Tekla 15 - Template Editor User Guide

TplEd
Users 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 Agree-
ment. 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 Man-
ual, 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 affilia-
tion 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 <pcg@goof.com>
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.
TPLED USERS GUIDE 5

Contents
Preface....................................................................................................... 17
Audience..................................................................................... 17
Using this guide ........................................................................... 17
New in this version....................................................................... 18
Related documentation................................................................. 19
Style conventions......................................................................... 19
Organization................................................................................ 20
6 TPLED USERS GUIDE
1 Introduction to Templates....................................................................... 23
1.1 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
1.2 Using data from a Tekla product.............................................................. 26
Content types............................................................................... 26
Global attributes........................................................................... 26
Value field meanings .................................................................... 27
1.3 Template components and objects .......................................................... 27
Template components .................................................................. 27
Template objects.......................................................................... 28
What are properties? .................................................................... 29
1.4 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
TPLED USERS GUIDE 7

2 Using TplEd............................................................................................... 35
2.1 Installing and running TplEd ................................................................... 35
Installation................................................................................... 35
Start TplEd .................................................................................. 36
Start TplEd with advanced command line options ........................... 36
Exit TplEd.................................................................................... 37
2.2 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
2.3 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
2.4 Working with template windows .............................................................. 46
Arrange template windows............................................................ 47
Pan............................................................................................. 47
Zoom in or out ............................................................................. 47
Restore original view.................................................................... 48
2.5 Setting drawing options.......................................................................... 48
Draw several objects running with the same tool ............................. 48
Draw with the grid ........................................................................ 49
2.6 Setting program preferences .................................................................. 49
General preferences..................................................................... 50
Workarea preferences .................................................................. 51
File Location preferences.............................................................. 52
2.7 Selecting items in TplEd......................................................................... 55
8 TPLED USERS GUIDE
Selecting multiple components or objects ....................................... 55
Selecting partially affected components or objects........................... 55
2.8 Using a presentation .............................................................................. 55
3 Working with Templates.......................................................................... 57
3.1 Creating a template................................................................................ 57
3.2 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
3.3 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
3.4 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
3.5 Editing the output of a template............................................................... 66
TPLED USERS GUIDE 9

4 Working with Template Components................................................... 69
4.1 Working with components ...................................................................... 70
4.2 Insert a component ................................................................................ 70
4.3 Working with a header and a footer ......................................................... 71
Use a header or footer.................................................................. 71
Edit header or footer properties ..................................................... 71
4.4 Working with page headers & page footers.............................................. 71
Use a page header or page footer ................................................. 72
Edit page header or page footer properties..................................... 72
4.5 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
4.6 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
4.7 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
10 TPLED USERS GUIDE
5 Working with Template Objects............................................................. 87
5.1 Insert an object ...................................................................................... 87
5.2 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
5.3 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
5.4 Texts .................................................................................................... 95
Insert text .................................................................................... 95
Edit text properties ....................................................................... 96
Edit text string .............................................................................. 97
5.5 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
5.6 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
TPLED USERS GUIDE 11

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
6 Working with Formulas and Rules...................................................... 127
6.1 Value field formulas ............................................................................. 127
Formula Contents dialog ............................................................. 128
Check syntax ............................................................................. 129
Cut, copy and paste text ............................................................. 130
6.2 Row rules............................................................................................ 130
Rule Wizard dialog ..................................................................... 131
Rule Contents dialog .................................................................. 132
Conditional structure................................................................... 135
Comparison operators ................................................................ 136
Logical operators........................................................................ 137
Control functions ........................................................................ 137
6.3 Data functions ..................................................................................... 139
Attribute functions....................................................................... 139
Value field functions ................................................................... 140
6.4 Mathematical operations....................................................................... 142
Arithmetic operators ................................................................... 142
Trigonometric functions............................................................... 142
Miscellaneous functions .............................................................. 143
Statistical functions..................................................................... 144
Data type conversions ................................................................ 145
6.5 String operations.................................................................................. 146
6.6 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 Convert old template file....................................................................... 156
7.2 Converting a folder of templates ........................................................... 157
Convert template folder .............................................................. 158
Runtime messages .................................................................... 158
Command line options................................................................ 159
7.3 Conversion log file............................................................................... 159
7.4 Backup files ........................................................................................ 160
7.5 When do warnings and errors occur? .................................................... 160
7.6 Template conversion warnings ............................................................. 161
Template warnings..................................................................... 161
Rules warnings .......................................................................... 161
Margin setting warnings.............................................................. 162
Object warnings......................................................................... 163
7.7 Template conversion errors .................................................................. 164
General errors ........................................................................... 165
Corrupted files ........................................................................... 166
Object errors.............................................................................. 166
7.8 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
8 Menu Reference ...................................................................................... 173
8.1 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
8.2 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

Align > Lefts .............................................................................. 181
Align > Rights ............................................................................ 182
Align > Tops .............................................................................. 182
Align > Bottoms ......................................................................... 182
Align to Grid .............................................................................. 182
End Action................................................................................. 182
Properties... ............................................................................... 182
8.3 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
8.4 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
Symbol... ................................................................................... 191
Picture... .................................................................................... 191
File... ......................................................................................... 192
Value Field ................................................................................ 192
Graphical Field........................................................................... 194
8.5 Window menu commands..................................................................... 194
Cascade.................................................................................... 194
Tile Horizontally.......................................................................... 194
Tile Vertically ............................................................................. 195
Arrange ..................................................................................... 195
8.6 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
8.7 Help menu commands ......................................................................... 198
Contents.................................................................................... 198
About TplEd............................................................................... 198
8.8 Pop-up menu commands...................................................................... 198
Workarea pop-up menu commands ............................................. 198
Content Browser pop-up menu commands ................................... 199
Glossary .................................................................................................. 201
Index......................................................................................................... 211
Preface
Preface
This is the TplEd Users Guide, a guide for creating and editing template defini-
tions 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.
