a Trimble Connect project as the project or the firm folder

You can use a Trimble Connect project as the project or the firm folder to store customized files. Using Trimble Connect project to set up XS_PROJECT and XS_FIRM is often the most convenient way to store the customized files. Especially, when multiple licenses are used in one company, and you want to ensure that users always use the same settings and that the updates are automatically shared with everyone. You can use the settings stored in a Trimble Connect project for single-user, multi-user, or Tekla Model Sharing models.

When a model is opened, Tekla Structures checks the file differences between the files in the Trimble Connect project folder and in the local ..\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Trimble\tekla folder sync\ folder. The project and firm folder information is updated from Trimble Connect to local versions of the models, not vice versa.

In practice, this means that Tekla Structures downloads new files from the project or film folder to the local model and updates any changed files. If a local file is not stored in the Trimble Connect project folder, the file is removed from the local model.

When Tekla Structures detects a change between the local model data and the data in the Trimble Connect project or firm folder, the following notification appears:

If you click Yes, the model is saved and closed. Then, the local model data is updated and the model is re-opened.

Tekla Structures uses Trimble Connect folder sync (CONNECT_FOLDER_SYNC) to synchronize the data.

For more detailed information on how to create the Trimble Connect project and folders, see Video: How to use a Trimble Connect folder as the project or firm folder and Using Trimble Connect files in Tekla Structures.

Note that

if you use the Trimble Connect project and firm folders with Tekla Model Sharing, all users need to have access both to the Trimble Connect project and to the Tekla Model Sharing model.
files that are generated when macros are compiled (cs.dll and .cs.pdb) are ignored in the folder sync operation. Thus, adding these two files in the local folder will not trigger an update.

Set a folder in a Trimble Connect project as XS_PROJECT

Create a Tekla Structures model.
To link the model to a Trimble Connect project, on the File menu, go to Trimble Connect > Start collaboration, select the needed options and click Create.

The model is linked to the selected Trimble Connect project.
To open the Trimble Connect project explorer, on the Trimble Connect ribbon tab, click For browser > Project expoler.
Create a folder that you want to use as a project folder to the Trimble Connect project.

Add the needed settings and files to the folder.
In Tekla Structures, on the File menu, go to Settings > Advanced options, and find the XS_PROJECT advanced option.
Set the value of XS_PROJECT to %CONNECT_FOLDER_SYNC%<folder>, where the folder is the Trimble Connect project folder.

If you use the same Trimble Connect project both as the XS_PROJECT folder and for collaboration, use a sub-folder in the XS_PROJECT folder, so that the XS_PROJECT folder is separated from the Trimble Connect collaboration information. Set the sub-folder to %CONNECT_FOLDER_SYNC%\<folder>\<sub-folder of the folder>.

For example, you could save the project folder under the Project settings folder with the name Project. In this example, the value should then be set to %CONNECT_FOLDER_SYNC%\Project Settings\Project. You can also use lower level sub-folders.
Click OK.
Restart Tekla Structures for the change to take effect.
When you open the model, a notification about the changes in project folder data appears. Click Yes.

Set a folder in a Trimble Connect project as XS_FIRM

Create a Tekla Structures model.
Open the Trimble Connect project that you want to use as firm folder.
Create a folder that you want to use as a firm folder to the Trimble Connect project.

Add the needed settings and files to the folder or in the sub-folder.
Find out the project identifier and the region of the project.
You can see the project identifier and the region in Trimble Connect for Browser:

The region is the same as the project server location setting. The options are:
- asia
- europe
- northAmerica
- australia
In Tekla Structures, on the File menu, go to Settings > Advanced options, and find the XS_FIRM advanced option.
Set the value of XS_FIRM to %CONNECT_FOLDER_SYNC%\<ProjectID>\<region>(\<folder>\<sub-folder of the folder>).

For example, the value could be %CONNECT_FOLDER_SYNC%\3cp-Q3VCH9ogeurope.

Note that the path works whether you use a \ separator between the project ID and the region (%CONNECT_FOLDER_SYNC%\<ProjectID>\<region>), or whether you leave the separator out (%CONNECT_FOLDER_SYNC%\<ProjectID><region>)

If you use the same Trimble Connect project both as the XS_FIRM folder and for collaboration, use a sub-folder in the XS_FIRM folder, so that the XS_FIRM folder is separated from the Trimble Connect collaboration information. Set the sub-folder to %CONNECT_FOLDER_SYNC%\<ProjectID>\<region>\<folder>\<sub-folder of the folder>.

For example, you could save the project folder under the Project settings folder with the name Project. In this case, the value should be set to %CONNECT_FOLDER_SYNC%\3cp-Q3VCH9o\europe\Project Settings\Project. You can also use lower level sub-folders.
Click OK.
Restart Tekla Structures for the change to take effect.
When you open the model, a notification about the changes in project folder data appears. Click Yes.