Tekla 15 - Template Editor User Guide

TplEd User’s Guide

Version 3.31 February 2009 Copyright © 2009 Tekla Corporation

© 2009 Tekla Corporation and its licensors. All rights reserved. This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referenced Software. Use of the Software, and use of this Software Manual are governed by a License Agreement. Among other provisions, the License Agreement sets certain warranties for the Software and this Manual, disclaims other warranties, limits recoverable damages, defines permitted uses of the Software, and determines whether you are an authorized user of the Software. Please refer to the License Agreement for important obligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights. In addition, this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. Unauthorized reproduction, display, modification, or distribution of this Manual, or any portion of it, may result in severe civil and criminal penalties, and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law. Tekla, Tekla Structures, Xcity, Xengineer, Xpipe, Xpower, Xsteel, and Xstreet are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Tekla Corporation in the European Union, the United States, and/or other countries. Other product and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may be trademarks of their respective owners. By referring to a third-party product or brand, Tekla does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsement by such third party and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement, except where otherwise expressly stated. Portions of this software: Copyright © 2000 Marc Alexander Lehmann Copyright © 1988-1996 Sam Leffler Copyright © 1991-1996 Silicon Graphics, Inc. Copyright © 1995-1998 Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler This software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group. Copyright © 1991-1998, Thomas G. Lane. DWGdirect, DGNdirect and OpenDWG Toolkit/Viewkit libraries © 1998-2009 Open Design Alliance. All rights reserved. Elements of the software described in this Manual may be the subject of patents and/ or pending patent applications in the European Union and/or other countries. Tekla Technology Tools and Kits are property of Tekla.

Contents

Preface....................................................................................................... 17 Audience..................................................................................... 17 Using this guide ........................................................................... 17 New in this version ....................................................................... 18 Related documentation................................................................. 19 Style conventions......................................................................... 19 Organization ................................................................................ 20

TPLED USER’S GUIDE

5

1

Introduction to Templates ....................................................................... 23 1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

6

What are templates? .............................................................................. 23 Graphical templates...................................................................... 24 Textual templates ......................................................................... 24 Output options.............................................................................. 24 Using symbols and presentations in templates ................................ 25 How Tekla products use templates................................................. 25 Using data from a Tekla product.............................................................. 26 Content types............................................................................... 26 Global attributes ........................................................................... 26 Value field meanings .................................................................... 27 Template components and objects .......................................................... 27 Template components .................................................................. 27 Template objects.......................................................................... 28 What are properties? .................................................................... 29 Using templates in Tekla products........................................................... 30 Template output process............................................................... 30 From template file to material listing ............................................... 30 From template file to map label...................................................... 33 From template file to hierarchical listing .......................................... 34


2

Using TplEd ............................................................................................... 35 2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

2.6

2.7

Installing and running TplEd ................................................................... 35 Installation................................................................................... 35 Start TplEd .................................................................................. 36 Start TplEd with advanced command line options ........................... 36 Exit TplEd.................................................................................... 37 Introducing the TplEd user interface ........................................................ 38 Main window................................................................................ 39 Workarea .................................................................................... 40 Content Browser .......................................................................... 40 Preview Pane .............................................................................. 41 Toolbars...................................................................................... 41 Status bar.................................................................................... 44 Pop-up menus ............................................................................. 44 Using the Content Browser..................................................................... 44 View or hide the Content Browser.................................................. 44 Float or dock the Content Browser................................................. 44 Move in template hierarchy in the Content Browser......................... 45 Set object visibility in the Content Browser ..................................... 45 Selecting components and objects in the Content Browser .............. 46 Edit template through the Content Browser..................................... 46 Working with template windows .............................................................. 46 Arrange template windows............................................................ 47 Pan............................................................................................. 47 Zoom in or out ............................................................................. 47 Restore original view .................................................................... 48 Setting drawing options.......................................................................... 48 Draw several objects running with the same tool ............................. 48 Draw with the grid ........................................................................ 49 Setting program preferences .................................................................. 49 General preferences..................................................................... 50 Workarea preferences .................................................................. 51 File Location preferences.............................................................. 52 Selecting items in TplEd......................................................................... 55 TPLED USER’S GUIDE

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2.8

3

Working with Templates .......................................................................... 57 3.1 3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

8

Selecting multiple components or objects ....................................... 55 Selecting partially affected components or objects........................... 55 Using a presentation .............................................................................. 55

Creating a template................................................................................ 57 Creating, opening & saving template files................................................. 58 Create a new template file............................................................. 58 Open an existing template file........................................................ 59 Close a template file ..................................................................... 59 Save a template file ...................................................................... 60 Save template file with different name or location ............................ 60 Work with multiple templates ......................................................... 61 Selecting templates, components & objects.............................................. 61 Select template for editing ............................................................. 61 Select component or object for editing............................................ 61 Select multiple components or objects............................................ 62 Deselect templates, components or objects .................................... 62 Editing template properties ..................................................................... 62 Open the template page property dialog ......................................... 63 Edit page and margin settings ....................................................... 64 View and add information.............................................................. 64 Change template type................................................................... 65 Set grid density ............................................................................ 65 Editing the output of a template ............................................................... 66


4

Working with Template Components ................................................... 69 4.1 4.2 4.3

4.4

4.5

4.6

4.7

Working with components ...................................................................... 70 Insert a component................................................................................ 70 Working with a header and a footer ......................................................... 71 Use a header or footer.................................................................. 71 Edit header or footer properties ..................................................... 71 Working with page headers & page footers .............................................. 71 Use a page header or page footer ................................................. 72 Edit page header or page footer properties..................................... 72 Working with rows ................................................................................. 72 Use a row.................................................................................... 72 Edit row properties ....................................................................... 74 Filter unwanted lines out from output ............................................. 75 Sort output lines........................................................................... 76 Arrange rows ............................................................................... 76 Use row hierarchy ........................................................................ 77 Editing template components.................................................................. 77 Edit component properties ............................................................ 77 Cut, copy or paste component....................................................... 78 Delete a component ..................................................................... 78 Crop template components ........................................................... 78 Change the component type ......................................................... 79 Editing component properties ................................................................. 80 Open the component property dialog ............................................. 80 Edit name.................................................................................... 80 Edit height ................................................................................... 80 Edit the output options of component ............................................. 81 Edit the content type of the row ..................................................... 81 Edit the sort type of the row........................................................... 82 Edit the visibility of the row............................................................ 83 Edit the column settings................................................................ 83 Edit a row rule.............................................................................. 85 Edit free attributes........................................................................ 85


9

5

Working with Template Objects ............................................................. 87 5.1 5.2

5.3

5.4

5.5

5.6

10

Insert an object...................................................................................... 87 Drawing objects ..................................................................................... 88 Draw a line .................................................................................. 89 Draw a polyline ............................................................................ 89 Draw an arc ................................................................................. 90 Draw a circle ................................................................................ 90 Draw a rectangle .......................................................................... 90 Edit drawing object properties........................................................ 91 Symbols and pictures ............................................................................. 91 File formats TplEd can use............................................................ 91 Set default directories for symbols and pictures............................... 92 Insert a symbol or picture .............................................................. 92 Edit symbol properties .................................................................. 93 Edit picture properties ................................................................... 94 Texts .................................................................................................... 95 Insert text .................................................................................... 95 Edit text properties ....................................................................... 96 Edit text string .............................................................................. 97 AutoCAD and MicroStation files .............................................................. 97 File versions TplEd can import....................................................... 97 Import AutoCAD or MicroStation file ............................................... 97 Edit imported images .................................................................... 99 Set the way TplEd imports fill types................................................ 99 Set the way TplEd imports fonts................................................... 100 Limitations in AutoCAD and MicroStation file imports..................... 100 Value fields ......................................................................................... 101 Insert a value field ...................................................................... 101 Edit value field properties ............................................................ 103 Get data from your Tekla product database .................................. 103 Get data from other value fields ................................................... 104 Set the data type of value field..................................................... 105 Set sort order of a value field ....................................................... 105 Set sort priority of value fields...................................................... 106


Sum field values automatically .................................................... 106 Edit value field formula ............................................................... 107 Set output properties of a value field ............................................ 108 5.7 Graphical fields ................................................................................... 109 Insert a graphical field ................................................................ 109 Edit graphical field properties ...................................................... 110 Edit graphical field attribute ......................................................... 111 5.8 Editing template objects ....................................................................... 112 Edit object properties.................................................................. 112 Cut, copy or paste object ............................................................ 112 Delete an object......................................................................... 112 Duplicate an object..................................................................... 113 Group or ungroup objects ........................................................... 113 Align objects .............................................................................. 114 Move an object .......................................................................... 114 Resize or reshape an object........................................................ 115 Rotate object ............................................................................. 116 Align object to grid...................................................................... 116 5.9 Editing object properties....................................................................... 116 Open the property dialog ............................................................ 117 Set properties for new objects ..................................................... 117 Edit name.................................................................................. 117 Edit size .................................................................................... 118 Edit line color, type and width...................................................... 119 Edit fill color and type ................................................................. 119 Edit font color, type and dimensions............................................. 120 Edit angle of text, value field or symbol ........................................ 121 5.10 Free attributes..................................................................................... 122 Add free attributes...................................................................... 122 Edit free attributes...................................................................... 124 Delete free attributes .................................................................. 124


11

6

Working with Formulas and Rules ...................................................... 127 6.1

6.2

6.3

6.4

6.5 6.6

12

Value field formulas ............................................................................. 127 Formula Contents dialog ............................................................. 128 Check syntax ............................................................................. 129 Cut, copy and paste text ............................................................. 130 Row rules............................................................................................ 130 Rule Wizard dialog ..................................................................... 131 Rule Contents dialog .................................................................. 132 Conditional structure................................................................... 135 Comparison operators ................................................................ 136 Logical operators........................................................................ 137 Control functions ........................................................................ 137 Data functions ..................................................................................... 139 Attribute functions....................................................................... 139 Value field functions ................................................................... 140 Mathematical operations....................................................................... 142 Arithmetic operators ................................................................... 142 Trigonometric functions............................................................... 142 Miscellaneous functions .............................................................. 143 Statistical functions..................................................................... 144 Data type conversions ................................................................ 145 String operations.................................................................................. 146 Common tasks with functions................................................................ 148 Create a property listing .............................................................. 148 Calculate total and intermediate sums .......................................... 149 Output a row under a condition .................................................... 151


7

Template Conversion ............................................................................ 155 7.1 7.2

7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6

7.7

7.8

Convert old template file....................................................................... 156 Converting a folder of templates ........................................................... 157 Convert template folder .............................................................. 158 Runtime messages .................................................................... 158 Command line options................................................................ 159 Conversion log file ............................................................................... 159 Backup files ........................................................................................ 160 When do warnings and errors occur? .................................................... 160 Template conversion warnings ............................................................. 161 Template warnings..................................................................... 161 Rules warnings .......................................................................... 161 Margin setting warnings.............................................................. 162 Object warnings ......................................................................... 163 Template conversion errors .................................................................. 164 General errors ........................................................................... 165 Corrupted files ........................................................................... 166 Object errors.............................................................................. 166 Troubleshooting conversions ................................................................ 166 What to do when you receive conversion warnings ....................... 167 What to do when you receive conversion errors ............................ 167 Symbols in template conversion .................................................. 167 Mapping colors or presentation pens in template conversion.......... 168 Mapping attribute names and properties in template conversion..... 169 Mapping fonts in template conversion .......................................... 170


13

8

Menu Reference ...................................................................................... 173 8.1

8.2

14

File menu commands ........................................................................... 174 New........................................................................................... 174 Open... ...................................................................................... 174 Close ........................................................................................ 174 Close All.................................................................................... 175 Save ......................................................................................... 175 Save As..................................................................................... 175 Save All..................................................................................... 175 Template > Type... ..................................................................... 175 Template > Page... ..................................................................... 176 Recent files................................................................................ 176 Exit ........................................................................................... 176 Edit menu commands........................................................................... 177 Undo ......................................................................................... 177 Redo ......................................................................................... 177 Cut............................................................................................ 177 Copy ......................................................................................... 177 Paste ........................................................................................ 178 Delete ....................................................................................... 178 Group........................................................................................ 178 Ungroup .................................................................................... 178 Sort and Draw Order > Up........................................................... 178 Sort and Draw Order > Down ...................................................... 179 Sort and Draw Order > Row Level Up .......................................... 179 Sort and Draw Order > Row Level Down ...................................... 179 Crop > Template Left Side .......................................................... 180 Crop > Template Right Side ........................................................ 180 Crop > Component Top .............................................................. 180 Crop > Component Bottom.......................................................... 180 Crop > Component Height........................................................... 180 Change Type... .......................................................................... 181 Duplicate... ................................................................................ 181 Move... ...................................................................................... 181


8.3

8.4

Align > Lefts .............................................................................. 181 Align > Rights ............................................................................ 182 Align > Tops .............................................................................. 182 Align > Bottoms ......................................................................... 182 Align to Grid .............................................................................. 182 End Action................................................................................. 182 Properties.................................................................................. 182 View menu commands......................................................................... 184 Pan........................................................................................... 184 Zoom In .................................................................................... 184 Zoom Out .................................................................................. 184 Restore ..................................................................................... 185 Toolbars > File........................................................................... 185 Toolbars > Component ............................................................... 185 Toolbars > Object....................................................................... 185 Toolbars > Zoom........................................................................ 185 Content Browser > Visible........................................................... 185 Content Browser > Drawing Objects ............................................ 186 Content Browser > Texts ............................................................ 186 Content Browser > Symbols........................................................ 186 Content Browser > Pictures ........................................................ 186 Content Browser > Groups.......................................................... 186 Content Browser > Fields............................................................ 187 Insert menu commands........................................................................ 188 Component > Header ................................................................. 188 Component > Page header ......................................................... 188 Component > Row ..................................................................... 188 Component > Page footer........................................................... 189 Component > Footer .................................................................. 189 Line .......................................................................................... 189 Polyline ..................................................................................... 189 Arc............................................................................................ 190 Circle ........................................................................................ 190 Rectangle.................................................................................. 190 Text .......................................................................................... 191 TPLED USER’S GUIDE

15

8.5

8.6

8.7

8.8

Symbol... ................................................................................... 191 Picture....................................................................................... 191 File............................................................................................ 192 Value Field ................................................................................ 192 Graphical Field........................................................................... 194 Window menu commands..................................................................... 194 Cascade .................................................................................... 194 Tile Horizontally.......................................................................... 194 Tile Vertically ............................................................................. 195 Arrange ..................................................................................... 195 Options menu commands ..................................................................... 195 Continuous Action ...................................................................... 195 Grid > Snap ............................................................................... 196 Grid > Visible ............................................................................. 196 Grid > Density... ......................................................................... 196 Pick > Multiple............................................................................ 196 Pick > Partially ........................................................................... 197 Keyboard Input........................................................................... 197 Preferences... ............................................................................ 197 Help menu commands ......................................................................... 198 Contents.................................................................................... 198 About TplEd............................................................................... 198 Pop-up menu commands...................................................................... 198 Workarea pop-up menu commands ............................................. 198 Content Browser pop-up menu commands ................................... 199

Glossary .................................................................................................. 201 Index ......................................................................................................... 211

16


Preface

This is the TplEd User’s Guide, a guide for creating and editing template definitions for Tekla products. In this chapter you will find instructions on how to use this guide and information on new features in this version of TplEd. In some Tekla products TplEd is also referred to as Template Editor or TempEd.

Audience This guide is for those who want to create or customize template definitions in their Tekla products. You should be familiar with your specific Tekla product. Refer to your Tekla product documentation for more on using templates in your product.

Using this guide This guide is meant to be both a textbook and a reference guide depending on your needs and level of familiarity with TplEd. In all cases, you should be familiar with your Tekla product and how templates are used in it. If you are new to TplEd, start with Chapter 1, Introduction to Templates. Proceed with Chapter 2, Using TplEd to learn more about the TplEd interface. If you are familiar with the previous versions of TplEd, start with Related documentation (p. 19). Refer also to your Tekla product’s release notes to review any changes in template usage since the previous version. If you have the basics and want to get started with creating and editing templates, go to Chapter 3, Working with Templates.

TPLED USER’S GUIDE Preface

17

If you want information about TplEd menu commands, see Chapter 8, Menu Reference. If you are viewing this document in PDF, you are able to navigate through it easily by clicking on cross-referenced items. For example if you see a heading with a page number, you can jump to that section by clicking on it.

New in this version New features in version 3.31 are listed in the following table: Feature

For details see...

BMP pictures can be used in TplEd

File formats TplEd can use (p. 91) You can use BMP pictures in templates if your Tekla product supports them.

Changes in TplEd versions 3.0-3.30 are listed in the following table:

18


Feature

For details see...

New user interface

Introducing the TplEd user interface (p. 38)

Multi-document viewing and editing

Work with multiple templates (p. 61)

New template file format

Template Conversion (p. 155)

Picture file use

Symbols and pictures (p. 91)

AutoCAD and MicroStation file use

AutoCAD and MicroStation files (p. 97)

Improved access to Tekla product data

Using data from a Tekla product (p. 26)

Row editing extension: you can filter unwanted data out by using row content types

Content types (p. 26), Filter unwanted lines out from output (p. 75)

Row editing extension: you can create hierarchical listings by using subrows

Use row hierarchy (p. 77)

Improved row rule editor

Rule Contents dialog (p. 132)

New functions for row rules

Data functions (p. 139), Control functions (p. 137), Mathematical operations (p. 142)

Feature

For details see...

Value field formulas

Get data from your Tekla product database (p. 103), Get data from other value fields (p. 104)

Integrated HTML Help

Help menu commands (p. 198)

Free attributes

Free attributes (p. 122)

CopyField function

CopyField

Rules wizard

Rule Wizard dialog (p. 131)

Automatic template conversion upon opening an old template

Convert old template file (p. 156)

Crop template components

Crop template components (p. 78)

Additional output options for page headers and page footers

Edit the output options of component (p. 81)

Change component type and retain the information in the component

Change the component type (p. 79)

Specify line length and angle with the number pad when inserting

Draw a line (p. 89)

Preview an object position before you accept the new settings

Move an object (p. 114)

Save rules for later use

Predefined rules (p. 134)

Related documentation You need to be familiar with your Tekla product documentation with regards to using templates. If your Tekla product uses Symbols (p. 208) or Presentation (p. 207) files, you may also be able to use them in templates. In this case you may find useful background information in: • •

the SymEd User’s Guide (the guide for symbols) the PresEd User’s Guide (the guide for presentations)

Style conventions Typefaces

Different typefaces mark special items in this guide: •

User interface items and how to use them are in the following format: Select File > New... means that you should open the File menu and select the New... option. TPLED USER’S GUIDE Preface

19

•

User input appears in "quotation marks". This is any text that you type into the user interface. For example: Type "romsim" into the Font name field.