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.
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 famil-
iar with your Tekla product and how templates are used in it.
If you are new to TplEd, start with Chapter 1, Introduction to Templates. Pro-
ceed 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 docu-
mentation (p. 19). Refer also to your Tekla products 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.
In some Tekla products TplEd is also referred to as Template
Editor or TempEd.
Refer to your Tekla product documentation for more on using
templates in your product.
Preface
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 eas-
ily 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:
Changes in TplEd versions 3.0-3.30 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.
New user interface Introducing the TplEd user inter-
face (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 con-
tent types
Content types (p. 26),
Filter unwanted lines out from out-
put (p. 75)
Row editing extension: you can cre-
ate 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)
Preface
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 back-
ground information in:
the SymEd Users Guide (the guide for symbols)
the PresEd Users 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.
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 compo-
nent (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)
Preface
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 sev-
eral different reasons:
Organization
This document is divided into the following chapters:
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.
Preface
Chapter 1: Introduction to Templates
This chapter provides an overview of graphical and textual template types. It pre-
sents 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 pre-
sented.
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.
Preface
Introduction to Templates
1 Introduction to Tem-
plates
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 tem-
plate 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 net-
work 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.
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.
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 docu-
mentation.
See also Using data from a Tekla product (p. 26)
Using templates in Tekla products (p. 30)
If you want to use specified font types, you have to use a graph-
ical template even if the template contains only text.
Using symbols and presentations in templates
TplEd supports symbol library files and presentation files from your Tekla prod-
uct. 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.
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 pro-
vides 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.
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. Tem-
plates 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.
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.
TplEd checks attribute names when formulas and rules are cre-
ated. All unknown attributes are reported to the user. If no glo-
bal attribute file is specified, then this check is skipped.
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.
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. Tem-
plate 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 compo-
nents have to be present to build a template. The components are:
For each value field meaning a set of available units and preci-
sions can be defined. For example the meaning Length might
have units like mm, cm, inch, ft and the unit 'ft' might have pre-
cisions like 1/4, 1/2, 1/8 and 1/12.
See also 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:
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 pro-
cessed during output, see Template output process
(p. 30).
Page footer A page footer is output at the end of template page. There
are many different options for specifying the output pol-
icy, see Edit the output options of component (p. 81).
Footer A footer appears at the end of a template.
See also 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:
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 gath-
ered from the Tekla product. For more information
see Value fields (p. 101) and Graphical fields
(p. 109).
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)
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.
4. Step 3 is repeated for all objects in the identifier list.
5. The footer and an optional page footer are output.
See also 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.
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.
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 informa-
tion and the title line of the listing. It contains the following objects:
dashed lines (text objects)
texts "Mark", "Profile" "No.", etc. (text objects)
data from the Tekla product: project number and name (value
field objects)
2. 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).
--------------------------------------
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
--------------------------------------
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.
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).
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 hierar-
chical 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.
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 pro-
cessed. 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 Use row hierarchy (p. 77)
Cylinder 1
Part A
Part B
Part C
Count 3 parts
-------------------------------------
Cylinder 2
Part A
Count 1 part
-------------------------------------
Using TplEd
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, prefer-
ences and using a presentation are introduced.
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 prod-
uct 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.
Using TplEd
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 custom-
ized 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:
Using TplEd
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 confir-
mation 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.
Argument Function
-L <language id> Allows you to select the language for the TplEd
user interface. <language id> is a three-letter
language identifier. Available languages depend
on your Tekla product. Please refer to your Tekla
product documentation for information on avail-
able languages.
-i <file path> Allows you to set the TplEd initialization file
that holds the information on where TplEd
searches for certain definition files. <file path>
refers to an ASCII format initialization file
named with the extension -ini. This is an exam-
ple of such a command line option:
-i C:\My Documents\Tekla\Tem-
plates\mysettings.ini
Select Options > Preferences... to edit the default
file location preferences. See File Location
preferences (p. 52).
-w <work folder> Allows you to set the work folder for TplEd.
This folder is, for example, is the base folder for
file open and save operations.
Using TplEd
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).
Using TplEd
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 tem-
plate, component or object here.
Using TplEd
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 pop-
up 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 pop-
up 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)
Using TplEd
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).
File and Edit tool-
bar
The File and Edit toolbar contains the following icons:
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 set-
tings across sessions.
Rough
icon
Stylized
icon
Description Menu command
Creates a new tem-
plate.
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 cop-
ied items.
Edit > Paste (p. 178)
Using TplEd
Component tool-
bar
The Component toolbar contains the following icons:
Object toolbar The Object toolbar contains the following icons:
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)
Rough
icon
Stylized
icon
Rough
icon
Stylized
icon
Inserts a
header.
Insert > Component > Header
(p. 188)
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
(p. 189)
Inserts a footer. Insert > Component > Footer
(p. 189)
Rough
icon
Stylized
icon
Inserts a line. Insert > Line (p. 189)
Inserts a polyline. Insert > Polyline (p. 189)
Inserts an arc. Insert > Arc (p. 190)
Using TplEd
Zoom toolbar The Zoom toolbar contains the following icons:
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 rectan-
gle.
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.
