Trimble Identity

Tekla Online services use Trimble Identity for identification. You can use your Trimble Identity with other Trimble services, such as Trimble Connect and SketchUp 3D Warehouse.

Each organization has at least one account administrator, who is responsible for managing the organization group used in Tekla Online services. As an administrator, you manage the people in your organization group so that they can access the services they need. Several people in your organization can be administrators. The first user is invited by a Trimble representative, and that person is then responsible for adding other users and administrators as necessary.

As an administrator, you are responsible for:

For more information, see Trimble Identity for Tekla Online services and Managing Trimble Identities and Tekla Model Sharing licenses.

Operating system and hardware recommendations

Tekla Structures can be installed on recent 64-bit Windows operating systems.

If the operating system is not one of the supported versions of Windows, the installation is cancelled. The installation also requires that Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.1 or newer is installed on the computer. The installation of .NET Framework 4.5.1 is included in the Tekla Structures installation package, and it is executed if needed.

For more information on recommended operating system and hardware specifications, see Tekla Structures 2018 Hardware Recommendations.

FlexNet licensing system

Tekla Structures uses a licensing system called FlexNet Publisher License Management (FlexNet), a system provided by Flexera Software. The FlexNet licensing system is activation-based, which means that hardware locks or passwords are not required. Instead, a floating license system is used where the license is stored on a license server.

If you only use one license of Tekla Structures , you can install the license server on the same computer as Tekla Structures , making the license available on this one workstation. In an environment with multiple licenses and users, you install the license server in your company network, which allows for more flexible and efficient use of your licenses according to need.

When a user starts Tekla Structures , the program checks for an available license from the license server and uses that license. When the user exits Tekla Structures , the license becomes available for other users connected to the same license server. For offline use, the user can borrow a license from the server and then return it later.

To see which license server version to use with your current Tekla Structures version , see Which license server version to use.

In an activation-based licensing system, the following tasks need to be performed before users can start using Tekla Structures :

• Install and set up a license server on a computer.
• Save the entitlement certificate and activate the licenses.
• Connect each client computer with Tekla Structures to the license server.

For more information, see Tekla Structures licensing system.

Operating system

The server that is used as the Tekla Structures license server does not have to be very efficient or have maximum performance capability. However, it is important to ensure that the server hardware is reliable, and to maintain the server system carefully. See Tekla Structures 2018 Hardware Recommendations for information on operating systems and virtual machine platforms.

For more detailed information on how to set up the license server, see Installing Tekla Structures license server and Checklist for the Tekla Structures license server administrator.

Useful information on the FlexNet system can be found in the documents provided with the installation and in Tekla Downloads. The following introductions are available:

• FlexNet License Administration Guides by Flexera Software are general guides that contain, for example, instructions on how to create user groups and manage access rights:
  • C:\TeklaStructures\License\Server\fnp_LicAdmin.pdf
  • C:\TeklaStructures\License\Server\LicenseAdministration.pdf

Using multiple license servers in one company

You may want to spread your license pool on several servers in your company. You may have offices in many cities, each office with its own license server, or you may simply want to divide the license pool if there is server downtime.

For example, you can divide your total license entitlement on several servers simply by activating one half of your licenses on one server and the other half of the licenses on another server. This way, if there is a maintenance break on one of the servers, you can advise your users to obtain the license from the other server.

You can also configure Tekla Structures to check licenses from several servers:

1. In Tekla Structures , open a model and click File > Settings > Change license server.
2. In the Server address box, give the port@host addresses of the license servers separated with a semicolon (; ).
3. Click OK.

   The updates will take place the next time you start Tekla Structures.

   

Monitor license usage

You can monitor the usage of Tekla Structures in your company based on the licensing information. The tool for monitoring the license usage is called LMTOOLS , and it is delivered with the Tekla Structures license server. The license server statistics area on the Statistics tab displays information about the license use. For more information, see Tekla Structures License Administration Tool options and settings.

To view which licenses are currently in use, you need to have administrator rights and take the following steps on your license server:

1. Go to  Tekla Structures Licensing > LMTOOLS  through the  Start  menu or  Start screen , depending on your Windows operating system. 
2. On the Utilities tab, define which license server you want to monitor. Type tekla in the Vendor Name box and your license server port@host definition in the Path box.
3. Click Override Path.
4. On the Server Status tab, click Perform Status Enquiry. You will now receive a listing of how many licenses and which configurations are activated on the server, and how many of the licenses are in use at the moment of enquiry.