•

Function names appear in the following format: Use the GetValue function to get values. You can click the function name to jump to its definition.

•

New terms appear in italic bold, and other information that needs to be emphasized in italics. Terms and concepts also appear as links, for example: Each Value field (p. 209) in the template must contain a formula. You can click the underlined words to jump to the definition. All terms are defined in the Glossary (p. 201).

Noteboxes

Noteboxes denote information that is important for you to know for one of several different reasons: Tips introduce a shortcut or an alternative way of doing things.

Notes draw your attention to details that you may overlook and also remind you that information is in other areas of the document.

Read important notes and warnings because they help you avoid making time-consuming mistakes.

Highly technical information is usually for advanced and technically-oriented users.

Organization This document is divided into the following chapters:

20


Chapter 1: Introduction to Templates This chapter provides an overview of graphical and textual template types. It presents template components and objects and provides examples of templates in Tekla products.

Chapter 2: Using TplEd This chapter introduces TplEd and the user interface. It also discusses setting TplEd drawing options and program preferences.

Chapter 3: Working with Templates This chapter covers the use of template files and setting template properties.

Chapter 4: Working with Template Components This chapter discusses the use of template components, starting from inserting the template components and progressing to editing the output of the template. Most of the sections discuss the row component, as it has the most versatile set of output options.

Chapter 5: Working with Template Objects This chapter covers inserting and editing template objects.

Chapter 6: Working with Formulas and Rules This chapter covers using TplEd functions in value field formulas and row rules. It also provides examples of common tasks accomplished with formulas and rules.

Chapter 7: Template Conversion This chapter gives instructions on converting old templates to the new template format. This chapter also covers dealing with possible conversion warnings and errors.

Chapter 8: Menu Reference This chapter covers the menu commands in TplEd. Pop-up menus are also presented.

Glossary The glossary provides definitions for the central terms and concepts used in this guide. You might find it useful to look through the glossary before consulting other parts of this document.


21

22


1

Introduction to Templates

Introduction

TplEd is the tool for creating, editing and managing template definitions in Tekla products. This chapter introduces textual and graphical templates and covers how to use data from your Tekla product in templates. This chapter also presents template parts, which you need to be familiar with when you design templates. Examples of templates appear at the end of the chapter.

Prerequisites

You must be familiar with basic Windows applications and your Tekla product.

Organization

This chapter is divided into the following sections: • • • •

What are templates? (p. 23) Using data from a Tekla product (p. 26) Template components and objects (p. 27) Using templates in Tekla products (p. 30)

1.1 What are templates? Templates are used for a variety of different purposes, for example to print a list of parts used in a construction assembly, to denote the legend on an electrical network map, or to provide statistics on the contents of the map such as city area, scale or date. Templates are either textual or graphical, depending on their contents. Each Tekla product defines what kind of output options are available for different types of templates.

TPLED USER’S GUIDE Introduction to Templates

23

Graphical templates Graphical templates are used in all Tekla products and they generally display map legends and labels, or project and company information. In addition to text, they can contain graphics, such as table outlines, pictures or symbols. Graphical templates can also use different font types and settings. Graphical template definitions have the file extension .tpl.

Textual templates Textual templates only contain text. They are primarily used for creating reports or listings of application area specific objects, for example in material lists of steel construction assemblies in Tekla Structures. The text can be output like newspaper columns. Even though TplEd lets you use different font types and settings, they do not appear in the output template. Textual template definitions have the file extension .rpt. If you want to use specified font types, you have to use a graphical template even if the template contains only text.

Output options You create templates with TplEd and output them with your Tekla product. The output options of templates may vary between different Tekla products. Basically templates can be output on the screen, to a printer or to a file. Screen output

The screen output of a graphical template, for example a map legend, is handled in the Tekla product as an imported picture. It can be placed, for example, on top of a background map or within a drawing. Textual templates appear as text lines, usually in a separate window.

Printer output

Screen output can also be directed straight to a printer.

File output

Screen output can also be saved to a file, for example an HTML or RTF file. The available file formats depend on the Tekla product. For more information on output options please refer to your Tekla product documentation.

See also

Using data from a Tekla product (p. 26) Using templates in Tekla products (p. 30)

24


Using symbols and presentations in templates TplEd supports symbol library files and presentation files from your Tekla product. You must define the default file locations for both file types in TplEd before using them. See also

Symbols and pictures (p. 91) Set default directories for symbols and pictures (p. 92) Using a presentation (p. 55)

How Tekla products use templates Tekla products use templates in a variety of ways. Tekla Structures uses both textual and graphical templates to produce reports and create lists of component assemblies, see From template file to material listing (p. 30) for an example. Tekla Xcity and Tekla Xpipe use templates to make map labels. The example label below is from Tekla Xpipe.

Tekla Xpower uses templates to make map labels used to display information about electricity networks. See From template file to map label (p. 33) for an example. For more specific information on the use of templates in your Tekla product, please refer to the product documentation.


25

1.2 Using data from a Tekla product Both textual and graphical templates can get data from the Tekla product. This section introduces the different types of product-specific information that you can use in templates: • • •

Content types - database object types that you can handle in templates Global attributes - database object properties that you can list in templates Value field meanings - formatting options for global attributes

TplEd cannot access the Tekla product or its database, so the Tekla product provides TplEd with definition files that contain listings of what kind of data can be gathered. The Tekla product adds the actual data to the template during output. All definition files are Tekla product-specific. Please refer to your Tekla product documentation for advice on using content types, global attributes and value field meanings.

Content types A content type is an object type in the Tekla product database. The content type definition file contains the list of all available object types. The listing is available when editing the row components of a template, so you can filter out unwanted object types from the output. The definition file is set in TplEd File Location preferences (p. 52). See also

Filter unwanted lines out from output (p. 75)

Global attributes A global attribute is a property of an object in the Tekla product database. It can also refer to graphical data such as a symbol or a picture in the Tekla product. The global attributes definition file contains the list of available properties. Templates use field objects for getting the data. Value fields get textual data, and graphical fields are area reservations for Tekla product graphics or texts. Each field refers to the Tekla product by using one or more global attributes. TplEd checks attribute names when formulas and rules are created. All unknown attributes are reported to the user. If no global attribute file is specified, then this check is skipped.

26


The definition file is set in TplEd File Location preferences (p. 52). See also

Value fields (p. 101) Graphical fields (p. 109)

Value field meanings The value field meanings are formatting options that are related to Global attributes (p. 204). The Tekla product applies formatting when the template is output. For example, a value field meaning Weight might add a unit postfix such as kg or lbs to the field value. For each value field meaning a set of available units and precisions can be defined. For example the meaning Length might have units like mm, cm, inch, ft and the unit 'ft' might have precisions like 1/4, 1/2, 1/8 and 1/12. The definition file is set in TplEd File Location preferences (p. 52). See also

Set output properties of a value field (p. 108)

1.3 Template components and objects This section gives a brief overview of the building blocks of a template. Template layout is designed with template components. Template objects are then placed inside template components to add either graphical or textual data. The properties of components, objects and the template itself determine the final appearance.

Template components Templates can be made up of five different component types, but not all components have to be present to build a template. The components are:


27

Component

Description

Header

A header appears once at the beginning of a template. It may contain, for example, the heading of the template.

Page header

A page header appears at the beginning of template page. There are many different options for specifying the output policy, see Edit the output options of component (p. 81).

Row

A template can have multiple rows. A row defines the things that are listed in the template, each row usually representing an object from the Tekla product database. Rows contain Field objects (p. 29) that define the Attributes (p. 201) to get from the database. For a detailed description on how template rows are processed during output, see Template output process (p. 30).

See also

Page footer

A page footer is output at the end of template page. There are many different options for specifying the output policy, see Edit the output options of component (p. 81).

Footer

A footer appears at the end of a template.

Working with Template Components (p. 69)

Template objects The template type determines what kind of objects can appear inside template components. You can only use graphics in graphical templates. The following template object types are available:

28


See also

Object type

Description

Drawing objects

Drawing objects are basic geometric shapes such as lines, rectangles and circles.

Text objects

Text objects display static texts such as headings or title line texts.

Symbols

You can insert symbols from your Tekla product symbol libraries.

Pictures

You can insert pictures from raster format files.

Imported files

You can import AutoCAD and MicroStation files.

Field objects

Fields contain textual or graphical data that is gathered from the Tekla product. For more information see Value fields (p. 101) and Graphical fields (p. 109).

Working with Template Objects (p. 87)

What are properties? Properties determine things such as the size, color, font and output options of an item. You can edit properties through item-specific property dialogs. Below are links to detailed property descriptions: Item

For property description see...

Template

Editing template properties (p. 62)

Header

Edit header or footer properties (p. 71)

Page header

Edit page header or page footer properties (p. 72)

Row

Edit row properties (p. 74)

Page footer

Edit page header or page footer properties (p. 72)

Footer

Edit header or footer properties (p. 71)

Drawing objects

Edit drawing object properties (p. 91)

Symbols

Edit symbol properties (p. 93)

Pictures

Edit picture properties (p. 94)

Texts

Edit text properties (p. 96)

Value fields

Edit value field properties (p. 103)

Graphical fields

Edit graphical field properties (p. 110)


29

1.4 Using templates in Tekla products This section describes how templates are processed in Tekla products when they are used to create listings or labels. It also provides examples of different kinds of templates: material listings, map labels and hierarchical material listings.

Template output process The output process of a template starts when you use the template in your Tekla product. It consists of the following phases: 1.

Based on the Content types (p. 202) and Global attributes (p. 204) used in the template, the Tekla product prepares a list of object identifiers. The list contains an id for all objects that are to be processed. This phase does not appear for the user.

2.

The header and an optional page header are output.

3.

The first object in the identifier list is chosen for processing. All rows in the template are output, and value field references to Global attributes (p. 204) are resolved using this first object. Each row appears as a line in the output template. If a row has a hierarchy, the subrows are processed before continuing to the next row. For details, see Use row hierarchy (p. 77). If a new page is needed, page headers and page footers are printed according to their output policies.

See also

4.

Step 3 is repeated for all objects in the identifier list.

5.

The footer and an optional page footer are output.

From template file to material listing (p. 30) From template file to map label (p. 33) From template file to hierarchical listing (p. 34) Editing the output of a template (p. 66)

From template file to material listing This example illustrates a textual template that creates a listing of selected parts of a steel building.

30


The picture below displays the steel structure. A set of steel beams on the roof and along the wall are selected for processing. The selected parts appear in white. The listing contains the type, count, length and weight of selected beams, and the total weight of all selected parts. -------------------------------------CONTRACT NO:100-2050 CONTRACT: -------------------------------------Mark Profile No. Length Weight -------------------------------------1 IPE550 2 12840 1350.6 2 IPE450 8 5773 447.8 -------------------------------------Total for 6283.4 --------------------------------------

The listing is based on the following template:

The template consists of the following components: 1.

The header component at the top of the template prints the contract information and the title line of the listing. It contains the following objects: • • •

2.

dashed lines (text objects) texts "Mark", "Profile" "No.", etc. (text objects) data from the Tekla product: project number and name (value field objects)

The row component defines the listing of the steel beams. It has value fields that get the type, count, length and the weight of selected objects. Duplicate lines, that is, similar objects in the product database, are combined in the output by default. You can also choose to output duplicate lines. See Sort output lines (p. 76).


31

3.

The page footer at the bottom of the template contains the following objects: • •

total sum of weights of all processed steel beams (value field) text "Total for" and dashed lines (text objects).

The references to the Tekla product data are made by using Global attributes (p. 26) in value fields.

32


From template file to map label In addition to textual data, graphical templates may also contain graphics. This example template creates a simple map legend. The template output is a map legend, that can be inserted on a background map. The legend, for example, contains the district name, scale and important dates.

The legend is based on the following template:

The template has only a header component that contains the following objects: • • •

title texts "Energy Utility", "City", "Area", "District", etc. (text objects) table outlines (line objects) data from the Tekla product: name of the city and area, etc. (value fields).


33

The references to the Tekla product data are made by using Global attributes (p. 26) in value fields.

From template file to hierarchical listing This section introduces an example of how to use row hierarchy to create hierarchical material listings, concentrating on the use of row hierarchy. The picture below shows the objects in the Tekla product database. The listing describes each cylinder object and its parts hierarchically. Cylinder 1 Part A Part B Part C Count 3 parts ------------------------------------Cylinder 2 Part A Count 1 part -------------------------------------

The listing is based on the following template:

The template consists of the following components: 1.

Cylinder_row describes an object in the Tekla product database. After this row is output for the first main object, the processing continues to its parts.

2.

Part_row is a subrow and describes a part of the object. The subrow is output repeatedly so that all parts of the main object are processed. Then processing continues to the next row.

3.

Summary_row outputs the number of parts. The output process continues to the next main object and to the first row of this template.

See also 34



2

Using TplEd

Introduction

This chapter gives an overview of working with TplEd. It covers installing and starting TplEd and introduces the TplEd user interface. Program options, preferences and using a presentation are introduced.

Organization

This chapter is divided into the following sections: • • • • • • • •

Installing and running TplEd (p. 35) Introducing the TplEd user interface (p. 38) Using the Content Browser (p. 44) Working with template windows (p. 46) Setting drawing options (p. 48) Setting program preferences (p. 49) Selecting items in TplEd (p. 55) Using a presentation (p. 55)

2.1 Installing and running TplEd Overview

This section covers how to install and run TplEd. This depends on which Tekla product you use, so you will find more detailed instructions in your Tekla product documentation.

Installation TplEd is delivered with your Tekla product package. Depending on the product, TplEd is either embedded in the product or is delivered as a stand-alone program with the product. In either case no special installation is required. TPLED USER’S GUIDE Using TplEd

35

Start TplEd How you start TplEd depends on your Tekla product. You likely can start it in more than one way too. Please refer to your product documentation for details. Here are some examples. Tekla Structures

TplEd is embedded in Tekla Structures and can be opened in one of two ways: • •

Start it in the TS drawing editor by selecting Tools > Templates.... Start it in the TS modeling editor by selecting Drawings & Reports > Template Editor….

You can also create a separate icon for starting TplEd and add it to your customized toolbar. Tekla Xcity

TplEd can be open and running without Tekla Xcity. Start TplEd by clicking on TplEd in the Tekla Xcity Start menu..

Tekla Xpipe

TplEd can be open and running without Tekla Xpipe. Start TplEd by clicking on TplEd in the Tekla Xpipe Start menu.

Tekla Xpower

TplEd can be open and running without Tekla Xpower. Start TplEd by running the batch file TplEd.bat.

Start TplEd with advanced command line options This section lists the advanced options that you can use with TplEd when you start it from the command line. This section is for the administrator level users who can, for example, utilize these features when users start TplEd through a batch file. You can use the following command line arguments:

36

TPLED USER’S GUIDE Using TplEd

Argument

Function

-L

Allows you to select the language for the TplEd user interface. is a three-letter language identifier. Available languages depend on your Tekla product. Please refer to your Tekla product documentation for information on available languages.

-i

Allows you to set the TplEd initialization file that holds the information on where TplEd searches for certain definition files. refers to an ASCII format initialization file named with the extension -ini. This is an example of such a command line option: -i C:\My Documents\Tekla\Templates\mysettings.ini

Select Options > Preferences... to edit the default file location preferences. See File Location preferences (p. 52). -w

Allows you to set the work folder for TplEd. This folder is, for example, is the base folder for file open and save operations.

All arguments are case insensitive, so uppercase letters are equal to lowercase letters.

Exit TplEd Do one of the following to exit TplEd: • • •

Select File > Exit. Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Q. Click Close in the upper right hand corner of the main window.

If you have open template files that you have not saved, TplEd asks for confirmation before exiting: • • •

Click Yes if you want to save the changes before exiting. Click No to exit without saving the changes. Click Cancel if you want to continue the current session.


37

2.2 Introducing the TplEd user interface This section introduces the parts of the TplEd user interface. Menu commands are explained in Menu Reference (p. 173).

38


Main window When you start TplEd the main window opens. The picture below shows the main window when a template is open.

The main window consists of the following parts: 1.

Workarea (p. 40) - This is where you add and edit template components and template objects.

2.

Content Browser (p. 40) - Here you can select items for editing and edit the position and hierarchy of row components.

3.

Preview Pane (p. 41) - You can check the properties of the selected template, component or object here.


39

4.

Toolbars (p. 41) - Use the icons on the toolbars to quickly access the most common file and editing operations. Icons appear grey and are disabled when you cannot use them, for example if no templates are open or nothing is selected for editing.

5.

Status bar (p. 44) - The status bar shows information on the selected tool or command.

Workarea The Workarea is the primary area where you edit templates. It shows the selected template, so you can insert components and objects. You can customize the appearance of the Workarea to your liking, for example, the background and component outline colors. For details, see Workarea preferences (p. 51). If you have multiple templates open, each of them appears in its own window. See also Work with multiple templates (p. 61). If you right-click the mouse in the Workarea, a pop-up menu opens access the most common viewing and editing operations. For details, see Workarea popup menu commands (p. 198). See also

Working with template windows (p. 46)

Content Browser In the Content Browser you can see a folder list that describes the contents of the open template(s). Each template appears in it as a top-level folder. Template components appear as sub folders, each of them containing a list of included template objects. Template components and objects are identified by their TplEd names which do not appear in the final template. Activating templates, components and objects

If you select a template, a component or an object in the list, it is also activated in the Workarea and vice versa. You can also select multiple template components and objects if you hold down the Ctrl key at the same time. You can see how many components and objects you have selected in the Status bar (p. 44). If you right-click in the Content Browser, a pop-up menu opens access to the most common viewing and editing operations. For details, see Content Browser popup menu commands (p. 199).