Insert > Graphical Field
(p. 194)
Rough
icon
Stylized
icon
Rough
icon
Stylized
icon
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)
Using TplEd
Status bar
The status bar shows information on the selected tool or command and is dis-
played 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-click-
ing 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 com-
mon 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.
Using TplEd
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.
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: right-
click 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.
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.
Using TplEd
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 compo-
nents 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)
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)
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 prior-
ity of value fields (p. 106).
Using TplEd
Arrange template windows
If you open multiple templates for editing, you can arrange the template win-
dows 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:
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)
3. 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.
Using TplEd
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: sym-
bols, 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 Con-
tinuous Action.
A check mark in front of the option indicates that it is on.
End drawing
action
When the continuous action mode is on, you must end drawing opera-
tions manually in one of the following ways:
Click the End Action icon.
Press Esc.
Select Edit > End Action.
Right-click and select End Action from the pop-up menu.
To set the continuous action mode on temporarily for one tool
only, double-click the tool.
Using TplEd
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.
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.
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.
The distance between grid points is template-specific. For
details, see Set grid density (p. 65).
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).
Using TplEd
General preferences
General preferences allow you to choose the measurement unit of graphical tem-
plates, show different icons, set message preferences and optionally use True-
Type 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)).
Using TplEd
3. 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.
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.
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.
Field Description
Using TplEd
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. 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).
Steps To add or edit the default file locations:
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 presenta-
tion, you select from pen names)
line thickness (in pixels).
Using TplEd
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).
Using TplEd
3. 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:
4. Click OK to accept or Cancel to discard the changes.
Presentation Sets the presentation file from which the pen and
color settings are loaded. See Using a presenta-
tion (p. 55).
Note: Tekla Structures does not use presenta-
tions.
Conversion fonts Sets the font map file to use in template conver-
sion.
Conversion colors Sets the color map file to use in template conver-
sion.
Conversion attributes Sets the attribute map file to use in template con-
version.
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.
Directory Description
Work directory (*) Sets the initial working directory for TplEd.
When opening or saving template files it is auto-
matically active in the file selection dialog.
This setting can be overridden with the com-
mand- 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 (;).
Definition file Description
Using TplEd
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)
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.
Using TplEd
Steps To use a presentation file and related colormap in TplEd:
1. Select Options > Preferences... and click the File Locations tab.
2. Click in the Presentation line and then click Select File. Select the presenta-
tion 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 tem-
plate 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.
Working with Templates
3 Working with Tem-
plates
Introduction This chapter gives an overview on creating a new template. It also covers work-
ing with template files and describes the template properties that you can edit.
Methods of editing template output are covered in the last section.
Creating a template (p. 57)
Creating, opening & saving template files (p. 58)
Selecting templates, components & objects (p. 61)
Editing template properties (p. 62)
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).
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 documenta-
tion.
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
Steps To create a new template:
1. Select File > New... or click the New icon.
TplEd displays a dialog for choosing the template type.
2. Choose the file type:
Graphical template - if you want to use graphics or specific
font settings. If you want to use specific fonts or draw table out-
lines, you need to use a graphical template.
Textual template - if you use only textual data and do not need
font effects.
3. Click OK.
An empty template opens in the Workarea and you are ready to begin work-
ing with the template.
See also 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 tem-
plate, 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.
See also Editing template properties (p. 62)
Change template type (p. 65)
Working with Template Components (p. 69)
Working with Template Objects (p. 87)
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:
When you open a textual template, TplEd checks for overlap-
ping objects. If you receive a message about overlapping tem-
plate objects, you should reposition or resize the objects to
eliminate overlapping.
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
Steps To save a template:
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 selec-
tion 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
Steps To save a template for the first time or with a different name or location:
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.
Work with multiple templates
With TplEd you can open several templates simultaneously. Each template is dis-
played 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)
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.
You can cut or copy template objects from one template and
paste them into another template easily when multiple tem-
plates are open. See Cut, copy or paste object (p. 112).
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.
See also Select template for editing (p. 61)
Deselect templates, components or objects
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.
See also Select template for editing (p. 61)
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.
If the Pick Multiple (p. 55) setting is deactivated, you can
select only one item.
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:
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.
Template Page
Properties dialog
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 tem-
plates.
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)
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.
Steps To edit the page and margin of the selected template:
1. Open the template page property dialog (p. 63).
2. In the Output, Workarea and Margins areas, edit the following fields:
3. 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.
Steps To view the information and add your own notes:
1. Open the template page property dialog (p. 63).
2. In the Information area, focus on the following fields:
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 Graph-
ical units (p. 204) or characters.
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).
Set grid density
The grid helps you to draw regular shapes and position template objects. For tex-
tual 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.
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.
If you turn a graphical template into a textual template, only the
text and value field objects remain. All graphical objects will be
deleted.
1. Select Options > Grid > Density.... This opens the Grid Settings dialog.
2. Type in the distance between the grid points:
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).
See also Show or hide grid (p. 49)
3.5 Editing the output of a template
You can edit the way the final template is output.
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 dif-
ferent 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 list-
ings 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 MicroS-
tation 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).
Working with Template Components
4 Working with Tem-
plate Components
Introduction 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 proper-
ties 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.
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)
4.1 Working with components
You can work with template components in the following ways:
Change the component type (p. 79)
Edit the output options of component (p. 81)
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.
See also Working with a header and a footer (p. 71)
Working with page headers & page footers (p. 71)
A template can have only one header and one footer compo-
nent. Other components may be repeated.