   

The status enquiry functionality uses abbreviations of Tekla Structures configurations. You can find the description of the abbreviations in your entitlement certificate or in Tekla Structures License Administration Tool.

For a comprehensive description of the status enquiry syntax, see LMTOOLS options and settings used in Tekla Structures licensing.

Direct installation

1. Double-click the .tsep installer that you have downloaded.
2. The Tekla Structures extension manager dialog box opens with the name of the extension that is going to be installed.

   By default .tsep installers are opened with Tekla Structures extension manager. Some .tsep installers are run directly from Tekla Warehouse with the Insert into model option.

3. Select the Tekla Structures versions to which you want to import and click the Import button. The next time you start Tekla Structures , the extension is automatically installed, and it is shown in Tekla Structures extension manager.

Installation in Tekla Structures extension manager

You can also install a .tsep installer from Tekla Structures extension manager in Tekla Structures.

1. In the Applications & components catalog, click > Manage extensions > Extension manager to open Tekla Structures extension manager.
2. Click Import and browse to the .tsep installer that you want to install.
3. Click Open.

   The imported .tsep is installed the next time you start Tekla Structures. It is shown in Tekla Structures extension manager , and is ready for use in the Applications & components catalog.

Centralized installation

You can centrally install a batch of .tsep installers across company workstations. This method is meant for system administrators.

By default, the .tsep installers waiting for installation are stored in \ProgramData\Tekla Structures\ <version> \Extensions\To be installed. To install centrally, you need to copy the .tsep installers to the %XSDATADIR%\Extensions\To be installed folder. Create the \To be installed folder if it does not exist yet.

When Tekla Structures starts, it checks the available .tsep installers from the \To be installed folder and installs them automatically. If there is an older version of the same extension package, it is uninstalled before installing the new version. Installation is cancelled if the same or newer version has already been installed.

• The installed .tsep installers are stored in the %XSDATADIR%\Extensions\Installed folder.
• Invalid .tsep installers are uninstalled and moved to the %XSDATADIR%\Extensions\Invalid installations folder.
• Cancelled .tsep installers are stored in %XSDATADIR%\Extensions\Cancelled installations.

Copying .tsep installers

We recommend that you use ROBOCOPY from the command prompt ( cmd.exe ) to copy the .tsep installers. More information on ROBOCOPY can be found on the Microsoft website, for example.

The basic syntax for ROBOCOPY is: robocopy <Source> <Destination> [<File>[ ...]] [<Options>]

robocopy
"\\Server1\prod\TeklaStructures\2017\Environments_TSEP"
"C:\ProgramData\Tekla Structures\2017\Extensions\To be installed"
*.tsep

Centralized uninstallation

You can uninstall .tsep packages in batches by creating an empty file without an extension, with the name RemoveExtensionOnStartup , in \ProgramData\Tekla Structures\ <version> \Extensions\Installed\[Extension_To_Be_Uninstalled]. The extensions are removed the next time Tekla Structures is started.

Folder structure on local computer

See Tekla Structures installation folders for information on how the folder structure on the local computer is set up.

Company folder structure

We recommend using a central file folder for storing the models and setup files for the company-specific settings and the project-specific settings. Tekla Structures then reads the settings from the central file server. When upgrading to a new Tekla Structures version, or updating the company logo, for example, the files only need to be replaced in one place. This way taking backups and upgrading is easier.

For more information, see Create project and firm folders.

Backup

As all valuable information and work your company stores, it is also important to take backups of the model folders, and firm and project settings. If your company has a system for taking automatic scheduled backups, schedule your system to take the backups at night time, outside working hours to prevent any possible conflicts in the model. Do not forget to also take a backup of the license entitlements.

Virus protection

Virus protection software has sometimes caused problems in saving models and drawings to the model folder. These problems may occur especially if you have your model saved on a network drive. We strongly recommend that you add Tekla Structures into the safe list of your antivirus system, and to set up your virus protection in a way that actions in your model folder are not blocked or scanned.