See also

Using the Content Browser (p. 44) View or hide the Content Browser (p. 44) Float or dock the Content Browser (p. 44)

40


Move in template hierarchy in the Content Browser (p. 45) Set object visibility in the Content Browser (p. 45) Edit template through the Content Browser (p. 46)

Preview Pane The Preview Pane is a read-only table within the Content Browser. It shows the properties of the selected template, component or object. If you want to edit the properties, you must open the property dialog for the selected item. You can do that by selecting Edit > Properties....

Toolbars You can select the most common file and editing operations easily through the toolbars of the TplEd main window. For additional information see View menu commands (p. 184). To view or hide the toolbars, select View > Toolbars. The check mark in front of the toolbar name indicates that it is visible. TplEd saves and maintains toolbar visibility settings across sessions. File and Edit toolbar

The File and Edit toolbar contains the following icons: Rough icon

Stylized icon

Description

Menu command

Creates a new template.

File > New... (p. 174)

Opens an existing template.

File > Open... (p. 174)

Saves the selected template.

File > Save (p. 175)

Cuts the selected items.

Edit > Cut (p. 177)

Copies the selected items.

Edit > Copy (p. 177)

Pastes the cut or copied items.

Edit > Paste (p. 178)


41

Rough icon

Component toolbar


Menu command

Deletes the selected items.

Edit > Delete (p. 178)

Ends the current action so you can select items.

Edit > End Action (p. 182)

Undoes the latest operation.

Edit > Undo (p. 177)

Redoes the undone operation.

Edit > Redo (p. 177)

Stylized icon

Description

Menu command

Inserts a header.

Insert > Component > Header

Inserts a page header.

Insert > Component > Page header (p. 188)

Inserts a row.

Insert > Component > Row (p. 188)

Inserts a page footer.

Insert > Component > Page footer

Inserts a footer.

Insert > Component > Footer (p. 189)

(p. 188)

(p. 189)

The Object toolbar contains the following icons: Rough icon

42

Description

The Component toolbar contains the following icons: Rough icon

Object toolbar

Stylized icon

Stylized icon

Description

Menu command

Inserts a line.

Insert > Line (p. 189)

Inserts a polyline.

Insert > Polyline (p. 189)

Inserts an arc.

Insert > Arc (p. 190)

Rough icon

Stylized icon

Description

Menu command

Inserts a free form area.

Insert > Polyline (p. 189)

Inserts a circle.

Insert > Circle (p. 190)

Inserts a rectangle.

Insert > Rectangle (p. 190)

Inserts a filled circle.

Insert > Circle (p. 190)

Inserts a filled rectangle.

Insert > Rectangle (p. 190)

Inserts a text object.

Insert > Text (p. 191)

Inserts a symbol.

Insert > Symbol... (p. 191)

Inserts a picture.

Insert > Picture... (p. 191)

Inserts a value field.

Insert > Value Field

(p. 192) Inserts a graphical field. Zoom toolbar

Insert > Graphical Field

(p. 194)

The Zoom toolbar contains the following icons: Rough icon

Stylized icon

Description

Menu command

Pans as you click or drag.

View > Pan (p. 184)

Zooms in as you click or drag.

View > Zoom In (p. 184)

Zooms out as you click.

View > Zoom Out (p. 184)

Fits template in its window.

View > Restore (p. 185)


43

Status bar The status bar shows information on the selected tool or command and is displayed on the bottom left side of the main window.

Pop-up menus You can open context sensitive pop-up menus in the main window by right-clicking the mouse. The commands vary depending on which area in the TplEd main window you click. The Content Browser pop-up menu commands (p. 199) contain the most common editing operations and allow you to change the location or hierarchy of row components, customize the view in the browser or access properties of the selected item. Some of the commands are also available in the Sort and Drawing order toolbar. The Workarea pop-up menu commands (p. 198) contain the most common editing operations, zooming, panning and setting TplEd drawing options. You can also open the properties dialog of the selected template, component or object.

2.3 Using the Content Browser In the Content Browser you can select templates, components and objects for editing and move or copy components within a template or across templates. Here you also view and edit the Hierarchy tree (p. 205) and Sort order (p. 208) of row components.

View or hide the Content Browser To view or hide the Content Browser, select View > Content Browser > Visible. The check mark in front of the option means that the browser is visible.

Float or dock the Content Browser Undock the window

If you want to turn the Content Browser into a floating window, drag the browser move handle outside of the TplEd main window. You can also double-click the move handle.

44


Dock the window

To dock the browser window again, double-click the title bar of the Content Browser.

The browser docks to the location where it previously was docked. If you want to change the docking location, you must maximize the TplEd main window first and then drag the browser move handle so that the browser window touches either side of the main window. If the Content Browser docks elsewhere than the left or right side of the main window, TplEd resets it to the left side after you exit and restart the program.

Move in template hierarchy in the Content Browser To view or hide the hierarchy of a template folder in the Content Browser: • •

Click the + sign in front of the folder to reveal contents. The sign turns into a - sign. Click the - sign in front of the folder to hide contents. The sign turns into a + sign.

You can move in the hierarchy with the keyboard arrow keys (up and down keys). The hierarchies open as you move. Note that as you select an item in the browser it is also highlighted in the Workarea.

Set object visibility in the Content Browser You can view / hide objects of the hierarchy tree in the Content Browser: Steps

1.

Select View > Content Browser. You can also access this command from the browser pop-up menu: rightclick in the browser and point to the Content Browser option in the opening pop-up menu.

2.

This displays the object type list where you can select a type to change its visibility: • • • • • •

Drawing objects (p. 203) Texts (p. 209) Symbols (p. 208) Pictures (p. 207) Groups (p. 205) Fields (p. 204)

A check mark in front of the object type name indicates that it is visible in the browser. TPLED USER’S GUIDE Using TplEd

45

This option does not affect the output of a template. Use it for example, to hide other object types in the hierarchy tree, when you want to arrange value fields. For details, see Set sort priority of value fields (p. 106).

Selecting components and objects in the Content Browser You can select multiple template components and objects in the Content Browser if you hold down the Ctrl key at the same time. You can see how many components and objects you have selected in the Status bar (p. 44). You can apply different editing operations to the selected components / objects, such as Cut, Copy or Paste. See also

Selecting items in TplEd (p. 55) Select component or object for editing (p. 61) Cut, copy or paste component (p. 78) Cut, copy or paste object (p. 112)

Edit template through the Content Browser Common template editing tasks in the Content Browser include: • • • • • •

Select template for editing (p. 61) Select component or object for editing (p. 61) Cut, copy or paste component (p. 78) Arrange rows (p. 76) Use row hierarchy (p. 77) Set sort priority of value fields (p. 106)

2.4 Working with template windows Window operations include arranging template windows in the Workarea and focusing and zooming in a template window. See also

Introducing the TplEd user interface (p. 38) Window menu commands (p. 194)

46


Arrange template windows If you open multiple templates for editing, you can arrange the template windows by using the Window menu commands (p. 194). This menu also contains a list of open templates. If you select a template name from the list, TplEd brings the corresponding template window to the front and activates it.

Pan You can use panning to focus the view to a selected point or to move the template around the Workarea. Steps

To pan in a template window: 1.

Select View > Pan, or click the Pan icon on the Zoom toolbar.

2.

You can use panning in three ways: • • •

3.

Click to center the view around the selected point. Drag to move the template around the Workarea. Drag with the middle mouse button (this is often the same as the scrollbar button)

Repeat step 2 to continue panning. Press Esc to stop panning.

Zoom in or out Steps

To zoom on a template window: 1.

If you want to magnify the template, select View > Zoom In, or click the Zoom In icon on the Zoom toolbar. If you want to reduce the template to see more of it, use the Zoom Out icon instead.

2.

Click to zoom to the next preset percentage. The display centers around the point you click. You can also drag to center the display around the selected area.

3.

Repeat step 2 to continue zooming. To stop zooming, press Esc. When you use a wheel mouse just spin the wheel to zoom in and out quickly.


47

Restore original view To fit and display the whole template in its window, do one of the following: •

Select View > Restore.

•

Click the Restore view icon on the Zoom toolbar.

•

Right-click in the window and select Restore from the pop-up menu.

2.5 Setting drawing options In TplEd you can use the continuous drawing mode and the drawing grid to speed up your work with templates.

Draw several objects running with the same tool You can draw several objects with the same tool without having to reselect it when the continuous action mode is on. It applies to all drawing tools in the Object toolbar (p. 42) except the ones that are inserted from other files: symbols, pictures and AutoCAD or MicroStation files. TplEd maintains the selected mode across sessions. Set continuous action on or off

To set the continuous action on for all tools, do one of the following: • •

Select Options > Continuous Action. Right-click in the Workarea to open the pop-up menu and select Continuous Action. A check mark in front of the option indicates that it is on. To set the continuous action mode on temporarily for one tool only, double-click the tool.

End drawing action

When the continuous action mode is on, you must end drawing operations manually in one of the following ways: • • • •

48


Click the End Action icon. Press Esc. Select Edit > End Action. Right-click and select End Action from the pop-up menu.

If you want to continue drawing with another tool, you do not have to end the current action. You can just select another drawing tool. See also

Insert an object (p. 87)

Draw with the grid The grid is an aid for drawing and positioning template objects. When the grid is active, all clicks during drawing operations align to the nearest grid point as if the grid point had been clicked. The grid can be visible or hidden. The distance between grid points is template-specific. For details, see Set grid density (p. 65).

Activate grid

You can activate (or deactivate) the grid in one of the following ways: • •

Select Options > Grid > Snap. Right-click in empty area in the Workarea and select Grid > Snap from the pop-up menu.

The check mark in front of the option indicates that the grid is already activated. If you have drawn objects before activating the grid, you can align them to the active grid later on. See Align object to grid (p. 116). Show or hide grid

Activating the grid does not automatically make it visible. Note that the grid may also be visible without being active. To show (or hide) the grid in one of the following ways: • •

Select Options > Grid > Visible. Right-click an empty area in the Workarea and select Grid > Visible from the pop-up menu.

2.6 Setting program preferences This section describes the program preferences that you can edit in TplEd.


49

General preferences General preferences allow you to choose the measurement unit of graphical templates, show different icons, set message preferences and optionally use TrueType fonts. Steps

1.

Select Options > Preferences.... The General tab is active by default.

2.

Edit the settings to your liking. You can edit the following fields: Field

Description

Graphical units

Sets the measurement unit for graphical templates to millimeters or inches. All size-related information (for example height and width of components or objects) is displayed using the selected unit. In textual templates the unit is always character (char(s)).

50


Field

Description

Always ask for import method

Select this option if you want the Select Import Method dialog to appear whenever you import AutoCAD or Microstation files. If you leave the option unchecked, you will have to double-click for the Select Import Method dialog to appear. See Import AutoCAD or MicroStation file (p. 97) for more information.

3.

Show TrueType fonts

Select if you want to use TrueType fonts in TplEd. If unselected, you can use only Tekla fonts.

Icon display

Use stylized icons instead of classic Windows icons in TplEd Toolbars (p. 41). You must exit and restart TplEd for changes to take effect.

Reset messages to visible

Resets the user messages setting so that all messages are displayed again.

Accept with OK or select Cancel to discard the changes.

Workarea preferences Workarea preferences allow you to change the appearance of the Workarea to your liking. These settings do not affect the output template in any way.


51

Steps

1.

Select Options > Preferences... and click the Workarea tab.

2.

Edit the color and line width settings. You can edit the following fields:

3.

Field

Description

Background

Sets the Workarea background color.

Grid

Sets the grid color.

Header Page header Row Page footer Footer

For each template component you can change: • •

color of component frame (if you use a presentation, you select from pen names) line thickness (in pixels).

Accept with OK or select Cancel to discard the changes.

File Location preferences File location preferences define the default work directory and locations where TplEd searches for pictures and Tekla product-specific Definition files (p. 203). To add or edit the default file locations:

Steps

52


1.

Select Options > Preferences... and click the File Locations tab. The list of editable file locations is in two columns. The Type column contains the definition file type and cannot be edited. The Location field contains the path for the definition file or directory and can be edited.

2.

To set a definition file, click on the line that you want to edit and click the Select File button. This opens the standard file selection dialog.

You can set the following definition files: Definition file

Description

Value field meanings

Sets the definition file for Value field meanings (p. 210).

Row contents

Sets the definition file for row Content types (p. 202).

Global attributes

Sets the definition file for Global attributes (p. 204). If this setting is missing, no attribute name check is performed. See also Global attributes (p. 26).

Predefined Rules

Sets the .pdr file where user rules are stored and loaded from. See also Predefined rules (p. 134). TPLED USER’S GUIDE Using TplEd

53

Definition file

Description

Presentation

Sets the presentation file from which the pen and color settings are loaded. See Using a presentation (p. 55). Note: Tekla Structures does not use presentations.

3.

Conversion fonts

Sets the font map file to use in template conversion.

Conversion colors

Sets the color map file to use in template conversion.

Conversion attributes

Sets the attribute map file to use in template conversion.

Fill import

Sets the fill import map file to use in template conversion and in AutoCAD and MicroStation file importation.

Color Map

Sets the colormap file to use.

To set a directory (*), click in the Location field on the line that you want to edit, and type in the directory path, for example "C:\Program Files\Tekla Product\symbols". You can set the following directories: Directory

Description

Work directory (*)

Sets the initial working directory for TplEd. When opening or saving template files it is automatically active in the file selection dialog. This setting can be overridden with the command- line argument -w. See Start TplEd with advanced command line options (p. 36). You must exit and restart TplEd for changes to take effect.

Symbols, pictures (*)

Sets the directories where you can insert symbols and pictures from. You can define several directories by separating them with semicolons (;).

Fonts (*)

Sets the directories containing Tekla font files. You can define several directories by separating them with semicolons (;).

4. 54


Click OK to accept or Cancel to discard the changes.

2.7 Selecting items in TplEd This section covers the program options in TplEd that affect selecting template components and objects in the Workarea.

Selecting multiple components or objects In TplEd you can specify whether you can select multiple template components or objects or only one. Pick Multiple

Select Options > Pick > Multiple. The check mark next to the menu option indicates that option is activated, and you can select multiple items in the Workarea.

See also

Selecting partially affected components or objects (p. 55) Select multiple components or objects (p. 62)

Selecting partially affected components or objects In TplEd you can specify how area selection works. You can choose to select all template components or objects that are either completely or partially inside the drag frame, or just the ones that are completely inside. Pick Partially

Select Options > Pick > Partially. The check mark next to the option indicates that the option is on, and items that fall only partially inside the drag frame are also selected.

See also

Selecting multiple components or objects (p. 55) Select multiple components or objects (p. 62)

2.8 Using a presentation If your Tekla product does not use presentations, you can skip this section. If you use presentations in your Tekla product, you can also use them in TplEd. The pens and colors of the presentation file replace the TplEd color, line type and line width. This means you specify the color, line type and line width for a TplEd item that has these properties by selecting a pen.


55

To use a presentation file and related colormap in TplEd:

Steps

1.

Select Options > Preferences... and click the File Locations tab.

2.

Click in the Presentation line and then click Select File. Select the presentation file to use and click OK.

3.

Click in the Color Map line and then Select File. Select the color map file to use and click OK.

4.

Click OK to apply the changes and close the Preferences dialog.

The pens of the presentation are available in the template object property dialogs and also for customizing the colors in the TplEd Workarea. You cannot edit the presentation pens in TplEd. If you want to edit pens or colors of the presentation, you must do it with PresEd. You can, however, change the way pens are mapped in template conversion. See Mapping colors or presentation pens in template conversion (p. 168). For details on using a presentation in your specific product, refer to your Tekla product documentation.

56


3

Working with Templates

Introduction

This chapter gives an overview on creating a new template. It also covers working with template files and describes the template properties that you can edit. Methods of editing template output are covered in the last section.

Organization

This chapter is divided into the following sections: • • • • •

Creating a template (p. 57) Creating, opening & saving template files (p. 58) Selecting templates, components & objects (p. 61) Editing template properties (p. 62) Editing the output of a template (p. 66)

3.1 Creating a template Steps

To create a new template: 1.

Create a new template file (p. 58).

2.

Edit the size and other properties of the template to suit your needs. See Editing template properties (p. 62).

3.

Design the template structure by adding template components. See Working with Template Components (p. 69).

4.

Insert texts and graphics inside template components. If you need to print information from your Tekla product database, use field objects too. See Working with Template Objects (p. 87).

5.

Edit the template output, if needed. See Editing the output of a template (p. 66). TPLED USER’S GUIDE Working with Templates

57

6.

Save the template. See Save a template file (p. 60).

You need to output the template in your Tekla product to assure that it works properly. For details on outputting a template, refer to your product documentation.

3.2 Creating, opening & saving template files This section covers the basic file operations such as creating, opening and saving files. You can access these operations through the File menu commands (p. 174) or the File and Edit toolbar (p. 41).

Create a new template file To create a new template:

Steps

1.

Select File > New... or click the New icon. TplEd displays a dialog for choosing the template type.

2.

Choose the file type: •

• 3.

Graphical template - if you want to use graphics or specific font settings. If you want to use specific fonts or draw table outlines, you need to use a graphical template. Textual template - if you use only textual data and do not need font effects.

Click OK. An empty template opens in the Workarea and you are ready to begin working with the template.

See also

58

TPLED USER’S GUIDE Working with Templates

Creating a template (p. 57)

Open an existing template file Steps

To open an existing template: 1.

Select File > Open... or click the Open icon. This opens the standard file selection dialog.

2.

Select the file you want to open.

3.

Click OK. If the selected template has been saved with an earlier version of TplEd, TplEd prompts you to convert the selected template to the new format. • •

Click Retain, if you need to make only minor changes to the template, and edit the template with and older version of TplEd. Click Convert, to open the file in the new version of TplEd. TplEd will convert the file to the new format, but you need to modify it manually before it can be used.

The opened file appears in the Workarea and you are ready to begin working with the template. When you open a textual template, TplEd checks for overlapping objects. If you receive a message about overlapping template objects, you should reposition or resize the objects to eliminate overlapping. See also

Editing template properties (p. 62) Change template type (p. 65) Editing the output of a template (p. 66) Working with Template Components (p. 69) Working with Template Objects (p. 87) Convert old template file (p. 156)

Close a template file Steps

To close a template: 1.