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 com-
ponent 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:
Edit name (p. 80)
Edit height (p. 80)
See also Open the component property dialog (p. 80)
4.4 Working with page headers & page footers
This section covers working with page headers and page footers.
Use a page header or page footer
You can use page headers and page footers in a template if you want to print dif-
ferent headers or footers on specified pages during output.
Steps To use a page header or a page footer in a template:
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 dia-
log:
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, con-
centrating 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.
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 Con-
tent 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 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 proper-
ties (p. 74).
4. Insert template objects inside the component frame. See Working with
Template Objects (p. 87).
See also Arrange rows (p. 76)
Edit row properties
You can do the following things in the row properties dialog:
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)
Row properties
dialog
The Row Properties dialog looks like this:
For more information on content types in your Tekla product
refer to your Tekla product documentation or contact your Tekla
service representative.
Depending on your Tekla product, you may be able to select more than one con-
tent type in the Row Properties dialog:
If the content types appear as a list, you are able to select more than one con-
tent type.
If the dialog appears as an option menu, you can only select one con-
tent 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 pro-
cessed.
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).
Row rules (p. 130) filter out the object that is being processed or pre-
vent 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)
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.
Steps To edit the sort type of the row and to choose the acting value fields:
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.
You can also use drag and drop to move the row component to another location
in the Content Browser.
Move the row to... Do this Icon
The row above the
preceding row
Select the row you want to move and select
Edit > Sort and Draw Order > Up.
The row below the
following row
Select the row you want to move and select
Edit > Sort and Draw Order > Down.
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.
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).
To... Do this... Icon
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.
Turn subrow into a
row
1. Select the subrow.
2. Select Edit > Sort and Draw Order > Row
Level Up.
You can also drag the row to the new location in the Content
Browser. Note that you can see the changes in the hierarchy lev-
els only in the Content Browser. There is no limit to the number
of hierarchy levels to use, but hierarchies deeper than three lev-
els affect the performance during output and may be difficult to
work with.
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 tem-
plate.
See also Select component or object for editing (p. 61)
Delete a component
Steps To delete template components from the template:
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.
Crop template components
You can crop unneeded space from around template components.
Steps To crop a component:
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 graphi-
cal templates to textual templates though.
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 out-
put 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.
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.
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 con-
tent type for the row. See also Content types (p. 26).
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
Steps To edit the TplEd name of the component:
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:
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.
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:
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.
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.
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. Select the row you want to edit.
3. From the Sort type option menu, select:
None - output lines are not sorted.
Combine - output lines are sorted and Duplicate output lines
(p. 203) are combined so that only the last of them is output.
Distinct - output lines are sorted and all lines are output.
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)
If you select Combine, you can also automatically get calculated sums of the
information on combined lines. See Sum field values automatically
(p. 106).
Depending on the Tekla product, the content type selection is
either singleselect (from an option menu) or multiselect (from
a list).
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 tem-
plate, 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:
3. Select the Hide in output check box:
Select if you do not want to output this row.
Leave unchecked if you want to include this row in the output
template.
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:
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:
3. Click OK to accept changes.
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:
Horizontal - fills the columns first over, then down.
Vertical - fills the columns first down, then over.
Fill policy 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.
If the template is output to multiple columns, an individual
row can still be printed using the whole width of the page.
Edit a row rule
Steps The row rule is used if a row is only to be output under some special conditions.
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:
Conditional structure (p. 135)
Comparison operators (p. 136)
Logical operators (p. 137)
Control functions (p. 137)
Arithmetic operators (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 dia-
log.
See also 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)
Value fields (p. 101)
Free attributes (p. 122)
Working with Template Objects
5 Working with Tem-
plate Objects
Introduction 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.
Insert an object (p. 87)
Symbols and pictures (p. 91)
Texts (p. 95)
AutoCAD and MicroStation files (p. 97)
Editing template objects (p. 112)
Editing object properties (p. 116)
5.1 Insert an object
Steps To insert an object into a template component:
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).
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 proper-
ties such as line or fill color and type.
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.
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 key-
pad
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 lines end point to the nearest grid point. In other words
TplEd rounds the line length up or down.
4. Click OK to finish drawing the line.
See also Edit drawing object properties (p. 91)
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.
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.
Draw an arc
Steps To insert an arc:
1. Select the Arc icon.
You can also drag. The points where you start and end dragging become the
end points.
3. Move the mouse to specify the curvature.
4. Click to end drawing.
Draw a circle
Steps To draw a circle:
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.
Draw a rectangle
Steps To draw a rectangle:
If you draw an unclosed polyline object and later decide to fill
it, TplEd will automatically insert a line to close the outline.
1. Select the Rectangle icon.
2. Click to define the opposing corners.
You can also drag to draw the rectangle.
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 products 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.
Set default directories for symbols and pictures
Steps In order to access symbol or picture files in TplEd, you must set the default
directories first.
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. Click OK to accept the changes and close the dialog.
See also File Location preferences (p. 52)
Insert a symbol or picture
Steps 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 sym-
bol 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.
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 but-
ton 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)
Tekla Structures supports bitmap pictures only in HTML type
reports, not in Tekla Structures drawings.
Symbol Proper-
ties 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 proper-
ties through the property dialog.
You can edit the properties of a picture in the following ways:
Edit name (p. 117)
Edit size (p. 118)
Picture Proper-
ties 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.
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:
Edit name (p. 117)
Edit text string (p. 97)
Edit font color, type and dimensions (p. 120)
Text Properties
dialog
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.
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.
Steps To import a file:
1. Select Insert > File....
This opens the standard file selection dialog.
