Use object groups in object representation and in filters

In object groups the objects are grouped by a set of rules and conditions. Use the object groups to control the transparency and coloring of model objects in the model views, and in filters to define which objects are displayed or can be selected.

Where object groups are used

Object groups are sets of rules with which you can group objects by selected properties and conditions.

Use object groups in

object representations to control the transparency and coloring of model objects in all views
model view filters to define which objects are displayed in the selected view
selection filters to define which objects can be selected
Organizer to filter the content of categories
Project status visualization to review the status of model objects in a specific time frame

Object groups for different purposes use different object group files. Object group files are saved in the current model’s attributes folder.


Object group	File name extension
Object group - Representation	.PObjGrp
Object group - View filter	.VObjGrp
Object group - Select filter	.SObjGrp
Object group - Organizer	.OrgObjGrp

Create an object group for object representation

On the View tab, click Representation to open the Object Representation dialog box.
Click Object group... to open the Object Group - Representation dialog box.
Select an existing object group from the Save/Load list to create a modified version or click New filter to start without existing settings.
Click Add row or continue to modify the settings on an existing row.
Select options from the Category, Property, and Condition lists.

You can use the same object properties and techniques as in filtering.
In the Value list, enter a value or select one from the model.

The values can be complete strings, such as the profile name UC310*97. You can also use incomplete strings together with wildcards. For example, the value UC* will match with all parts whose profile name begins with the characters UC*. Empty values are matched to empty object properties.

If you use multiple values, separate the strings with blank spaces (for example, 12 5). If a value consists of multiple strings, enclose the entire value in quotation marks (for example, "custom panel"), or use a question mark (for example, custom?panel) to replace the space.
Use the And/Or options and brackets to define how multiple rows work together.
To temporarily disable rules without deleting them, you can deselect the check boxes in the first column of the row. Select the check box to re-enable the rule.
Enter a unique name in the box next to the Save as button.
Click Save as to save the object group.

Object group - Representation settings

When you create object groups in the Object Group - Representation dialog box, you can use the same object properties and techniques as in filtering. The following table introduces the options shortly, for more detailed information see Object properties in filtering and Filtering techniques.


Column	Description
Check boxes	Select the check box to include the row in the rule. By default each new row is disabled
Parentheses	Use parentheses to create nested rules.
Category	Use the Object category with user-defined attributes or, for example, if you need to create a selection filter based on GUIDs.
Property	Select an available property. All user-defined attributes can be selected as well.
Condition	Numeric, textual, and date properties all have different set of conditions.
Value	You can enter the value manually, or select the value from the model by clicking an object. For example, if you select Part as Category, and Name as Property, and click a part in the model, you get its Name property in the object group rule.
And/Or	Use the And/Or column when you create rules with several rows. An empty field is the same as if it had the And option selected.

Copy object groups to another model

Select the object group you want to copy.

The object groups you have created are located in the model’s \attributes folder, and they have the file name extension .PObjGrp.
Select where you want to copy the object group.
- To make an object group available in another model, copy the file to the \attributes folder of the destination model.
- To make an object group available in all models, copy the file to the project or firm folder, defined by the advanced option XS_PROJECT or XS_FIRM.
Restart Tekla Structures.

If you want to delete the object group file in the \attributes folder, select the .PObjGrp file and press Delete.