Select the template you want to close.

2.

Select File > Close or click Close in the right hand corner of the template window.

To close all open templates: TPLED USER’S GUIDE Working with Templates

59

•

Select File > Close all.

If there are unsaved changes in any of the files that you close, TplEd asks if you want to save them before closing. • • •

Click OK to save and close. Click No to close without saving. Click Cancel to interrupt the closing.

Save a template file To save a template:

Steps

1.

Select the template that you want to save.

2.

Select File > Save or click the Save icon.

To save all open template files: •

Select File > Save All. For each file that is being saved for the first time TplEd opens the file selection dialog asking you to name the template file.

See also

Save template file with different name or location (p. 60)

Save template file with different name or location To save a template for the first time or with a different name or location:

Steps

1.

Select the template that you want to save.

2.

Select File > Save As.... The standard file selection dialog will appear for you to specify the name, save location and file extension. TplEd automatically adds the selected extension to the file name.

3.

Click OK. If you want to interrupt the save operation, click Cancel.

The original file will be closed intact and you will continue working with the file that you just saved.

60


Work with multiple templates With TplEd you can open several templates simultaneously. Each template is displayed in its own window inside the Workarea and as a folder in the Content Browser. You can work with multiple templates in the following ways: • • • •

Select template for editing (p. 61) Close a template file (p. 59) Save a template file (p. 60) Arrange template windows (p. 47) You can cut or copy template objects from one template and paste them into another template easily when multiple templates are open. See Cut, copy or paste object (p. 112).

3.3 Selecting templates, components & objects This section describes how you can select and deselect templates, components and objects in TplEd.

Select template for editing To select a template for editing, do one of the following: •

Click the template window title bar in the Workarea.

•

Click the template name in the Windows menu.

•

Click the template folder in the Content Browser.

All actions bring the template window to the front and activate it.

Select component or object for editing To select a component or object for editing, do one of the following: •

Click on the item in the Workarea.

•

Click on the item in the Content Browser.


61

See also

Select multiple components or objects (p. 62) Deselect templates, components or objects (p. 62)

Select multiple components or objects To select multiple components or objects: •

Drag to make an area selection in the Workarea. If the Pick Partially (p. 55) setting is deactivated, only items completely inside the selection area are selected.

•

Hold down the Shift key and click each item you want to select.

•

To toggle the selection status of an item, hold down the Ctrl key and click the item.

Selected items appear highlighted in the Workarea and also show in the status bar. Only the most recently selected item appears in the Content Browser. If the Pick Multiple (p. 55) setting is deactivated, you can select only one item.

See also

Select template for editing (p. 61) Deselect templates, components or objects (p. 62)

Deselect templates, components or objects

See also

•

To deselect all selected components or objects, click in an empty area in the Workarea.

•

To deselect one item from a selection, hold down the Ctrl key and click the item you want to deselect.

Select template for editing (p. 61) Select multiple components or objects (p. 62)

3.4 Editing template properties Template properties define the size and margins of the output template. You can also change the template type, add free attributes and notes to the template. In graphical templates you can also edit the size of the drawing grid. 62


Open the template page property dialog To edit page size and margins, or add free attributes or notes to the template, you need to open the template page property dialog: Do one of the following: • • • Template Page Properties dialog

Double-click in empty area in the template window. Select the template and then File > Template > Page.... Right-click the template and select Properties... in the pop-up menu.

This opens the Template Page Properties dialog.

The example above shows a template that uses metric units, which only appear in graphical templates. In addition imperial units are only used in graphical templates. Textual templates use character units, which are always integers. See also

Edit page and margin settings (p. 64) View and add information (p. 64) Change template type (p. 65) Set grid density (p. 65) Edit free attributes (p. 85)


63

Edit page and margin settings Both graphical and textual templates require page and margin settings. For a graphical template meant to be a map legend or label, these settings specify the total width and height of it. To edit the page and margin of the selected template:

Steps

1.

Open the template page property dialog (p. 63).

2.

In the Output, Workarea and Margins areas, edit the following fields:

3.

Field

Description

Width

Sets the width of the page in the output template in Graphical units (p. 204) or characters.

Height

Sets the height of the page in the output template in Graphical units (p. 204) or characters.

View height

Sets the height of the page during template design in TplEd. This setting does not affect template output.

Margins

Sets the top, bottom, left and right margins in Graphical units (p. 204) or characters.

Click OK to accept the changes. If template components and objects do not fit inside the area defined by page and margin settings, TplEd will display a warning and you must change the settings. Click Cancel to use the previous settings.

The outline of the page is shown in the Workarea. You can change the outline color in Workarea preferences. The outline is not printed in the final template. See also

Workarea preferences (p. 51) Edit the column settings (p. 83).

View and add information Template information settings display the file format version and the creation and modification time of the selected template. To view the information and add your own notes:

Steps

64


1.

Open the template page property dialog (p. 63).

2.

In the Information area, focus on the following fields:

3.

Field

Description

Version

The version number of the template file format.

Created

The date and time of creation of the template.

Modified

Last save date and time of the template.

Notes

Type in your notes on template usage.

Click OK to accept the changes.

Change template type You can change the template type: 1.

Select File > Template > Type.... A dialog appears.

2.

Choose the type.

3.

Click OK.

Use the File > Save As... command to save the file with the correct file extension. For details, see Save template file with different name or location (p. 60). If you turn a graphical template into a textual template, only the text and value field objects remain. All graphical objects will be deleted.

Set grid density The grid helps you to draw regular shapes and position template objects. For textual templates the distance between the grid points in the Workarea is fixed to one character unit and you cannot edit it. For graphical templates you can change the grid size to suit your needs.


65

1.

Select Options > Grid > Density.... This opens the Grid Settings dialog.

2.

Type in the distance between the grid points: • •

See also

Horizontal defines the distance in Graphical units (p. 204). Vertical defines the distance in Graphical units (p. 204).

3.

Click OK to accept. To discard changes, click Cancel.

4.

If you want to align objects to the grid points automatically as you draw or edit them, make sure that the grid is activated. See Activate grid (p. 49).

Show or hide grid (p. 49)

3.5 Editing the output of a template You can edit the way the final template is output.

66


•

Edit the size and use of columns. See Edit the column settings (p. 83).

•

Print different page headers and footers by defining one of many different output options. See Edit the output options of component (p. 81).

•

Print data from your Tekla product, either textual or graphical. See Value fields (p. 101) and Graphical fields (p. 109).

•

Exclude value fields or rows from the output template. See Edit the visibility of the row (p. 83) and Set output properties of a value field (p. 108).

•

Customize the way the row component is output when creating listings of Tekla product objects. See Filter unwanted lines out from output (p. 75) and Sort output lines (p. 76).

•

Build a row hierarchy that reassembles the hierarchy of objects in the Tekla product database, and also output a part list of an object. See Use row hierarchy (p. 77).

•

Print company logos from picture files and use symbols from your Tekla product symbol files. See Symbols and pictures (p. 91).

•

Use AutoCAD and MicroStation files. See AutoCAD and MicroStation files (p. 97).

•

Use free attributes to customize the way the template is output. Free attributes are Tekla product-specific (p. 209). See Free attributes (p. 122).


67

68


4

Introduction

Working with Template Components The five template components were introduced in Template components and objects (p. 27): • • • • •

header page header row page footer footer

This chapter describes how to insert template components and edit their properties such as size and Output policy (p. 207). Not all components have to appear in a template. For example a drawing label usually only contains only a header, whereas material listings are mainly based on rows. Organization

This chapter is divided into the following sections: • • • • • • •

Working with components (p. 70) Insert a component (p. 70) Working with a header and a footer (p. 71) Working with page headers & page footers (p. 71) Working with rows (p. 72) Editing template components (p. 77) Editing component properties (p. 80)

TPLED USER’S GUIDE Working with Template Components

69

4.1 Working with components You can work with template components in the following ways: • • • • • • • • • •

Insert a component (p. 70) Editing component properties (p. 80) Change the component type (p. 79) Edit the output options of component (p. 81) Arrange rows (p. 76) Use row hierarchy (p. 77) Edit a row rule (p. 85) Delete a component (p. 78) Crop template components (p. 78) Insert an object (p. 87)

4.2 Insert a component To insert a template component: •

Select Insert > Component and choose the template component from the submenu.

•

Click the appropriate icon in the Component toolbar (p. 42).

The component frame appears in the Workarea (p. 40). In the Content Browser (p. 40) the component is displayed as a new folder below the template folder. TplEd resizes the template automatically to fit all components when you add them. A template can have only one header and one footer component. Other components may be repeated.

See also

Working with a header and a footer (p. 71) Working with page headers & page footers (p. 71) Working with rows (p. 72) Editing component properties (p. 80)

70


4.3 Working with a header and a footer This section covers working with header and footer components.

Use a header or footer A template can have only one header and one footer component. Steps

To use a header or a footer in a template: 1.

Insert a component (p. 70). TplEd adds the header at the top of the template page. Even if the output template contains multiple pages, the header is printed only once, at the top of the first page. The footer is added at the bottom of the template. It is printed only once and appears last in the final template.

2.

Set the TplEd name and height of the header or the footer. See Editing component properties (p. 80).

3.

Insert template objects inside the component frame. See Working with Template Objects (p. 87).

Edit header or footer properties You can do the following things in the header or footer property dialog: • • See also

Edit name (p. 80) Edit height (p. 80)

Open the component property dialog (p. 80) Working with components (p. 70)

4.4 Working with page headers & page footers This section covers working with page headers and page footers.


71

Use a page header or page footer You can use page headers and page footers in a template if you want to print different headers or footers on specified pages during output. To use a page header or a page footer in a template:

Steps

1.

Insert a component (p. 70) TplEd adds the page header below the header, or if your template does not have a header, at the top of the template page. The page footer appears above the footer, or if no footer exists, at the bottom of the template page. The output of the final template is determined by the Output policy (p. 207) property.

2.

Set the TplEd name, height and Output policy (p. 207) of the page header / footer. See Editing component properties (p. 80).

3.

Insert template objects inside the component. See Working with Template Objects (p. 87).

Edit page header or page footer properties You can do the following things in the page header or page footer property dialog: • • • See also

Edit name (p. 80) Edit height (p. 80) Edit the output options of component (p. 81)


4.5 Working with rows This section covers the versatile usage of a row component in a template, concentrating on the output options that distinguish it from other components.

Use a row A template can contain several row components. The row component is most useful in templates that produce listings of objects in the Tekla product database. 72


Steps

1.

Insert a component (p. 70). The Select Content Type dialog appears.

2.

Set the row content type, if you want to use object-specific attributes. Select the content type from the Content type option menu and click OK.

Depending on your Tekla product, you may be able to select several Content types (p. 202). Check one or more content types from the list and click OK.

You can also insert the row without selecting a content type, just click OK. TPLED USER’S GUIDE Working with Template Components

73

TplEd adds the new row right below other rows of the template. 3.

Set the name, height and output properties of the row. See Edit row properties (p. 74).

4.

Insert template objects inside the component frame. See Working with Template Objects (p. 87). For more information on content types in your Tekla product refer to your Tekla product documentation or contact your Tekla service representative.

See also

Arrange rows (p. 76) Use row hierarchy (p. 77)

Edit row properties You can do the following things in the row properties dialog: • • • • • • • • Row properties dialog

74

Edit name (p. 80) Edit height (p. 80) Edit the content type of the row (p. 81) Edit the sort type of the row (p. 82) Edit the visibility of the row (p. 83) Edit the column settings (p. 83) Edit a row rule (p. 85) Edit free attributes (p. 85)

The Row Properties dialog looks like this:


Depending on your Tekla product, you may be able to select more than one content type in the Row Properties dialog: • • See also

If the content types appear as a list, you are able to select more than one content type. If the dialog appears as an option menu, you can only select one content type.


Filter unwanted lines out from output Only the following things can exclude the row from output when the template output process is going on: •

The row content type does not match the object that is being processed. You can select the Tekla product object type that you want to handle in a row when you Edit the content type of the row (p. 81). TPLED USER’S GUIDE Working with Template Components

75

•

Row rules (p. 130) filter out the object that is being processed or prevent output of the row for another reason. You can set the conditions for output when you Edit a row rule (p. 85).

See also

Template output process (p. 30) Working with components (p. 70)

Sort output lines If you want to sort the output lines based on a row, you can edit the row sorting properties. The sort properties are determined by the row Sort type and how you set the sort order of value fields for that row. The default sort type is to combine the duplicate lines so that only the last one of them is output. To edit the sort type of the row and to choose the acting value fields:

Steps

1.

Edit the sort type of the row (p. 82).

2.

Set the sorting order by editing the value field you want to sort by. See Set sort order of a value field (p. 105).

3.

If you want to sort by several fields, set the sort order for each one of them and in addition to that, set the sort priorities of the acting fields. See Set sort priority of value fields (p. 106).

Arrange rows You can arrange rows of the template. Move the row to...

Do this

The row above the preceding row

Edit > Sort and Draw Order > Up.

The row below the following row

Edit > Sort and Draw Order > Down.

Icon

Select the row you want to move and select Select the row you want to move and select

You can also use drag and drop to move the row component to another location in the Content Browser. See also

76



Use row hierarchy When you want to create hierarchical listings of objects in the Tekla product database, you can create a row hierarchy that resembles the hierarchy of those objects. This means that if a row describes the main object, its subrow should describe a part of the main object. To...

Do this...

Create row for the Tekla product object

Use a row (p. 72) by inserting it.

Create subrow for the part of Tekla product object

1.

Insert a new row and move it below the intended parent row.

2.

Select the new row.

3.

Select Edit > Sort and Draw Order > Row Level Down.

1.

Select the subrow.

2.

Select Edit > Sort and Draw Order > Row Level Up.

Turn subrow into a row

Icon

You can also drag the row to the new location in the Content Browser. Note that you can see the changes in the hierarchy levels only in the Content Browser. There is no limit to the number of hierarchy levels to use, but hierarchies deeper than three levels affect the performance during output and may be difficult to work with. See also

From template file to hierarchical listing (p. 34)

4.6 Editing template components This section covers the ways you can edit template components.

Edit component properties You can edit the properties through the property dialogs. For details, see Editing component properties (p. 80).


77

Cut, copy or paste component You can cut or copy template components in the TplEd Cut buffer (p. 202) and paste them to another position in the same template or into another open template. To...

Do this...

Cut component

Select the component and Edit > Cut.

Copy component

Select the component and Edit > Copy.

Paste contents of the cut buffer

Select Edit > Paste and click to give the insertion point in the Workarea.

You can also drag and drop template components in the Content Browser to move them within a template or to copy items across templates. TplEd does not allow you to drag items from graphical templates to textual templates though. See also

Select component or object for editing (p. 61) Arrange rows (p. 76)

Delete a component To delete template components from the template:

Steps

1.

Select the item you want to delete.

2.

Press the Delete key or select Edit > Delete.

If you deleted items you did not want to delete, immediately select Edit > Undo or Ctrl + Z to restore the item. See also

Select component or object for editing (p. 61) Select multiple components or objects (p. 62) Deselect templates, components or objects (p. 62) Insert a component (p. 70)

Crop template components You can crop unneeded space from around template components. Steps

78

To crop a component: TPLED USER’S GUIDE Working with Template Components

1.

Select the component that you want to crop.

2.

Depending on which part of the component you want to crop, select one of: •

• • • •

Edit > Crop > Template Left Side (p. 180) Edit > Crop > Template Right Side (p. 180) Edit > Crop > Component Top (p. 180) Edit > Crop > Component Bottom (p. 180) Edit > Crop > Component Height (p. 180)

TplEd redraws the workarea after you crop the template. Cropping cannot be undone once you save the template, the effects of which appear in the final output template.

Change the component type You can change the type of a template component without losing any of the information it contains. Steps

To change a template component type: 1.

Select the component you want to change.

2.

Select Edit > Change Type.... A dialog opens prompting you to select the new component type from the choices that are available.

Remember that you can only insert a header and a footer once in a template. If you change the component to a row, you must define the content type for the row. See also Content types (p. 26). 3.

Choose the component type and click OK. TplEd changes the component type in the Workarea and the Content Browser. You must save the template file to retain the changes. TPLED USER’S GUIDE Working with Template Components

79

4.7 Editing component properties Component properties determine the following things: • • •

TplEd name height output options (applies mainly to rows).

You can edit the properties in the component property dialogs.

Open the component property dialog To open the property dialog for a template component, do one of the following: • • •

Double-click the component in the Workarea. Select the component and then Edit > Properties... (Alt + Enter). Right-click the component and select Properties... in the pop-up menu.

TplEd opens a component-specific property dialog. The changes you make in the dialog update the component when you accept them by clicking OK.

Edit name To edit the TplEd name of the component:

Steps

1.

Select the component.

2.

Open the component property dialog (p. 80)

3.

In the Name field, type in a unique and identifying name for the component. It does not appear during output, but does appear in the Content Browser.

4.

Click OK.

Edit height Steps

To edit the height of the component: 1.

Select the component. You can now drag the resize handles to resize the component in the Workarea. To give the new size in Graphical units (p. 204), continue to step 2.

2. 80



3.

In the Height field, set the height of component in Graphical units (p. 204).

4.

Click OK.

The width of components is the width of the template page reduced by the side margins. The width or a row component is also affected by the columns of the template. For details, see Editing template properties (p. 62).

Edit the output options of component Steps

The output options vary depending on the component. To edit the output options of the component: 1.

Select the component.

2.


3.

For page headers and page footers, set the output policy: • • • • • • • • • •

All - component prints on every page. Even - component prints on even pages. Odd - component prints on odd pages. Exactly on - component prints only on the page you specify. Not on - component does not print on the page you specify. Last - component prints on the last page. Not last - component does not print on the last page. From - component printing starts on the page you specify. Until - component prints only up to the page you specify. Between - component prints pages between the numbers you

specify. For rows, you can edit the content type, sort type, visibility, use of columns, and row rule. See Edit row properties (p. 74). 4.

Click OK.

Edit the content type of the row Row Content types (p. 202) determine what kind of objects from the Tekla product database can be handled in this particular row. A Summary row (p. 208) type defines that the row summarizes the data from its parent and has the same content type as the parent row. Summary rows must be child rows to a parent row, so they do not work if they appear on the main level meaning that they are direct child rows of a template. Steps

1.