See General preferences (p. 50) for more information on spec-
ifying the import method.
2. Specify the file you want to import.
3. Click OK to close the dialog.
4. There are different ways to insert the file:
5. 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 main-
taining the aspect ratio. See Edit size (p. 118) for more informa-
tion.
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.
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:
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.
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. Bar-
ring 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)
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 MicroSta-
tion 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.
If you have designed a template with AutoCAD, you can use
free attributes in AutoCAD to mark value fields. TplEd con-
verts 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 con-
verted to a value field with the formula GetValue("REVNO").
0 NONE
1 SOLID
2 SINGLEHATCH
2 DOUBLEHATCH
1 ANSI31
The following table lists the available fill type ids and names that you can com-
bine the way you want. Here each row describes the default mapping that TplEd
uses if you do not change the fill settings.
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 oper-
ations.
Object type limi-
tations
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).
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
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.
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.
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. Click OK. The value field now appears inside the template component with a
TplEd-generated name.
See also Edit value field properties (p. 103)
For details on the attributes available in your Tekla product,
please refer to your product documentation.
Edit value field properties
You can edit the following properties of a value field:
Edit name (p. 117)
Edit size (p. 118)
Edit value field formula (p. 107)
Set output properties of a value field (p. 108)
Value Field Prop-
erties dialog
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 avail-
able database objects and properties are listed in the Global attributes (p. 204)
definition file. You can use them in value field formulas through Attribute func-
tions (p. 139).
You can get data from your Tekla product for the following purposes:
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...
Get a single piece of infor-
mation 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 Nex-
tValue 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.
To... Do this...
Calculate and print total or inter-
mediate 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).
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 GetField-
Formula 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 compo-
nents. 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.
3. Select the Data type in the option menu:
Number - an integer.
Number with decimals - decimal number. Set the number of deci-
mals in the Decimals field. If the Precision property is used, set
the precision in the Precision option menu.
Text - plain text.
4. Click OK.
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.
The data type should match the outcome of the value field for-
mula. See Edit value field formula (p. 107).
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.
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.
Sum field values automatically
When you want to sum field values on a summary line rather than output individ-
ual field values each on their own line, you can easily turn a value field into a
summary field.
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).
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.
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:
Click Dont 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.
5. Click OK.
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 func-
tions (p. 139).
Steps To create or edit a value field formula:
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.
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 cal-
culate the sum. For details, see Value field functions (p. 140).
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:
Arithmetic operators (p. 142)
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.
Set output properties of a value field
Steps 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.
3. Edit the output properties in the following ways:
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 prop-
erty, Precision or Decimal properties are also set. The values are
read from the Global attributes (p. 204) definition file.
4. 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.
Insert a graphical field
Steps To insert a graphical field in a template component:
To... Do this...
Assign a meaning to
the field
The options in this menu are Tekla product-spe-
cific (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
Select the alignment in the Justify option menu:
Left - aligns text left
Center - aligns text in the center of field
Right - aligns text right
Hide this field in out-
put
Click the Hide in output check box. You can use
the field in formulas and rules in the same way as
visible fields.
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.
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.
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.
5. Click OK to accept the changes and close the property dialog.
See also 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:
Edit name (p. 117)
Edit graphical field attribute (p. 111)
Edit size (p. 118)
If the field is placed inside a row component, note that the row
content type may block some attributes from use.
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. Open the property dialog (p. 117)
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.
See also Free attributes (p. 122)
For details on attributes used in your Tekla product, please refer
to your product documentation.
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).
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.
Duplicate an object (p. 113)
Delete an object
Steps To delete a template object:
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.
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.
2. Press Delete or select Edit > Delete.
See also 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
values insert the object to the right.
Vertical is a distance relative to the original object. Positive val-
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.
Ungroup objects 1. Select the group that you want to ungroup.
2. Select Edit > Ungroup.
Edit properties of a
group
1. Select the group you want to edit.
2. Open the property dialog (p. 117).
Align objects
Steps To align several objects so that they line up horizontally or vertically:
1. Select the objects that you want to align. TplEd will align the objects accord-
ing 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.
Move an object
Steps To move a template object:
When objects are grouped there are limitations in editing opera-
tions:
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.
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.
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
values insert the object to the right.
Vertical is a distance relative to the original position. Positive val-
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.
2. Drag from a handle to resize or reshape the object.
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.
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).
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.
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.
3. Click Set as default for new....
Note that if you edit other settings, the new ones are also applied to the cur-
rently selected object.
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:
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.
If you have selected multiple objects, TplEd changes only the
properties that you have changed in the dialog. Other properties
are left untouched.
Edit size
Steps To edit the size of 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.
3. Depending on the object that you are editing, edit the fields that affect the
size.
4. Click OK.
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 for-
mulas and rules. TplEd does not update formulas or rules with
the new name.
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 mea-
surement unit appears right after the field.
For lines and arcs you can also type in a new fac-
tor in the Bulge field to change the curvature.
Object with rectangu-
lar shape
Type a new value in the Height field and in the
Width field.
Click the Keep aspect ratio check box to main-
tain 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 You can edit the size of a group by specifying a
new height in the Height field and new width in
the Width field.
Edit line color, type and width
Steps To edit the line color, type and width of the object:
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:
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.
To maintain the proportions of an imported picture during resiz-
ing, click Keep aspect ratio in the property dialog. This is highly
recommended so that pictures are not distorted if you resize
them.
The fill color overrides the line color. This means that the out-
line color of a filled object is always the same as the fill color.
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.
3. Click Font..., which opens the Select Font dialog.
4. Edit the following fields:
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 charac-
ter.