Select the row you want to edit.

2.

Open the component property dialog (p. 80) TPLED USER’S GUIDE Working with Template Components

81

3.

From the Content type list, select the Tekla product object type or types that you want to handle with this row. or Select Summary from the option menu to make this row a summary row.

4.

Click OK to accept. Depending on the Tekla product, the content type selection is either singleselect (from an option menu) or multiselect (from a list).

See also

Using data from a Tekla product (p. 26)

Edit the sort type of the row Steps

The sort type of a row sets the sorting order of output lines that are based on this row. 1.


2.


3.

From the Sort type option menu, select: • •

None - output lines are not sorted. Combine - output lines are sorted and Duplicate output lines

•

Distinct - output lines are sorted and all lines are output.

(p. 203) are combined so that only the last of them is output. 4.

Click OK to accept.

5.

If you select Combine or Distinct, you must also select which value fields affect the sorting and how. See: • •

Set sort order of a value field (p. 105) Set sort priority of value fields (p. 106)

If you select Combine, you can also automatically get calculated sums of the information on combined lines. See Sum field values automatically (p. 106).

82


Edit the visibility of the row You can hide a row from the template output. For example rows that only get information to be used on summary rows may be hidden in order to create short and effective reports. An invisible row is handled as all other rows in the template, but it is not printed to the output template. All the field objects of the row are also processed regardless the visibility setting and can be used in rules and formulas. Steps

To edit the visibility of a row: 1.


2.


3.

Select the Hide in output check box: • •

4.

Select if you do not want to output this row. Leave unchecked if you want to include this row in the output template.

Click OK to accept.

Edit the column settings Templates can be printed in several columns just like newspaper columns. TplEd cannot visualize several columns, but the column settings determine the width of row components. These column settings are common to all rows in a template. Steps

To edit the column settings of rows:


83

1.

Edit row properties (p. 74) with the Row Properties dialog.

2.

Click the Edit... button beside the Use columns check box to edit the fields in the Common Settings dialog:

Field

Description

Min. count

Sets the minimum number of columns in the output template. The value cannot exceed Max. count.

Max. count

Sets the maximum number of columns in the output template. The value cannot be smaller than Min.count. If you want to fix the number of columns, give the same values to Min. count and Max. count. Then the template is always output with this number of columns.

Spacing

Sets the gap between columns.

Fill direction

Sets the fill direction during output: • •

Fill policy

Horizontal - fills the columns first over, then down. Vertical - fills the columns first down, then over.

Sets the fill policy used in the output template: • •

Even - makes column heights equal. Continuous - fills a column before proceeding to

next column, resulting in unequal column heights. 3.

Click OK to accept changes. If the template is output to multiple columns, an individual row can still be printed using the whole width of the page.

84


Edit a row rule Steps

The row rule is used if a row is only to be output under some special conditions. 1.


2.

Open the component property dialog (p. 80).

3.

Edit the row rule with the Rule Wizard dialog (p. 131). Click the Wizard button. This opens the Rule Wizard dialog, where you can easily edit a basic form of the rule. or You can click the Advanced... button. This opens the Rule Contents dialog (p. 132), where you can edit the rule, including the following: • • • • • • • •

See also

Conditional structure (p. 135) Comparison operators (p. 136) Logical operators (p. 137) Control functions (p. 137) Arithmetic operators (p. 142) Mathematical operations (p. 142) String operations (p. 146) Check syntax (p. 129)

4.

Click OK to accept the changes and close the Rule Wizard dialog.

5.

Click OK to accept or Cancel to discard the changes in the row property dialog.

Row rules (p. 130)

Edit free attributes A Free attribute (p. 204) provides additional product-specific information for a template, a row, a value field or a graphical field. To edit free attributes see Edit free attributes (p. 124). See also

Editing the output of a template (p. 66) Working with rows (p. 72) Value fields (p. 101) Graphical fields (p. 109) Free attributes (p. 122)


85

86


5

Introduction

Working with Template Objects Template objects were introduced in Template components and objects (p. 27) and they include: • • • • •

drawing objects such as lines and circles symbols from your Tekla product symbol libraries pictures from raster files or from AutoCAD or MicroStation files text objects fields that get data from the Tekla product.

This chapter describes how objects are inserted inside Components (p. 202) and how you can edit them. Organization

This chapter is divided into the following sections: • • • • • • • • • •

Insert an object (p. 87) Drawing objects (p. 88) Symbols and pictures (p. 91) Texts (p. 95) AutoCAD and MicroStation files (p. 97) Value fields (p. 101) Graphical fields (p. 109) Editing template objects (p. 112) Editing object properties (p. 116) Free attributes (p. 122)

5.1 Insert an object Steps

To insert an object into a template component: TPLED USER’S GUIDE Working with Template Objects

87

1.

Select the object type from the Insert menu or from the Object toolbar (p. 42). Only texts and value fields are available for textual templates.

2.

Drag (or click) to specify the size of the object in the Workarea. You may also be able to rotate objects while dragging. Note that you must fit the object inside a component to insert it. The object is added to the template with the current Default properties (p. 202), that you can edit. See Editing object properties (p. 116). If you double-click an icon in the Object toolbar (p. 42), you can draw several objects without reselecting the icon. Press Esc or select another icon to stop drawing. If you hold down the Shift key while moving an object, it locks the movement in the horizontal or vertical depending on which direction you choose.

See also

Delete an object (p. 112) Draw a line (p. 89) Draw a polyline (p. 89) Draw an arc (p. 90) Draw a circle (p. 90) Draw a rectangle (p. 90) Insert a symbol or picture (p. 92) Insert text (p. 95) Import AutoCAD or MicroStation file (p. 97) Insert a value field (p. 101) Insert a graphical field (p. 109)

5.2 Drawing objects This section covers how you insert drawing objects and how to edit their properties such as line or fill color and type.

88

TPLED USER’S GUIDE Working with Template Objects

Draw a line Steps

To draw a line: 1.

Select the Line icon.

2.

Click at both ends of the line. You can also drag: The points where you start and end dragging become the end points.

Use number keypad

A new feature in version 3.30 allows you to define the length and angle of the line with the number pad on your keyboard after you click to define the starting point. The NumLock must be on for this feature to work. Do the following: 1.

Press NumLock to turn it on.

2.

Select the Line icon and define the starting point.

3.

Using the number pad on your keyboard enter, the first number and a dialog appears prompting you to enter the length.

At the same time the line angle appears in the Status bar (p. 44). If the grid is activated, the line will snap to the nearest grid point if you enter a length that places the end point in between grid points. For example if your grid points are 5mm apart from each other and you enter a length of 24, TplEd will snap the line’s end point to the nearest grid point. In other words TplEd rounds the line length up or down. 4. See also

Click OK to finish drawing the line.


Draw a polyline Steps

To draw a polyline: 1.

Select the Polyline icon.

2.

Click to define the starting point.

3.

Move the mouse and click to define the next vertex point. TPLED USER’S GUIDE Working with Template Objects

89

See also

4.

To add more vertex points, repeat the previous step.

5.

Double-click where you want to end drawing. If you click near the starting point, you create a polygon shape.

Edit drawing object properties (p. 91) If you draw an unclosed polyline object and later decide to fill it, TplEd will automatically insert a line to close the outline.

Draw an arc To insert an arc:

Steps

1.

Select the Arc icon.

2.

Click at both ends of the line. You can also drag. The points where you start and end dragging become the end points.

See also

3.

Move the mouse to specify the curvature.

4.

Click to end drawing.


Draw a circle To draw a circle:

Steps

1.

Select the Circle icon.

2.

Click twice to define the center point and the radius. You can also drag to define the radius. The point where you start dragging becomes the center point.

See also


Draw a rectangle Steps

90

To draw a rectangle:


1.

Select the Rectangle icon.

2.

Click to define the opposing corners. You can also drag to draw the rectangle.

See also


Edit drawing object properties You can edit the following properties of drawing objects: • • • • •

Edit name (p. 117) Edit size (p. 118) Edit line color, type and width (p. 119) Edit fill color and type (p. 119) Set properties for new objects (p. 117)

5.3 Symbols and pictures This section covers using symbols and pictures in templates. Both symbols and pictures are inserted with a reference to the original file. If you edit the symbol or picture outside of TplEd, the changes also affect the template that contains this item, as the file contents are reloaded each time the template is opened.

File formats TplEd can use Symbols (p. 208) from your Tekla product’s symbol library files can be used. Symbol files have the extension SYM. Pictures can be of the following bitmap file formats: BMP, GIF, GRD, JPG, PPM, PGM, RLE, TIFF or XKRL. Tekla Structures supports bitmap pictures only in HTML type reports, not in Tekla Structures drawings.


91

Set default directories for symbols and pictures In order to access symbol or picture files in TplEd, you must set the default directories first.

Steps

1.

Select Options > Preferences... and select the File Locations tab.

2.

Click in the Symbols and pictures (*) line in the Location field and type in the directory paths. To give several paths, separate paths using a semi-colon. For example "C:\pictures;C:\Tekla\symbols".

3. See also

Click OK to accept the changes and close the dialog.

File Location preferences (p. 52)

Insert a symbol or picture

Steps

92

To insert a symbol or a picture: 1.

Select the object from the Insert menu or from the Object toolbar (p. 42). This opens a dialog for selecting the directory and file to use.

2.

In the Directory list, click the directory that contains the file that you want to use.


3.

In the File list, click the file you want to use. The list is empty until you select a directory. If you cannot access the file you want, click Cancel and edit the default symbol and picture directories of TplEd before trying again. See Set default directories for symbols and pictures (p. 92).

4.

Click OK to continue. In the case of a symbol library file, TplEd displays the symbols in the file. Click the symbol that you want to use and click OK to continue.

5.

Choose an insertion point for the object. The size of a symbol is set in the symbol library file. You can choose the size of a picture in the following way: •

•

Double-click to insert the object in largest possible size in the given position. The point you click becomes the lower left corner of the object. Drag or click in opposite corner points to specify the size for the object. Tekla Structures supports bitmap pictures only in HTML type reports, not in Tekla Structures drawings.

See also

Edit symbol properties (p. 93) Edit picture properties (p. 94)

Edit symbol properties The changes you make to a symbol in TplEd do not affect the original symbol but allow you to use the same symbol in different colors, for example. The changes in line and fill properties only affect the transparent parts of the symbol. See also Transparency (p. 209). You can edit the properties of a symbol in the following ways: •

• • • • • •

To change the symbol file, Open the property dialog (p. 117) and click the button on the right of the File field. To choose another symbol, click the button on the right of the Identifier field. Click OK to accept the new settings. Edit name (p. 117) Edit size (p. 118) Edit angle of text, value field or symbol (p. 121) Edit line color, type and width (p. 119) Edit fill color and type (p. 119) Set properties for new objects (p. 117) TPLED USER’S GUIDE Working with Template Objects

93

Symbol Properties dialog

The Symbol Properties dialog looks like this:

Edit picture properties Pictures are inserted in graphical templates with a reference to a picture file. You cannot edit the contents of the picture in TplEd, but you can set the resize properties through the property dialog. You can edit the properties of a picture in the following ways: • • •

94


Edit name (p. 117) Edit size (p. 118) Set properties for new objects (p. 117)

Picture Properties dialog

The Picture Properties dialog looks like this:

5.4 Texts This section details inserting and editing static text objects in templates. You can insert texts into both graphical and textual templates.

Insert text Steps

To insert text into a template: 1.

Select the Text icon. A dialog appears prompting you to type in the desired text.


95

2.

Type the text and click OK. You can also insert a text object with the default string, simply click OK. The default string is defined with the check box Set as default for new texts in the Text Properties dialog.

3.

Click to define the insertion point of the text. If you are working with a graphical template and want to rotate the object: Press the Alt key before you click the insertion point. You can now move the mouse to rotate the object in the desired angle. Click again to keep the angle and finish inserting the text, or drag instead of clicking to rotate the object.

You can Edit text properties (p. 96) and the font settings. See also

Edit font color, type and dimensions (p. 120)

Edit text properties You can edit the following properties of text objects: • • • • • Text Properties dialog

96

Edit name (p. 117) Edit text string (p. 97) Edit font color, type and dimensions (p. 120) Edit angle of text, value field or symbol (p. 121) Set properties for new objects (p. 117)

The Text Properties dialog looks like this:


Edit text string Steps

To edit the text string of a text object: 1.

Select the object.

2.

Open the property dialog (p. 117)

3.

Edit the Text field to your liking.

4.


5.5 AutoCAD and MicroStation files You can use AutoCAD (DXF or DWG) files and MicroStation (DGN) files in graphical templates. TplEd imports the files and converts their contents to a group of drawing objects, so you can edit the imported data in TplEd.

File versions TplEd can import The supported file version formats are: • •

DXF and DWG from AutoCAD 2000 and older MicroStation DGN 7

Import AutoCAD or MicroStation file Before importing files, you may want to choose how to define the size for imported data. There are two import methods: •

To have TplEd ask for size information when you import a file, choose the Always ask for import method option.

•

If you rather define the size for imported data by dragging the mouse in the Workarea, leave the Always ask for import method unchecked. See General preferences (p. 50) for more information on specifying the import method.

Steps

To import a file: 1.

Select Insert > File.... This opens the standard file selection dialog. TPLED USER’S GUIDE Working with Template Objects

97

2.

Specify the file you want to import.

3.

Click OK to close the dialog.

4.

There are different ways to insert the file:

If you have specified Always ask for import method

If you have NOT specified Always ask for import method

Click in the template component to define the insertion point. The Select Import Method dialog opens.

Do one of the following: •

•

5.

Double-click where you want to position the file. The Select Import Method dialog opens. You can click and drag to define the position and the size of the imported file.

You can edit the following options on the Select Import Method dialog:

•

•

•

Import the file by Scale - TplEd multiplies the dimensions of the original file and will resize the component if the scale results in an image size that is larger than the component. Import the file by specifying Dimensions - Type the values in the Horizontal and Vertical fields. TplEd inserts the file while maintaining the aspect ratio. See Edit size (p. 118) for more information. Import the file in the Maximum Size - TplEd inserts the file in the maximum possible size without resizing the component.

Click OK and the file appears in the template as a group of drawing objects.

98


If you have designed a template with AutoCAD, you can use free attributes in AutoCAD to mark value fields. TplEd converts them automatically to value field objects as the file is imported. TplEd uses the name and the value of the AutoCAD free attribute as the default contents for the value field. For example a free attribute named REVNO and value xx is converted to a value field with the formula GetValue("REVNO"). See also

Edit imported images (p. 99) Limitations in AutoCAD and MicroStation file imports (p. 100) Group or ungroup objects (p. 113) Edit size (p. 118)

Edit imported images An imported AutoCAD or MicroStation file is a group of drawing objects. Barring some limitations you can resize, move and edit the properties of the group. To edit an individual object of the group, you must first ungroup it. For details on limitations in editing groups and ungrouping objects, see Group or ungroup objects (p. 113). See also

Move an object (p. 114) Drawing objects (p. 88) Edit drawing object properties (p. 91)

Set the way TplEd imports fill types You can set the way the fill type mappings work from AutoCAD and MicroStation files to templates by editing the fill import map file. It is an ASCII file, so you can edit it with any text editor. The file path and location appear in the File Location preferences (p. 52). Each text line in this file consists of a TplEd fill type id and a DWG/DXF/DGN fill type name. Below is a five-line example of a fill type mapping file. 0 1 2 2 1

NONE SOLID SINGLEHATCH DOUBLEHATCH ANSI31


99

The following table lists the available fill type ids and names that you can combine the way you want. Here each row describes the default mapping that TplEd uses if you do not change the fill settings. Fill type in TplEd

Fill type in DWG/DXF/DGN file

0 = no fill or transparent

NONE and all fill types not mentioned below

1 = solid fill

SOLID

2 = brick fill or brickwall 3 = shade fill or checkboard shade 4 = diagonal lineation

SINGLEHATCH or DOUBLEHATCH

Set the way TplEd imports fonts You can set the way font mappings work from AutoCAD and Microstation files to templates by editing the font map file. The file path and location appear in the File Location preferences (p. 52). See also

Mapping fonts in template conversion (p. 170)

Limitations in AutoCAD and MicroStation file imports This section lists the limitations in AutoCAD and MicroStation file import operations. Object type limitations

Only the following object types are imported from the original files: ARC, LINE, CIRCLE, CELL, CURVE, SHAPE, SOLID, TEXT, TRACE, INSERT, POLYLINE, LWPOLYLINE, LINESTRING, HATCH and FREE ATTRIBUTE (AutoCAD). See also Set the way TplEd imports fill types (p. 99) and Text limitations and Free attributes below.

Text limitations

The fonts used in text objects are mapped to Tekla fonts. This may slightly distort the font alignment within the text object as the original font geometry is not available in TplEd. Text objects that have with only white space characters (i.e tabs or spaces) are not imported.

Free attributes

If an AutoCAD free attribute has no name or value or if it consists of white space characters only, TplEd does not import it. Free attributes with a valid name and value are converted to value fields. For details, see Import AutoCAD or MicroStation file (p. 97).

100


Other limitations

User-defined line styles and world unit line widths from AutoCAD files are not imported.

5.6 Value fields Value fields contain textual information. The field contents are taken from the Tekla product database when the template is output. The data to get is specified with value field formulas. The size of the field is expressed in characters. In graphical templates the final size depends on the font settings.

Insert a value field Steps

To insert a value field in a template component: 1.

Select Insert > Value Field or click the Value field icon.

2.

Click to define the insertion point within a component. If you are working with a graphical template, you can rotate the field by doing one of the following: •

Press the Alt key before you click the insertion point. Move the mouse to rotate the field in the desired angle. Click again to keep the angle and finish inserting the text.

•

Start dragging where you want to insert the field, and continue dragging to rotate to the desired angle.


101

3.

A Select Attribute dialog appears prompting you to select an attribute for the value field. Click an attribute to select it. If you want to insert the field without defining an attribute, just click OK.

For details on the attributes available in your Tekla product, please refer to your product documentation.

4.

Click the Formula... button to specify the data you want to get with this field. See Edit value field formula (p. 107) for more information. You can skip this step and leave the formula undefined, in which case TplEd uses the GetValue formula.

5. See also 102

Click OK. The value field now appears inside the template component with a TplEd-generated name.

Edit value field properties (p. 103)


Edit value field properties You can edit the following properties of a value field: • • • • • • • • Value Field Properties dialog

Edit name (p. 117) Edit size (p. 118) Edit font color, type and dimensions (p. 120) Edit angle of text, value field or symbol (p. 121) Edit value field formula (p. 107) Set output properties of a value field (p. 108) Set properties for new objects (p. 117) Edit free attributes (p. 85)

The Value Field Properties dialog looks like this:

Get data from your Tekla product database You can get data from your Tekla product database with value fields. The available database objects and properties are listed in the Global attributes (p. 204) definition file. You can use them in value field formulas through Attribute functions (p. 139). TPLED USER’S GUIDE Working with Template Objects

103

You can get data from your Tekla product for the following purposes: To...

Do this...

Get a single piece of information from the Tekla product database

1.

Insert a value field inside any component type.

2.

Edit value field formula (p. 107).

Use GetValue, PreviousValue or NextValue function in the formula. Create a listing of objects and / or their properties in the Tekla product database

1.

Insert a value field inside a row component.

2.

Edit value field formula (p. 107).

Use GetValue function in the formula. See also

Create a property listing (p. 148) Get data from other value fields (p. 104) Attribute functions (p. 139)

Get data from other value fields You can produce summaries of other value fields in the template by using a value field with Value field functions (p. 140). Value fields are identified by their TplEd names. You can get data from other value fields for the following purposes: To...

Do this...

Calculate and print total or intermediate sums

Insert a value field and use Total or Sum in the formula. If the sort type of the row containing this field is Combine, you can also choose to output sums automatically. See Sum field values automatically (p. 106).

104

Count the number of processed objects of Tekla product database

Insert a value field and use All or Count in the formula.

Get the value of a single value field

Insert a value field and use GetFieldFormula in the formula.

Copy the value of a value field in a child row or copy a value field value to header, page header, page footer or footer.

Insert a value field and use CopyField in the formula.


Value fields that get summary information can appear inside any kind of components. If you insert a summary field inside a row component, you usually need to control the row output with Rules (p. 208) so the row gets printed only under some pre-defined conditions. See also

Edit value field formula (p. 107) Get data from your Tekla product database (p. 103) Value field functions (p. 140)

Set the data type of value field Steps

The data type of a value field determines what kind of data can be displayed in the field. 1.

Select the value field.

2.


3.

Select the Data type in the option menu: • •

• 4.

Number - an integer. Number with decimals - decimal number. Set the number of decimals in the Decimals field. If the Precision property is used, set the precision in the Precision option menu. Text - plain text.

Click OK. The data type should match the outcome of the value field formula. See Edit value field formula (p. 107).

Set sort order of a value field To use a value field in row sorting, you must select the sort order. You can choose from ascending (from A to Z), descending (from Z to A) and product-defined. Steps

To set sort order: 1.

Select the value field to edit.

2.



105

3.

In the Order option menu, select one of the following: • • • •

None - no sorting Ascending - sorting from A to Z Descending - sorting from Z to A Application - sorting determined by your Tekla product

Click OK to accept the changes. You can determine the sort order only if the surrounding row component has Sort type defined. See Sort output lines (p. 76). If you want to sort by multiple fields, you must set the sort order for each one of them and the sort priority for each field. See Set sort priority of value fields (p. 106).

Set sort priority of value fields The sort priority determines how several value fields affect the sorting of a row. Output lines are arranged first by the first priority field, then by the second, etc. You can only view and edit the sort priority in the Content Browser. Steps

To set the priority for value fields that affect the sorting: 1.

Display the Content Browser if it is not already visible. For instructions, see View or hide the Content Browser (p. 44).

2.

Select the value field to set the priority for. Choose from the fields that have sort order defined. For details, see Set sort order of a value field (p. 105).

3.

To increase the sort priority of the selected field, click the Move up icon. To lessen the sort priority, click the Move down icon.

4.

Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the field positions are correct. The most important field in sorting should appear in the upper-most position. You can also drag the value fields in the Content Browser to arrange them in the desired position. The move operations described here do not affect the physical coordinates of the value field, only the sorting properties.

Sum field values automatically When you want to sum field values on a summary line rather than output individual field values each on their own line, you can easily turn a value field into a summary field. 106


Steps

1.

Make sure that the Sort type of the row containing the value field is Combine. This ensures that you will be outputting only summary lines instead of repeating lines with information on individual database objects. See Edit the sort type of the row (p. 82).

2.

Select the value field to sum.

3.

Open the property dialog (p. 117) of the selected value field.

4.

Depending on what kind of summary you want to have, you can do one of the following:

5.

•

Click Don’t sum values if you do not want any summaries made.

•

Click Sum values across all rows to sum all of the similar values of all rows.

•

Click Sum values within one row to add up the values of one row. All other rows are ignored.

Click OK. If you want to print the number of combined output lines, add a value field with the attribute "NUMBER". If you do not want to combine lines but rather output each line and a summary row with an intermediate sum after them, we recommend that you use the Sum() value field function to calculate the sum. For details, see Value field functions (p. 140).

See also

Get data from other value fields (p. 104)

Edit value field formula The formula property of a value field determines what data is gathered with the field. The data source can be your Tekla product database or other fields of the current template. The references to the data sources are created with Data functions (p. 139). Steps

To create or edit a value field formula: 1.


2.


3.

There are several ways to create / edit a value field: •

Select a global attribute from the Formula option menu.

•

Click the Attribute... button and select a global attribute from the attribute tree. TPLED USER’S GUIDE Working with Template Objects

107

•

Click the Formula... button. This opens the Formula Contents dialog (p. 128) where you can edit the formula.

Click OK to accept the changes and close the Formula Contents dialog. See these other editing options: • • • • • •

Get data from your Tekla product database (p. 103) Get data from other value fields (p. 104) Arithmetic operators (p. 142) Mathematical operations (p. 142) String operations (p. 146) Check syntax (p. 129)

4.

Set output properties of a value field (p. 108) to match the outcome of the formula.

5.

Click OK to accept the changes in the property dialog. If a value field formula consists of a single attribute function, TplEd automatically sets the Data type, Justify (alignment), Length, Meaning and Unit properties. Depending on the Unit property, Precision or Decimal properties are also set. The values are read from the Global attributes (p. 204) definition file.

Set output properties of a value field Steps

108

The output properties of a value field determine the formatting and alignment of the field contents during output. You can also hide a field from output. 1.


2.


3.

Edit the output properties in the following ways:


To...

Do this...

Assign a meaning to the field

The options in this menu are Tekla product-specific (p. 209). From the Meaning option menu, select an option that best describes the meaning of the output of the value field.

Format field during output

In the Format area, select a product-specific value field meaning in the Meaning option menu. Select the unit for the value field value in the Unit option menu. If decimals are used, set the number of decimals in the Decimals field. If precision is used, set it in the Precision option menu.

Align the text in the field during output

Hide this field in output

4.

Select the alignment in the Justify option menu: • • •

Left - aligns text left Center - aligns text in the center of field Right - aligns text right

Click the Hide in output check box. You can use the field in formulas and rules in the same way as visible fields.

Click OK to apply the changes.

5.7 Graphical fields A graphical field is an empty space that is left empty until the Tekla product draws what should appear in the field: a symbol, picture or text. Graphical fields can appear only in graphical templates. TplEd displays the area that is reserved for the Tekla product graphics as box. The line color of the box is copied from the default settings for rectangle objects. This outline does not appear in the final template.

Insert a graphical field Steps

To insert a graphical field in a template component:


109

1.

Select Insert > Graphical Field or click the Graphical field icon.

2.

Specify the insertion point: • •

Click twice to define the opposing corners or Drag and release to end drawing.

3.


4.

In the Attribute option menu, select a global attribute to determine how the graphical field is used when the template is output, or click the Attribute... button to select an attribute from the attribute tree. If the field is placed inside a row component, note that the row content type may block some attributes from use.

5. See also

Click OK to accept the changes and close the property dialog.

Edit graphical field properties (p. 110) Edit graphical field attribute (p. 111)

Edit graphical field properties You can edit the following properties of a graphical field: • • • •

110


Edit name (p. 117) Edit graphical field attribute (p. 111) Edit size (p. 118) Edit free attributes (p. 85)

Graphical Field Properties dialog

The Graphical Field Properties dialog looks like this:

Edit graphical field attribute To change the way the graphical field is used when the template is output, you can edit the attribute of the graphical field. Steps

1.


2.

In the Attribute option menu, select an attribute. or Click the Attribute... button to select an attribute from the attribute tree.

3.

Click Ok. For details on attributes used in your Tekla product, please refer to your product documentation.

See also

Free attributes (p. 122)


111

5.8 Editing template objects This section covers the ways you can edit template objects.

Edit object properties The properties of template objects cover: • • • •

TplEd name of the object size line or fill color and type font type

and a set of object-specific information. You can edit the properties through the property dialogs. For details, see Editing object properties (p. 116). If you hold down the Shift key while moving an object, it locks the movement in the horizontal or vertical depending on which direction you choose.

Cut, copy or paste object You can cut or copy template objects in the TplEd Cut buffer (p. 202) and paste them to another position in the same template or in another open template.

See also

To...

Do this...

Cut object

Select the object and Edit > Cut.

Copy object

Select the object and Edit > Copy.

Paste the contents of the cut buffer

Select Edit > Paste and click to give the insertion point in the Workarea.

Select component or object for editing (p. 61) Select multiple components or objects (p. 62) Duplicate an object (p. 113)

Delete an object Steps

112

To delete a template object:


See also

1.

Select the object.

2.

Press Delete or select Edit > Delete.

Insert an object (p. 87)

Duplicate an object Steps

To make an identical duplicate of a template object: 1.

Select the template part and then Edit > Duplicate... (Ctrl + D).

2.

Give the Offset (p. 206) for the duplicate object in the dialog that opens: •

Horizontal is a distance relative to the original object. Positive

•

Vertical is a distance relative to the original object. Positive val-

values insert the object to the right. ues insert the object up. 3.

Click OK.

Group or ungroup objects When you want to handle several objects as one object, you can create a group from existing objects. When you need to resize or edit an individual object of the group you must ungroup the objects first. To...

Do this...

Group objects

1.

Select the objects that you want to group.

2.

Select Edit > Group.

1.

Select the group that you want to ungroup.

2.

Select Edit > Ungroup.

1.

Select the group you want to edit.

2.

Open the property dialog (p. 117).

Ungroup objects Edit properties of a group See also

Select component or object for editing (p. 61) Select multiple components or objects (p. 62)


113

When objects are grouped there are limitations in editing operations: • • •

You cannot rotate a group. If the group contains different types of objects, for example drawing objects and texts, you cannot edit its properties. If you edit the color property of the group, the new color is applied to both lines and fills.

Align objects To align several objects so that they line up horizontally or vertically:

Steps

1.

Select the objects that you want to align. TplEd will align the objects according to the left most, right most, bottom or top object in the selection.

2.

Select Edit > Align and choose which sides of the objects you want to align. If you hold down the Shift key while dragging, the object is moved only vertically or horizontally, whichever has bigger the offset at the time.

See also

Select component or object for editing (p. 61)

Move an object Steps

114

To move a template object:


1.

Select the object.

2.

Drag the object in the Workarea to its final position. If you want to move the selection a specified distance, use Edit > Move... instead of dragging. A dialog opens where you can specify the Offset (p. 206) values.

•

Horizontal is a distance relative to the original position. Positive

•

Vertical is a distance relative to the original position. Positive val-

values insert the object to the right. ues insert the object up. 3.

(Optional) You can preview the move by clicking Preview. If the settings are not to your liking, you can readjust them and repeat the process.

4.

Click OK.

Resize or reshape an object Steps

To change the size or shape of the selected objects: 1.

Select the object(s) so you can see the resize handles. The picture below illustrates the resize handles. The corner handle changes the coordinates of the corner point. The bulge handle changes the curvature of a line or an arc.


115

2.

Drag from a handle to resize or reshape the object. If you want to define a new size for an object in Graphical units (p. 204) rather than by dragging, you can do it by editing object properties. For details, see Edit size (p. 118).

Rotate object Steps

You can rotate objects in graphical templates. 1.

Select the object so you can see the resize handles.

2.

Hold down the Ctrl key and start dragging on a handle. The handle where you start dragging is the anchor point of the object as you rotate it.

3.

Move the mouse to rotate the object.

4.

Release when the object is in its final position.

Align object to grid Steps

The objects that you create when the grid is not activated can be moved on to grid points later on. 1.

Activate the grid by selecting Options > Grid > Snap.

2.

Select the object that you want to move.

3.

Select Edit > Align to Grid.

This will change both the coordinates and size of the selected object(s) so they fit to the nearest grid points.

5.9 Editing object properties This section lists the properties of TplEd objects and details how to edit and set them for new objects.

116


Open the property dialog To open the property dialog for an object, do one of the following: • • •

Double-click the object in the Workarea or in the Content Browser. Select the object and then Edit > Properties... (Alt + Enter). Right-click the object and in the pop-up menu select Properties....

This opens an object-specific property dialog. TplEd implements any changes when you click OK. If you have selected multiple objects, TplEd changes only the properties that you have changed in the dialog. Other properties are left untouched.

Set properties for new objects Steps

If you want to set the default properties for new objects: 1.

Select an object that has the desired properties and object type.

2.


3.

Click Set as default for new.... Note that if you edit other settings, the new ones are also applied to the currently selected object.

4.


TplEd saves the settings and all newly created objects of the same type will have these properties.

Edit name Steps

To edit the TplEd name of the object: 1.

Select the object.

2.


3.

In the Name field, type in a unique and identifying name for the object. It does not appear during output, but does appear in the Content Browser. Names of value fields are used when referencing them in formulas or rules.

4.

Click OK.


117

If you edit the name of a value field after you have used it in formulas or rules, you must also change the name in those formulas and rules. TplEd does not update formulas or rules with the new name.

Edit size Steps

To edit the size of the object: 1.

Select the object. You can now drag the resize handles to resize or reshape the object. This is the only way to resize polylines, polygons or free form areas. See Resize or reshape an object (p. 115). To give the new size in Graphical units (p. 204), continue to step 2.

2.


3.

Depending on the object that you are editing, edit the fields that affect the size. Object...

Do this...

Circle

Type a new value in the Radius field.

Line, arc or value field

Type a new value in the Length field. The measurement unit appears right after the field. For lines and arcs you can also type in a new factor in the Bulge field to change the curvature.

Object with rectangular shape

Type a new value in the Height field and in the Width field.

Click the Keep aspect ratio check box to maintain the proportions of the object. Then you can resize the picture by giving a new height or width. To restore the original aspect ratio of a symbol or a picture, click Reset and OK. Group

4.

118


Click OK.

You can edit the size of a group by specifying a new height in the Height field and new width in the Width field.

To maintain the proportions of an imported picture during resizing, click Keep aspect ratio in the property dialog. This is highly recommended so that pictures are not distorted if you resize them.

Edit line color, type and width Steps

To edit the line color, type and width of the object: 1.

Select the object.

2.


3.

If you use a Presentation (p. 207) in TplEd: In the Pen option menu, select a Pen (p. 207) to determine the line color, type and width. If you do not use a presentation, select the color you want to apply from the Color option menu. In the Line option menu, select the line type you want to apply. In the Width field, set a new line width in pixel units.

4.

Click OK.

Edit fill color and type Steps

To edit the fill color of the object: 1.

Select the object.

2.


3.

If you use a Presentation (p. 207) in TplEd: In the Pen option menu, select a Pen (p. 207) to determine the fill color. In the Fill option menu, select a fill type. If you do not use a presentation, select the color you want to apply from the Color option menu. In the Fill option menu, select the fill type you want to

apply. 4.

Click OK. The fill color overrides the line color. This means that the outline color of a filled object is always the same as the fill color.


119

Edit font color, type and dimensions Steps

You can edit the font color, type and dimensions of a value field or a text object. The font selection consists of Tekla font files and TrueType fonts. In textual templates the font settings are used only in TplEd, not in the output template. You can only choose from Tekla fonts or TrueType fonts that consume a standard width for each character.

120

1.

Select the object.

2.


3.

Click Font..., which opens the Select Font dialog.

4.

Edit the following fields:


Field

Description

Font type

Sets the font type. Choose from the following: • •

Tekla fonts. Fonts are loaded from a pre-defined location. See File Location preferences (p. 52). TrueType fonts (only on the Windows platform). If there are no TrueType fonts in the font list, check that TplEd settings support using them. See General preferences (p. 50).

If you type the name of the font in the Font field, TplEd auto-selects the font according to the letters you type. If you start typing "Cour", the list shows Courier New as the first available font. Font style

Sets the font style for TrueType fonts. You can choose from regular, bold, italic and bold italic.

Size

Sets the height of the font in Graphical units (p. 204).

Ratio (w/h)

Sets the width to height ratio of the font.

Slant

Determines how the font is sloped. This only applies to Tekla fonts.

Color

Sets the font color, or if you use a Presentation (p. 207), the pen that sets the color.

Sample

This is a preview of the specified font. The sample is updated as you edit the font settings.

5.

Click OK to accept the changes and return to the property dialog.

6.

Click OK in the property dialog to apply the changes to the selected object.

Edit angle of text, value field or symbol Steps

In graphical templates you can rotate symbols and text and value field objects. 1.

Select the object. Hold down the Ctrl key and drag the resize handles to rotate the object. See Rotate object (p. 116). To give a new rotation angle in degrees, continue to step 2.

2.



121

3.

In the Angle field, type in a rotation angle with respect to the current baseline direction. 0 degrees means that the object baseline is parallel to the surrounding component’s baseline. Values greater than 0 angle the object baseline in a counter clockwise direction. You can maintain the baseline direction and slant the object by editing the Slant field if you are working with: • •

4.

a text or a value field with a Tekla font a symbol.

Click OK.

5.10 Free attributes A Free attribute (p. 204) provides additional product-specific information for a template, a row, a value field or a graphical field. It can, for example in Tekla Structures, define whether to output a scale with steel bar bending shapes or not.