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.
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.
Field Description
Font type Sets the font type. Choose from the following:
Tekla fonts. Fonts are loaded from a pre-defined loca-
tion. 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.
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 sur-
rounding components baseline. Values greater than 0 angle the object base-
line 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:
a text or a value field with a Tekla font
a symbol.
4. 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.
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:
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.
For details on free attributes you can use with your Tekla prod-
uct, please refer to your product documentation.
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.
Edit free attributes
Steps To edit the free attributes of 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,
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.
9. Once you click Ok in the properties dialog, TplEd updates the modified free
attribute value to the selected element.
Delete free attributes
Steps 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
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.
6. Click Delete.
8. Once you click Ok in the properties dialog, TplEd removes the deleted free
attribute from the selected element.
Working with Formulas and Rules
6 Working with Formu-
las 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 con-
tain 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 program-
ming language guide to check the basic concepts.
Value field formulas (p. 127)
Row rules (p. 130)
Data functions (p. 139)
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.
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:
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.
See also Edit value field formula (p. 107)
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 avail-
able in the global attributes definition file.
See also Cut, copy and paste text (p. 130)
Formula Contents dialog (p. 128)
Rule Contents dialog (p. 132)
Attribute Lists Attribute functions (p. 139) for getting data from the
Tekla product database.
1. Select the function from the Function list.
2. Click Select... and select the attribute from the hierar-
chal list. Note that the row content type may block
some attributes from appearing.
Value field Lists Value field functions (p. 140) that can calculate sums
or counts of value fields of this template.
2. Click Select... and select the value field from the hierar-
chal list.
Formula Functions and parameters appear in this text field. The max-
imum length of this field is 2000 characters. You can also
edit the field:
Cut, copy and paste text (p. 130)
Field Description
If no global attribute file is specified in the preferences, then
attribute names are not checked.
Cut, copy and paste text
You can edit, cut, copy and paste formula text or rules in the contents dialogs.
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 out-
put only if the processed object type and content type match. If this is not a suffi-
cient condition then you need row rules, for example, in the following cases:
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).
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 */.
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.
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 follow-
ing fields.
See examples of using conditional structure in Output a row
under a condition (p. 151).
Field Description
Attribute Lists Attribute functions (p. 139) for getting data from
the Tekla product database.
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.
An example of a rule created by the Rule Wizard:
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 dia-
log. If the row content type property is defined, it appears in the dialog title bar.
if (GetValue("LENGTH") > 100 && GetValue("LENGTH") < 200)
Output()
else
StepOver()
endif
Create rules You can choose functions and parameters from the option menus or type them in
the Rule text field.
You can use the following fields:
Predefined rules 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 speci-
fied in File Location preferences (p. 52). These rules can be freely added and
deleted in the Rule Contents dialog.
Save rules To save a rule for later use, do the following:
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 Lists Attribute functions (p. 139) for getting data
from the Tekla product database.
2. Click Select... to get the attribute from the Name
list. Note that the row content type may block
some attributes from appearing.
Value field Lists Value field functions (p. 140) that can calculate
sums or counts of value fields of this template.
2. Click Select... to get the value field from the
Name list.
Predefined rules You can reuse row rules by storing them as pre-
defined rules. See below for more information.
Rule Functions and parameters appear in this text field.
You can also edit the field:
Cut, copy and paste text (p. 130)
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.
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
action1
else
action2
endif
Conditions Conditions are evaluated either as TRUE or FALSE. Based on the result, either
action1 or action2 is taken.
A condition is built with Comparison operators (p. 136) such as "equal to" or
"less than". For example:
Note that if the condition ends with "==1" you can leave that out. Thus you can
put the first example in the following format:
Several conditions are combined with Logical operators (p. 137) such as "and".
For example:
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 inte-
ger, string and double operands. You can type them in after placing the cursor in
the desired position in the Rule text field.
In conditions you must use numerical values: 1 is TRUE and 0
is FALSE. Any condition whose value is 0 is FALSE. Any con-
dition whose value is not 0 is TRUE.
if (IsLast() == 1) then
if (GetValue("AREA") < 500) then
if (IsLast()) then
if (GetValue("AREA") > 400 && GetValue("AREA") < 500) then
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).
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).
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 The following condition evaluates the attribute value on the current line. See also
Attribute functions (p. 139).
Control functions
Use control functions within a Conditional structure (p. 135) to inquire or
define the output of a row and / or its subrows.
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:
Sum("field_AREA") >= 1500
IsLast()
Function Description Expression is TRUE when...
&& and all conditions are TRUE.
|| or any condition is TRUE.
GetValue("AREA") > 400 && GetValue("AREA") < 500
To understand how control functions work, you must be
familiar with the Template output process (p. 30).
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 cur-
rent "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
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 Tem-
plate 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 dia-
log.
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
GetValue Use this function when you want to return the value of the
attribute on this output row, i.e. for the currently pro-
cessed 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 ("MATE-
RIAL") then
Output()
else
StepOver()
endif
Parameters Click the Select... button in the Attribute area of the dialog. It opens the hierarchi-
cal list of Global attributes (p. 26). The parameter must appear inside parenthe-
sis 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 Select the function from the Function option menu in the Value Field area of the
dialog:
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
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 com-
bine different field formulas into one formula.
GetFieldFormula("LENGTH_field") + GetField-
Formula("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 informa-
tion 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 pro-
ceeding 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.
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 out-
put.
All Use this function when you want to calculate the
number of value fields that have been output before
the current output row.
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 quo-
tation marks (" ").
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.
Trigonometric functions
The unit of angle for trigonometric functions is given with the prefixes:
d is degree (values 0-360).
r is radians (this is the default, values 0-2).
g is gradient (grad, values 0-400).
Value field functions get values from all processed fields - from
the duplicate lines that may have been excluded from the out-
put, and from invisible value fields.
Operator Description Notes
+ addition With string parameters the result is string con-
catenation.
- subtraction
* multiplication
/ division
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:
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).
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.
Statistical functions
Statistical functions can be used to calculate key figures of the data that is pro-
cessed 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).
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
Round off according to given accuracy
and parameter1, parameter2 binary operation & as in C language
or parameter1, parameter2 binary operation | as in C language
Function Parameter Description
ceil parameter Next greater integer
floor parameter Previous smaller integer
To calculate feet from length:
floor(GetValue("LENGTH")/25.4/12)
min x, y, z,... Minimum value of parameters
max x, y, z,... Maximum value of parameters
sqsum x, y, z,...
Sum of squares (x
2
+y
2
+...)
ave x, y, z,... Average of parameters
sqave x, y, z,...
Average of sum of squares (x
2
+y
2
+...)/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).
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 MinDeci-
mals
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
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:
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.
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"),"-")
match string1, string2 Returns TRUE if strings are equal.
Accept profiles starting with D:
if(match(GetValue("PROFILE"),"D*")) then Out-
put()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 Out-
put() else StepOver() endif
setat string, offset, char-
acter
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("DRAW-
ING.NAME_BASE"),find(GetValue("DRAW-
ING.NAME_BASE"),".")," ")
Note that string parameters must appear inside double quotation
marks (" ") in the parameter list.
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:
Components and
objects
The template (see picture below) has two components:
1. The heading that is the basis of the title line. It contains two text objects, one
for "Id" and one for "Weight".
2. A row containing two value fields: field_ID gets the object id, and
field_WEIGHT gets the weight.
Weight values To specify the data to get, add value field formulas in one of the following ways:
Id Weight
1 10.50 kg
2 15.00 kg
3 13.40 kg
Database objects Output template
The text in the Formula field looks like this:
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 tem-
plate 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:
With the Select Attribute list... To edit the value field manually...
1. Open the attribute list by click-
ing the Attribute... button in the
Value Field Properties dialog.
2. In the Attribute hierarchy, select
the attribute WEIGHT.
1. Open the Formula Contents dia-
log (p. 128) for the value field
you want to edit.
2. In the Attribute area, select:
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.
GetValue("WEIGHT")
Id Weight
1 10.50 kg
2 15.00 kg
3 13.40 kg
Total_38.90 kg
Components and
objects
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.
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.
The formula for total sum would appear like this:
Intermediate sum If the field calculates an intermediate sum and is placed inside a row, you most
likely need to control the rows output with row rules. See Output a row under
a condition (p. 151).
See also Get data from your Tekla product database (p. 103)
Output a row under a condition (p. 151)
Value field functions (p. 140)
Total("field_WEIGHT")
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).
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.
Components and
objects
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 cal-
culates the intermediate sum. By default, this row would be output repeat-
edly 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 pro-
cess, and prints only if the weights are equal.
4. A page footer, presented in the Calculate total and intermediate sums
(p. 149) example.
Id Weight
1 10.50 kg
2 15.00 kg
3 13.40 kg
Sub 38.90 kg
4 13.40 kg
Total 52.30 kg
Add summary
row
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 calculat-
ing the intermediate sum of the weights. See Calculate total and interme-
diate sums (p. 149).
Add row rule Continue by creating the rule for the new row. You can do this in one of the fol-
lowing ways:
1. Open the Row Properties dialog and select Summary from the list in the Gen-
eral 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.
Alternatively you can create a new row rule this way:
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.
1. Open the Row Properties dialog and select Summary from the list in the Gen-
eral 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:
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:
You can either type in or select the given functions from the Control option
menu.
6. Click Check to check the syntax and OK to close the dialog.
See also Conditional structure (p. 135)
Comparison operators (p. 136)
Control functions (p. 137)
if () then
else
endif
if (GetValue("Weight")==NextValue("Weight")) then
Output() // output current line
else
StepOut() // jump to first row and next object
endif
Template Conversion
7 Template Conversion
Introduction 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 prob-
lems in the conversion.
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)
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.
Template Conversion
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.
Steps 1. You can edit the following fields:
Template Conversion
2. Click OK to convert the template and open it in TplEd. If you click Cancel,
the file is not converted.
See also Converting a folder of templates (p. 157)
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 deliv-
ered and saved in same location as TplEd.
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 mes-
sages 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 True-
Type.
Template Conversion
Convert template folder
Steps To convert all templates in a folder:
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 <options> <path>" and press
Enter.
Replace <options> with Command line options (p. 159) and <path> 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)
Runtime messages
During folder conversion ConvTemplate provides the following messages for
each processed file:
File <running number of current template> / <total number of templates>
Info: <current file path and name>
Info: Conversion started <date> at <time>
The <date> format is dd:mm:yyyy and the <time> format hh:mm.
Depending on the success of the conversion, you will also receive a number of
other messages for each file:
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 conver-
sion warnings (p. 161).
Template Conversion
Error messages mean that the conversion failed and the template is
still in the old format. See Template conversion errors (p. 164).
See also When do warnings and errors occur? (p. 160)
Command line options
ConvTemplate accepts the following command line options:
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 conver-
sion 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:
Option Function
-h Prints the help information (other options cannot be used
with this one).