Add free attributes You can add free attributes for a template, a row, a value field or a graphical field. For details on free attributes you can use with your Tekla product, please refer to your product documentation.

Steps

To add free attributes for an element: 1.

Select the element (template, row, value field or graphical field).

2.

Open the template page property dialog (p. 63) for templates Open the component property dialog (p. 80) for rows, or Open the property dialog (p. 117) for value fields and graphical fields.

3.

Click the Free attributes... button. The Free Attributes dialog opens.

4.

Add the attributes you want to apply to the selected element. You can add two types of attributes, see below for details: •

122


To add a free attribute defined by your Tekla product, work on the Application tab, which is active by default: Select an attribute name from the Name option menu.

•

See also

To create a new user-defined free attribute, select the User tab, and type a name for the attribute in the Name field.

5.

Depending on the attribute, you can select the value for the attribute from the Value option menu, or you may have to type a value in the Value field.

6.

Click Add to add a new attribute. The attribute appears in the Properties table of the tab. You can add several attributes by repeating steps 4-6.

7.

Click Ok to accept and close the dialog and return to the property dialog.

8.

Once you click Ok in the property dialog, TplEd applies the free attributes you added to the selected element.



123

Edit free attributes To edit the free attributes of a template, a row, a value field or a graphical field:

Steps

See also

1.

Select the element (template, row, value field or graphical field)

2.

Open the template page property dialog (p. 63) for templates, Open the component property dialog (p. 80) for rows, or Open the property dialog (p. 117) for value fields and graphical fields.

3.

Click the Free attributes... button.

4.

Select the User attribute tab or the Application attribute tab.

5.

Select an attribute from the Properties table.

6.

Depending on the attribute type, either select a value from the Value option menu or type it into the Value field.

7.

Click Modify to modify the existing attribute value. You can repeat steps 5-7 to make the needed changes.

8.

Click OK to accept.

9.

Once you click Ok in the properties dialog, TplEd updates the modified free attribute value to the selected element.


Delete free attributes Steps

124

To delete an existing attribute from a template, a row, a value field or a graphical field: 1.

Select the element (template, row, value field or graphical field).

2.

Open the template page property dialog (p. 63) for templates Open the component property dialog (p. 80) for rows, or Open the property dialog (p. 117) for value fields and graphical fields.

3.

Click the Free attributes... button.

4.

Depending on the free attribute you want to delete, select the User attribute tab or use the Application attribute tab.

5.

Select an attribute from the Properties table.


See also

6.

Click Delete.

7.

Click OK to accept.

8.

Once you click Ok in the properties dialog, TplEd removes the deleted free attribute from the selected element.



125

126


6

Working with Formulas and Rules

Introduction

This chapter covers working with value field formulas and row rules. Both kinds of expressions use data functions to get data from the Tekla product and can contain mathematical and string operations. The last section contains examples of formulas and rules.

Prerequisites

It helps if you are familiar with standard programming language features such as data typing and conditional expressions. You can also use any ANSI C programming language guide to check the basic concepts.

Organization

This chapter is divided into the following sections: • • • • • •

Value field formulas (p. 127) Row rules (p. 130) Data functions (p. 139) Mathematical operations (p. 142) String operations (p. 146) Common tasks with functions (p. 148)

6.1 Value field formulas Each Value field (p. 209) in the template must contain a formula. A formula can either get data from the Tekla product database, or produce summaries of data that is gathered with other value fields. You can edit the formula in the Formula Contents dialog.

TPLED USER’S GUIDE Working with Formulas and Rules

127

Formula Contents dialog You can create, edit and check the content of value field formulas in the Formula Contents dialog. You can choose functions and parameters from the option menus or type them in the Formula text field.

You can use the following fields:

128

Field

Description

Math

Lists mathematical operations that you can apply. See Mathematical operations (p. 142).

String

Lists String operations (p. 146) that you can apply.


Field

Description

Attribute

Lists Attribute functions (p. 139) for getting data from the Tekla product database.

Value field

Formula

1.

Select the function from the Function list.

2.

Click Select... and select the attribute from the hierarchal list. Note that the row content type may block some attributes from appearing.

Lists Value field functions (p. 140) that can calculate sums or counts of value fields of this template. 1.


2.

Click Select... and select the value field from the hierarchal list.

Functions and parameters appear in this text field. The maximum length of this field is 2000 characters. You can also edit the field: • •

See also

Cut, copy and paste text (p. 130) Check syntax (p. 129)

Edit value field formula (p. 107) Get data from your Tekla product database (p. 103) Get data from other value fields (p. 104)

Check syntax You can check the syntax of formulas or rules in the contents dialog when you click the Check button on the bottom of the dialog. If there are syntax errors, TplEd displays an error message to help you correct the error. You also get an error message if you have used attributes that are not available in the global attributes definition file. If no global attribute file is specified in the preferences, then attribute names are not checked.

See also

Cut, copy and paste text (p. 130) Formula Contents dialog (p. 128) Rule Contents dialog (p. 132)


129

Cut, copy and paste text You can edit, cut, copy and paste formula text or rules in the contents dialogs. To...

Do this...

Select text

Drag or hold down the Shift key and click to show the start and end of the text to select.

Delete text

Select text and press Delete or select Delete from the pop-up menu.

Copy text

Select text and press Ctrl + C or select Copy from the pop-up menu.

Cut text

Select text and press Ctrl + X or select Cut from the pop-up menu.

Paste cut or copied text

Press Ctrl + V or select Paste from the pop-up menu.

Add comments

Start one-line comments with / / and it ends at the next new line. Start multi-line comments with /* and end with */.

See also

Check syntax (p. 129) Formula Contents dialog (p. 128) Rule Contents dialog (p. 132)

6.2 Row rules By default all rows of a template are output for each processed database object. The easiest way to control output is to use a row content type; and the row is output only if the processed object type and content type match. If this is not a sufficient condition then you need row rules, for example, in the following cases:

130

•

You need to step over a row. For example a summary row may be output only when all objects of a type have been processed and before starting to process different types of objects.

•

You need to step out from processing a database object and continue with the next object. This means that processing continues from the first row of template (or from the parent row of a subrow).


You can create row rules with the Rule Wizard dialog or the Rule Contents dialog. This section introduces the conditional structure in row rules and the control functions that determine when and where the row is output and the next row to process. See examples of using conditional structure in Output a row under a condition (p. 151).

Rule Wizard dialog You can create and edit basic row rules with the Rule Wizard. If the row content type property is defined, it appears in the dialog title bar. You can only use those attributes that are defined in the parent row content type or the parent component type (if it is not a row). Create a rule by filling in the information in the dialog. You can use the following fields. Field

Description

Attribute


Condition

Lists conditional operations that you can apply. See Conditional structure (p. 135) for more information.

Value

Specify the value the attribute is compared to. If the value is a string, surround it with double quotation marks " ".

And / or

If you want to include a second condition in the rule, select the appropriate value based on whether both rules must be true or just one of them.


131

An example of a rule created by the Rule Wizard: if (GetValue("LENGTH") > 100 && GetValue("LENGTH") < 200) Output() else StepOver() endif

See also

Working with rows (p. 72)

Rule Contents dialog You can create, edit and check the content of row rules in the Rule Contents dialog. If the row content type property is defined, it appears in the dialog title bar.

132


Create rules

You can choose functions and parameters from the option menus or type them in the Rule text field.


133

You can use the following fields: Field

Description

Structure

Select Condition to add the Conditional structure (p. 135) for row rule.

Control

Lists output Control functions (p. 137) for row rules.

Math

Lists Mathematical operations (p. 142) that you can apply.

String

Lists String operations (p. 146) that you can apply.

Attribute


Value field

1.


2.

Click Select... to get the attribute from the Name list. Note that the row content type may block some attributes from appearing.

Lists Value field functions (p. 140) that can calculate sums or counts of value fields of this template. 1.


2.

Click Select... to get the value field from the Name list.

Predefined rules

You can reuse row rules by storing them as predefined rules. See below for more information.

Rule

Functions and parameters appear in this text field. You can also edit the field: • •

Predefined rules

Cut, copy and paste text (p. 130) Check syntax (p. 129)

You can save row rules for later use. There are two types of predefined rules global rules and user rules. Global predefined rules are read-only so they cannot be deleted from the menus in TplEd. Global predefined rules are also stored in a different place than the user rules. User rules are stored in a predefined rules file (extension .pdr). The file is specified in File Location preferences (p. 52). These rules can be freely added and deleted in the Rule Contents dialog.

Save rules

134

To save a rule for later use, do the following:


1.

Click Store... to save the rule.

2.

Give the rule a name in the dialog that appears.

3.

Click OK.

You can apply Predefined rules (p. 207) to row output. The names of the rules you save appear in the option list under Predefined Rules. Delete rule

Click Remove... to delete a predefined rule from the list. Only user rules appear in the Remove Predefined Rule dialog.

See also

File Location preferences (p. 52) Edit a row rule (p. 85) Output a row under a condition (p. 151)

Conditional structure The conditional structure in TplEd row rules is like the if-else statement in any programming language. You can access it in the Rule Contents dialog (p. 132). Structure

Add the conditional structure from the Structure option menu in the Operators area of the dialog. The structure looks like this (italic text must be replaced): if (conditions) then else

action1 action2

endif


135

Conditions

Conditions are evaluated either as TRUE or FALSE. Based on the result, either action1 or action2 is taken. In conditions you must use numerical values: 1 is TRUE and 0 is FALSE. Any condition whose value is 0 is FALSE. Any condition whose value is not 0 is TRUE. A condition is built with Comparison operators (p. 136) such as "equal to" or "less than". For example: if (IsLast() == 1) then if (GetValue("AREA") < 500) then

Note that if the condition ends with "==1" you can leave that out. Thus you can put the first example in the following format: if (IsLast()) then

Several conditions are combined with Logical operators (p. 137) such as "and". For example: if (GetValue("AREA") > 400 && GetValue("AREA") < 500) then

Actions

Action1 is performed if the condition is TRUE. Action2 is performed if it is FALSE. Use Control functions (p. 137) in actions to control row printing.

See also

Output a row under a condition (p. 151)

Comparison operators Comparison operators appear in Conditional structure (p. 135) to evaluate integer, string and double operands. You can type them in after placing the cursor in the desired position in the Rule text field.

136

Operator

Condition is TRUE when...

= =

both sides are equal.

!=

sides are not equal.

<

left side is smaller.

<=

left side is smaller or equal.

>

right side is smaller.

>=

right side is smaller or equal.


Examples

The following condition evaluates the value of an intermediate sum. See also Value field functions (p. 140). Sum("field_AREA") >= 1500

The following condition tests if the current output line is the last one based on the currently processed database object. See also Control functions (p. 137). IsLast()

Logical operators Logical operators appear in a Conditional structure (p. 135) to combine several conditions. You can type them in after placing the cursor in the desired position in the Rule text field.

Examples

Function

Description

Expression is TRUE when...

&&

and

all conditions are TRUE.

||

or

any condition is TRUE.

The following condition evaluates the attribute value on the current line. See also Attribute functions (p. 139). GetValue("AREA") > 400 && GetValue("AREA") < 500

Control functions Use control functions within a Conditional structure (p. 135) to inquire or define the output of a row and / or its subrows. To understand how control functions work, you must be familiar with the Template output process (p. 30).

You can access control functions in the Rule Contents dialog (p. 132). They have no parameters. Select functions from the Control option menu in the Operators area of the dialog:


137

Function

Description

IsFirst

Use this function when you want to inquire the first output row. if(IsFirst()) then Output() else StepOver endif

IsLast

Use this function when you want to inquire the last output row. if(IsLast()) then Output() else StepOver endif

Output

Use this function when you want to output the row(s) that fulfils the rule you specify.

PageBreak

Use this function when you want to enforce a page break.

StepIn

Use this function when you want to process the subrows of the current row. If no subrows exist, TplEd starts to process the next row on the same hierarchy level.

StepOut

Use this function when you want to step out from the current "tree branch" (i.e. ignores this row and its associated subrows in the same hierarchy) and continue processing the parent row. When the row is found, TplEd stops searching for similar database objects in the same hierarchy (and levels below that). If no parent row exists or if this was the last row in the template, then the function starts processing again from the first row of the template. This function automatically starts to process the next object in the Tekla product database. if(IsFirst()) then Output() else StepOut() endif

138


Function

Description

StepOver

Use this function when you want to ignore the current row and continue to the next row. if(IsFirst()) then Output() else StepOver() endif

6.3 Data functions This section introduces the data functions that create references to data sources to the Tekla product database or to other value fields in the template.

Attribute functions Attribute functions get the values of Global attributes (p. 26) during the Template output process (p. 30). You can access attribute functions in the Formula Contents dialog (p. 128) and in the Rule Contents dialog (p. 132). Functions

Select the function from the Function option menu in the Attribute area of the dialog. Function

Description

GetValue

Use this function when you want to return the value of the attribute on this output row, i.e. for the currently processed object in the Tekla product database. if(GetValue("MATERIAL") == "S235JR" then Output() else StepOver() endif

NextValue

Use this function when you want to get the value of the attribute on the next output row (not printed yet). You can use this, for example, to inquire material types. if(GetValue("MATERIAL") != NextValue ("MATERIAL") then Output() else StepOver() endif


139

Function

Description

PreviousValue

Use this function when you want to get the value of the attribute on the previous output row.

IsSet

Use this function when you want to check whether a value has been set for a user-defined free attribute. The row is output if the attribute has a value such as: if (IsSet("USERDEFINED.comment")) then Output() else StepOver() endif

Parameters

Click the Select... button in the Attribute area of the dialog. It opens the hierarchical list of Global attributes (p. 26). The parameter must appear inside parenthesis and double quotation marks (" "). In addition to this list you can use: • •

free attributes from your Tekla product a constant parameter CONTENTTYPE that returns the content type of the current row.

Value field functions Value field functions get data from other value fields in this template. You can access them in the Formula Contents dialog (p. 128) and in the Rule Contents dialog (p. 132). Functions

140

Select the function from the Function option menu in the Value Field area of the dialog:


Function

Description

GetFieldFormula

Use this function when you want to query the value of a given value field. This is a kind of alias for a given value field, meaning you can copy a formula from another field, for example. You can also combine different field formulas into one formula. GetFieldFormula("LENGTH_field") + GetFieldFormula("AREA_field")

CopyField

Use this function when you want to, for example, copy summary fields so that they all appear in one row. This eliminates the need to display the information in many rows, meaning you can hide rows from output. For a header, page headers, page footers or a footer, copies the value of the given value field to itself. Used in row rules, but it only copies the values from the row itself and not from other child or parent rows. A value field containing the CopyField function cannot be sorted.

Sum

Use this function when you want to calculate the intermediate sum of a numeric value field (i.e. data type is Number or Number with decimals). All proceeding values of the parameter value field before the current output row are counted, and the sum is reset to zero every time after the row is output. This function is not available for row rules.

Total

Use this function when you want to total the sum of a numeric value field. All the processed values of the value field are counted. This function is not available for row rules.

Count

Use this function when you want to calculate the number of value fields that have been output before the current output row. The count is reset after output. This function is not available for row rules.

All

Use this function when you want to calculate the number of value fields that have been output before the current output row. This function is not available for row rules.


141

Parameters

Click Select... in the Value Field area of the dialog. It opens the hierarchical list of value field names. The parameter must appear inside parenthesis and double quotation marks (" "). Value field functions get values from all processed fields - from the duplicate lines that may have been excluded from the output, and from invisible value fields.

See also

Sum field values automatically (p. 106)

6.4 Mathematical operations Mathematical operations can appear in row rules and value field formulas. All operations accept integer, double and string operands / parameters. They cannot operate directly with attributes or value fields; instead, they accept attribute functions and value field functions as parameters.

Arithmetic operators You can use arithmetic operators by inserting them in formulas or rules. The standard evaluation order is applied when resolving the values. Operator

Description

Notes

+

addition

With string parameters the result is string concatenation.

-

subtraction

*

multiplication

/

division

Trigonometric functions The unit of angle for trigonometric functions is given with the prefixes: • • •

142

d is degree (values 0-360). r is radians (this is the default, values 0-2π). g is gradient (grad, values 0-400).


For example: • • •

sin (d180) sin (r3.14) or sin (3.14) sin (g200)

You can access trigonometric functions in the Formula Contents dialog (p. 128) and in the Rule Contents dialog (p. 132). Select functions from the Math option menu in the Operators area of the dialog: Function

Parameter list

Description

sin

angle

Sine

cos

angle

Cosine

tan

angle

Tangent

asin

angle

Inverse function of sin(), return value in radians.

acos

angle

Inverse function of cos(), return value in radians.

atan

angle

Inverse function of tan(), return value in radians.

sinh

angle

Hyperbolic sine

cosh

angle

Hyperbolic cosine

tanh

angle

Hyperbolic tangent

atan2

y, x

Returns the direction angle of vector (x, y) in radians.

Miscellaneous functions Miscellaneous functions are a selection of mathematical functions. You can access them in the Formula Contents dialog (p. 128) and in the Rule Contents dialog (p. 132). Select functions from the Math option menu in the Operators area of the dialog:


143

Function

Parameter list

Description

fabs

number

Absolute value of number

exp

power

Involution of neper

ln

number

Natural logarithm of number (base number neper)

log

number

Logarithm (base number 10)

sqrt

number

Square root of number

mod

dividend, divider

Modulo

pow

base number, power

Involution

hypot

side, side

Hypotenuse

n!

number

Factorial of number

round

number, accuracy

and

parameter1, parameter2

Round off according to given accuracy binary operation & as in C language

or

parameter1, parameter2

binary operation | as in C language

Statistical functions Statistical functions can be used to calculate key figures of the data that is processed and output with the template. You can access statistical functions in the Formula Contents dialog (p. 128) and in the Rule Contents dialog (p. 132). Select functions from the Math option menu in the Operators area of the dialog: Function

Parameter

Description

ceil

parameter

Next greater integer

floor

parameter

Previous smaller integer To calculate feet from length: floor(GetValue("LENGTH")/25.4/12)

144

min

x, y, z,...

Minimum value of parameters

max

x, y, z,...

Maximum value of parameters

sqsum

x, y, z,...

Sum of squares (x2+y2+...)

ave

x, y, z,...

Average of parameters

sqave

x, y, z,...

Average of sum of squares (x2+y2+...)/n


Data type conversions Conversion functions perform conversions between the four supported data types: integers, doubles, strings and vwu or value-with-unit. You can access conversion functions in the Formula Contents dialog (p. 128) and in the Rule Contents dialog (p. 132). Select functions from the Math option menu in the Operators area of the dialog: Function

Parameters

Description

int

value

Conversion to integer

double

value

Conversion to double

string

value, MinDecimals, MaxDecimals

Conversion to string. MinDecimals - Minimum number of decimals (optional, effective only when converting double values) MaxDecimals = Maximum number of decimals (optional, effective only when converting double values), default = same as MinDecimals

vwu

value, unit string (i.e. ft, mm, inch, etc.)

Conversion from a specified unit to a Tekla product unit, which is a number with decimals. For example: vwu(1.0, "ft")

Supported formats include: • • • • • • •

"ft" = Feet "in" = Inch "m" = Meter "cm" = Centimeter "mm" = Millimeter "rad" = Radian "deg" = Degree


145

Function

Parameters

Description

format

value, meaning string, unit string, precision string or number of decimals

Conversion from a value to a formatted information string that is Tekla product-specific (p. 209). The parameters available for the function are listed in the value field meanings definition file. Here are two examples: format(GetValue("LENGTH"), "Length", "inch-frac", "1/8") OUTPUT: 3' 7" 5/8 format(GetValue("LENGTH"), "Length", "m", 2) OUTPUT: 4.89

There is an exception to this operation, in which you can use it as a string operation. If you want to add zeroes in front of a number: format(GetValue("ROW_IN_PAGE"), "LeadingZeroes", "", 3)

Note that string parameters must appear inside double quotation marks (" ") in the parameter list.

6.5 String operations String functions can edit and examine strings. They cannot operate directly with attributes or value fields; instead, they accept attribute functions and value field functions as parameters. You can access string functions in the Formula Contents dialog (p. 128) and in the Rule Contents dialog (p. 132). Choose functions from the String option menu in the Operators area of the dialog. We have also included different examples of string operations for clarification: Function

Parameters

Description

find

string, substring

Returns the Offset (p. 206) of substring, or -1 if it is not found. For example: find("abcd","cd")=2

To return a needed character's position in a string: find(format(GetValue("LENGTH"), "Length", "ft-frac", "1/16"),"-")

146


Function

Parameters

Description

match

string1, string2

Returns TRUE if strings are equal. Accept profiles starting with D: if(match(GetValue("PROFILE"),"D*")) then Output()else StepOver() endif

Accept profiles starting with PFC, heights are 200, 300, 400 or 500 and width starts with 7: if (match(GetValue("PROFILE"), "PFC[2345]00?7*")) then Output()else StepOver() endif

mid

string, offset, n

Returns n characters from string, starting from Offset (p. 206). If n is omitted, all succeeding characters are returned. To get inches from length: mid(format(GetValue("LENGTH"), "Length", "ft-frac", "1/16"),find(format(GetValue("LENGTH"), "Length", "ft-frac", "1/16"),"-"),2 )

To get fractions from length: mid(format(GetValue("LENGTH"), "Length", "ft-frac", "1/16"),find(format(GetValue("LENGTH"), "Length", "ft-frac", "1/16")," "),5 )

length

string

Returns the number of characters in string.

reverse

string

Returns the reverse of string.

getat

string, offset

Returns the character in the given Offset (p. 206). For more exact filtering, you can also check the name character by character. 0 is the first character, 1 the second, etc... if(getat(GetValue("PROFILE"),"0") == "H" && getat(GetValue("PROFILE"),"1") == "E" && getat(GetValue("PROFILE"),"2") == "A") then Output() else StepOver() endif

setat

string, offset, character

Returns the string with given character in the given Offset (p. 206). Note that character references start at 0. For example: setat("aaa",1,"b")="aba"

Replace a character with another one inside a string. Remove the dot from the drawing base name: setat(GetValue("DRAWING.NAME_BASE"),find(GetValue("DRAWING.NAME_BASE"),".")," ")

Note that string parameters must appear inside double quotation marks (" ") in the parameter list.


147

6.6 Common tasks with functions This section profiles common tasks accomplished with TplEd functions.

Create a property listing A template that creates a listing of data in the Tekla product database is based on a row and its value fields. The example template gets the weights of objects in the following way:

Database objects Components and objects

Id

Weight

1 2 3

10.50 kg 15.00 kg 13.40 kg

Output template

The template (see picture below) has two components: 1. 2.

The heading that is the basis of the title line. It contains two text objects, one for "Id" and one for "Weight". A row containing two value fields: field_ID gets the object id, and field_WEIGHT gets the weight.

Weight values

148

To specify the data to get, add value field formulas in one of the following ways:


With the Select Attribute list...

To edit the value field manually...

1.

Open the attribute list by clicking the Attribute... button in the Value Field Properties dialog.

1.

Open the Formula Contents dialog (p. 128) for the value field you want to edit.

2.

In the Attribute hierarchy, select the attribute WEIGHT.

2.

In the Attribute area, select:

3.


Function > GetValue Name > name of attribute to print,

for example, WEIGHT or ID. 3.

In the Attribute area, select: Function > GetValue Name > name of attribute to print,

for example, WEIGHT or ID. The text in the Formula field looks like this: GetValue("WEIGHT")

See also

Get data from your Tekla product database (p. 103) Calculate total and intermediate sums (p. 149) Attribute functions (p. 139)

Calculate total and intermediate sums Summary data such as intermediate or total sums can appear in any template component that has an appropriate value field for that purpose. The example template is built on the template that was created in the Create a property listing (p. 148) example, and it uses a page footer to print the total sum of objects’ weights: Id

Weight

1 2 3

10.50 kg 15.00 kg 13.40 kg

Total_38.90 kg

Database objects

Output template


149

Components and objects

Total sum of weights

The template (see picture below) consists of three components: 1.

The header, presented in the Create a property listing (p. 148) example.

2.

A row, also presented in the Create a property listing (p. 148) example.

3.

A page footer, that contains a text object for "Total" and a value field for the total sum of weights.

Calculate the total sum of processed database objects in one of the following ways: 1.

Open the Formula Contents dialog (p. 128) for the value field you want to edit.

2.

In the Value Field area, select: Function > Total Name > field_WEIGHT - this is the value field getting the weights.

3.


The formula for total sum would appear like this: Total("field_WEIGHT")

Intermediate sum

If the field calculates an intermediate sum and is placed inside a row, you most likely need to control the row’s output with row rules. See Output a row under a condition (p. 151). If you plan to output only a summary line rather than individual lines, you can calculate the sums without rules. See Sum field values automatically (p. 106).

See also

Get data from your Tekla product database (p. 103) Output a row under a condition (p. 151) Value field functions (p. 140)

150


Output a row under a condition You can make exceptions to the Template output process (p. 30) by using Row rules (p. 130). The example template below builds on the example template in Calculate total and intermediate sums (p. 149), and it prints a row with an intermediate sum in between objects that have equal weights.

Database objects Components and objects

Id

Weight

1 2 3 Sub 4

10.50 15.00 13.40 38.90 13.40

Total

52.30 kg

kg kg kg kg kg

Output template

The template (see picture below) consists of four parts: 1.

The header, presented in the Create a property listing (p. 148) example.

2.

A row, also presented in the Create a property listing (p. 148) example.

3.

A summary row containing a text object for "Sub" and a value field that calculates the intermediate sum. By default, this row would be output repeatedly just as the other row in this template. You will control the output with a rule that compares weights of the current object and the next object to process, and prints only if the weights are equal.

4.

A page footer, presented in the Calculate total and intermediate sums (p. 149) example.


151

Add summary row

Add row rule

To add the summary row to the template that was created in the Calculate total and intermediate sums (p. 149) example: 1.

Add a new row to the template. The new row is inserted above the existing row, so use Edit > Sort and Draw Order > Down to move it below the existing row.

2.

Insert a new value field inside the new row and add the formula for calculating the intermediate sum of the weights. See Calculate total and intermediate sums (p. 149).

Continue by creating the rule for the new row. You can do this in one of the following ways: 1.

Open the Row Properties dialog and select Summary from the list in the General area of the dialog. For more information see Edit row properties (p. 74).

2.

Click the Wizard... button to open the Rule Wizard dialog.

3.

Using the wizard, create the rule you want.

4.

Click OK to close the dialog. With the Rule Wizard you can only create and / or edit rules that test the value of some attribute (or two attributes); and based on that comparison either output the row or step to the next row definition.

Alternatively you can create a new row rule this way:

152


1.

Open the Row Properties dialog and select Summary from the list in the General area of the dialog.

2.

Click the Advanced... button to open the Rule Contents dialog.

3.

In the Operators area, select Condition from the Structure option menu. The basis of the rule is added to the Rule text field: if () then else endif

4.

Put the cursor between the brackets to add the following condition: GetValue("Weight")==NextValue("Weight") You can type the condition in the Rule text field or you can select functions and parameters from the Attribute area of the dialog. If you select from the option menus, you must put the cursor in the correct position before each selection.

5.

Complete the rule with actions as follows: if (GetValue("Weight")==NextValue("Weight")) then Output() // output current line else StepOut() // jump to first row and next object endif

You can either type in or select the given functions from the Control option menu. 6. See also

Click Check to check the syntax and OK to close the dialog.

Conditional structure (p. 135) Comparison operators (p. 136) Control functions (p. 137)


153

154


7

Introduction

Template Conversion

This chapter introduces the template conversion process. If you want to convert a single file, you can do it with TplEd. To convert a whole folder of templates, you can use a separate program called ConvTemplate. This chapter also covers how to deal with the warning and error messages that you get when there are problems in the conversion. Even if the conversion is successful you should always check that the appearance of the converted template is as it should be. If you receive any error messages that are not covered in this chapter, you likely have a more advanced problem that requires the help of Tekla service personnel.

Organization

This chapter is divided into the following sections: • • • • • • • •

Convert old template file (p. 156) Converting a folder of templates (p. 157) Conversion log file (p. 159) Backup files (p. 160) When do warnings and errors occur? (p. 160) Template conversion warnings (p. 161) Template conversion errors (p. 164) Troubleshooting conversions (p. 166)

TPLED USER’S GUIDE Template Conversion

155

7.1 Convert old template file When you open a template file that TplEd recognizes as "old", TplEd asks you if you want to convert the file to the a newer format. You have two choices: •

Click Retain if you only want to make minor changes to the template and edit the template with an older version of TplEd.

•

Click Convert to open the file in the new version of TplEd. The Define Conversion dialog opens, where you can determine how to run the conversion. You will have to edit the template file manually before you can use it, meaning you may receive conversion warnings or errors.

1.

Steps

156


You can edit the following fields:

2. See also

Field

Description

File

Defines the file to be converted. To change the file, click the button on the right of the field.

Rename original file with the file extension _old

Select to have TplEd rename the original file with the extension _old. See Backup files (p. 160).

Append messages to log

Select to preserve the previous conversion messages in the log file. If not selected, TplEd will clear the old messages before adding messages from this conversion. See Conversion log file (p. 159).

Align content to grid

Select to align all template objects to grid points.

Remove empty text objects

Select to remove empty text objects (i.e. that have no content).

Remove zero length lines

Select to remove lines that have no length defined. This applies only to graphical templates.

Font type

Select the fonts to use in the converted template. The preview field on the right displays font names in the old template. If you see Tekla fonts (romsim, etc.), we recommend you choose Tekla. If there are TrueType fonts (Arial, etc.) in the list, select TrueType.

Click OK to convert the template and open it in TplEd. If you click Cancel, the file is not converted.

Converting a folder of templates (p. 157) When do warnings and errors occur? (p. 160) Troubleshooting conversions (p. 166)

7.2 Converting a folder of templates ConvTemplate is a command line program that can convert a whole folder of templates at a time. The ConvTemplate.exe file containing the program is delivered and saved in same location as TplEd.


157

Convert template folder To convert all templates in a folder:

Steps

1.

Make a backup copy of your template folder and keep it intact at all times so you will not lose information under any circumstances.

2.

In the Windows Start menu, select Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt to open the command prompt window.

3.

Use cd command(s) to go to the folder where the ConvTemplate program is. For example type "cd C:\Program Files\TplEd" and press Enter.

4.

To start conversion, type "convtemplate " and press Enter.

Replace with Command line options (p. 159) and with the path to the template folder to be converted. For example type "convtemplate -s C:\templates" to convert templates in the C:\templates folder and align objects in the templates to the nearest grid points.

Ensure that you enclose the file path in double quotation marks " " if there are any spaces in the folder names. See also

Runtime messages (p. 158) When do warnings and errors occur? (p. 160) Troubleshooting conversions (p. 166)

Runtime messages During folder conversion ConvTemplate provides the following messages for each processed file: File / Info: Info: Conversion started at The format is dd:mm:yyyy and the format hh:mm. Depending on the success of the conversion, you will also receive a number of other messages for each file:

158


•

Info messages suggest that the conversion of this file was successful or that the file was already in the new template format.

•

Warning messages suggest that conversion was completed but there may be problems in the converted template. See Template conversion warnings (p. 161).

• See also

Error messages mean that the conversion failed and the template is still in the old format. See Template conversion errors (p. 164).

When do warnings and errors occur? (p. 160) Troubleshooting conversions (p. 166)

Command line options ConvTemplate accepts the following command line options: Option

Function

-h

Prints the help information (other options cannot be used with this one).

-i

Allows you to set ConvTemplate to use the TplEd initialization file and certain mapping files defined in it, namely for colors, fonts and attributes. This is an example of such a command line option: -i "C:\My Documents\Tekla\Templates\mysettings.ini"

If the *.ini file is not defined, ConvTemplate will search for those files in the current directory using predefined file names: • • •

convtemplate.amap for attribute conversion convtemplate.fmap for font conversion convtemplate.cmap for color conversion.

-t

Enables TrueType fonts.

-s

Snaps template contents to grid.

If you use any two of -i, -t and -s simultaneously, separate them with a space character.

7.3 Conversion log file When you convert a file or a folder of templates to template format 3, the conversion messages are written to a log file. You can view the contents of the log file with any text editor. The name and save location of the log file depend on the conversion type:


159

Conversion type

Log file name and save location

File conversion with TplEd

The log file name is conversion.log and it is saved in the same folder as the TplEd program file. You can save all conversion messages, or just the messages from the most recent file conversion.

Folder conversion with ConvTemplate

The log file name is convtemplate.log and it is saved in the converted template folder. The file is overwritten every time convtemplate.exe is executed, so it contains only the messages from the most recent folder conversion.

7.4 Backup files When you convert a file or a folder of templates to the template format 3, the conversion will try to output backup files of the original files. Backup files have the text "_old" inserted just before the file type extension (for example template.tpl becomes template_old.tpl) and they are saved in the same folder as the original files. The outcome of conversion backup files in an error situation depends on the conversion type: Conversion type

If a file with backup file name already exists

File conversion with TplEd

TplEd cannot create a backup copy. TplEd will ask if you want to continue conversion without making the backup file.

Folder conversion with ConvTemplate

ConvTemplate stops the conversion of the template and continues with the next template.

7.5 When do warnings and errors occur? When there are problems in the template, conversion warning and / or error messages will appear. Messages are also saved in the conversion log file. Warnings

160


Warnings do not stop the conversion but report possible problems with the converted template. When you receive conversion warnings, you should ensure that rules and equations are set up the way you want them before you continue work with the converted template.

Errors

You receive error messages when the conversion has failed and there is a problem with the old template. This can include templates that contain no objects, templates with syntax errors or templates that are not saved in the old template format.

See also

Conversion log file (p. 159) Template conversion warnings (p. 161) Template conversion errors (p. 164) Troubleshooting conversions (p. 166)

7.6 Template conversion warnings This section details warnings that can appear during template conversion. Warnings do not stop the conversion so you will be able to edit the template with TplEd 3.0 or later. See also Troubleshooting conversions (p. 166).

Template warnings Warning: Unknown template type (default: graphical template) or Warning: Suspicious textual template (changed type to graphical) The old template is a textual template that contains graphics or non-integer coordinate values. The template type is changed to graphical in the conversion.

Rules warnings Warning: Cannot predict content type of the component . The old template does not have row content types so the conversion program tries to reason content types from the row rules. This warning means that the row content type of the row could not be predicted from the rule. You should check this row in the new template and make sure that the row content type is appropriate. See also Troubleshooting conversions (p. 166). Warning: Rule broken (missing quotation mark): Warning: -object name: Warning: -old rule: ''


161

There is a missing quotation mark (") in the rule of the row, and the rule cannot be read. You should check rules of given rows. See also Troubleshooting conversions (p. 166). Warning: Rule may be broken (unbalanced if-else-end-if-structures): Warning: -object name: Warning: -old rule: '' Warning: -new rule: '' There are problems in a row rule. You must check the rule for the row. The last line of the warning is missing if the new rule could not be produced. See also Troubleshooting conversions (p. 166).

Margin setting warnings Warning: Ignored left margin of the template: Warning: -original value: The left margin of the old template was either negative or too large. The margin is set to 0.0. Warning: Ignored right margin of the template: Warning: -original value: The right margin of the old template was either negative or too large. The margin is set to 0.0. Warning: Ignored top margin of the template: Warning: -original value: The top margin of the old template was either negative or too large. The margin is set to 0.0. Warning: Ignored bottom margin of the template: Warning: -original value: The bottom margin of the old template was either negative or too large. The margin is set to 0.0. Warning: Ignored left margin of the component in the original template: Warning: -component name: Warning: -original value: The left margin of the row named in the old template was either negative or too large. The margin is set to 0.0. Warning: Ignored right margin of the component in the original template: Warning: -component name: Warning: -original value: The right margin of the row named in the old template was either negative or too large. The margin is set to 0.0. 162


Warning: Ignored top margin of the component in the original template: Warning: -component name: Warning: -original value: The top margin of the row named in the old template was either negative or too large. The margin is set to 0.0. Warning: Ignored bottom margin of the component in the original template: Warning: -component name: Warning: -original value: The bottom margin of the row named in the old template was either negative or too large. The margin is set to 0.0.

Object warnings Warning: Found multiple objects with same order priority: Warning: -object name:

Tekla 15 - Template Editor User Guide

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