-i <file path> Allows you to set ConvTemplate to use the TplEd initializa-
tion 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.
Template 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 con-
version type:
7.5 When do warnings and errors occur?
When there are problems in the template, conversion warning and / or error mes-
sages will appear. Messages are also saved in the conversion log file.
Warnings Warnings do not stop the conversion but report possible problems with the con-
verted 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.
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 con-
tains only the messages from the most recent folder
conversion.
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.
Template Conversion
Errors You receive error messages when the conversion has failed and there is a prob-
lem 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)
7.6 Template conversion warnings
This section details warnings that can appear during template conversion. Warn-
ings 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 coor-
dinate values. The template type is changed to graphical in the conversion.
Rules warnings
Warning: Cannot predict content type of the component <row name>.
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 name> 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: <row name>
Warning: -old rule: '<old rule>'
Template Conversion
There is a missing quotation mark (") in the rule of the <row name> row, and the
rule cannot be read. You should check rules of given rows. See also Trouble-
shooting conversions (p. 166).
Warning: Rule may be broken (unbalanced if-else-end-if-structures):
Warning: -object name: <row name>
Warning: -old rule: '<original rule>'
Warning: -new rule: '<new rule>'
There are problems in a row rule. You must check the rule for the <row name>
row. The last line of the warning is missing if the new rule could not be pro-
duced. See also Troubleshooting conversions (p. 166).
Margin setting warnings
Warning: Ignored left margin of the template:
Warning: -original value: <value of the left margin>
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: <value of the right margin>
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: <value of the top margin>
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: <value of the bottom margin>
The bottom margin of the old template was either negative or too large. The mar-
gin is set to 0.0.
Warning: Ignored left margin of the component in the original template:
Warning: -component name: <row name>
Warning: -original value: <value of the left margin of the component>
The left margin of the row named <row name> 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: -original value: <value of the right margin of the component>
The right margin of the row named <row name> in the old template was either
Template Conversion
Warning: Ignored top margin of the component in the original template:
Warning: -original value: <value of the top margin of the component>
The top margin of the row named <row name> in the old template was either
Warning: Ignored bottom margin of the component in the original tem-
plate:
Warning: -original value: <value of the bottom margin of the component>
The bottom margin of the row named <row name> in the old template was either
Object warnings
Warning: Found multiple objects with same order priority:
Warning: -object name: <object name>
Warning: -parent name: <row name>
Warning: -priority: <order priority>
Multiple value fields on the <row name> row have the same sort order priority.
Conversion will continue, but you must check the value fields of the new tem-
plate in the given component to ensure they are in the order that you want them
in. The message contains the name of the row and names of value fields that have
this problem. See also Troubleshooting conversions (p. 166).
Warning: Formula references multiple valuefields in old template:
Warning: - object name: <object name>
Warning: - old formula: <old formula>
Warning: - new formula: <new formula>
A template file exists where there are references to renamed value fields in rules
or formulas. This warning is preceded by one or more "Fixed object name colli-
sion" info messages.
Warning: Orphan object:
Warning: -original id: <original id>
Warning: -object type: <original object type>
A template object was not in the template area. If all objects are outside compo-
nents, the conversion fails. See Object errors (p. 166). See also Troubleshoot-
ing conversions (p. 166).
Warning: Check formulas:
You should check formulas of the given objects in the new template. See also
Troubleshooting conversions (p. 166).
Template Conversion
Warning: Cannot fix object name collision:
Renaming the object failed, give the object another name. See also Trouble-
Warning: Found overlapping objects. This is not allowed.
Please reposition any overlapping objects.
Textual templates objects (i.e. value fields or text objects) that have warnings
attached to them appear in the Content Browser (p. 40) as such:
The warning means that the object cannot be output at full length because it
either overlaps with another object, or is not completely inside the template com-
ponent. You should, for example, reposition the object to correct this and then
save the template.
7.7 Template conversion errors
This section details errors that appear during template conversion. Errors will
stop the conversion and the original file will remain in the old template format.
You can try to locate the causes of errors in the old template file and based on
that information try to fix the problems by using the previous version of TplEd.
For details, see Troubleshooting conversions (p. 166).
If you save the template without repositioning overlapping
objects, they are truncated and any associated warnings are
removed. We highly recommend that you reposition all overlap-
ping objects before proceeding with any work on the template.
Template Conversion
General errors
In conversion file errors some additional information about the error may appear.
Error: Conversion failed
This is the last error message to appear when conversion has failed.
Use other error messages of this conversion when trying to fix the old template
file. Check all messages one by one to and try to correct them in the old template
file. For details, see Troubleshooting conversions (p. 166).
Error: File is not old template file
The file you tried to convert is not an old template file. It may already be a tem-
plate saved in template format 3 so you can open and edit it with TplEd 3.0 and
later versions without converting it. For details, see Troubleshooting conver-
sions (p. 166).
Error: Syntax error in attribute conversion file:
Error: -file: <filename>
Error: -line: <linenumber>
Error: -position: <position>
There is a syntax error in the attribute conversion file. For details, see Trouble-
Error: Syntax error in font conversion file:
There is a syntax error in the font conversion file. For details, see Troubleshoot-
ing conversions (p. 166).
Error: Syntax error in color conversion file:
There is a syntax error in the color conversion file. For details, see Trouble-
shooting conversions (p. 166). For more information on color mapping see
Mapping colors or presentation pens in template conversion (p. 168).
See also Mapping attribute names and properties in template conversion (p. 169)
Mapping fonts in template conversion (p. 170)
Template Conversion
Corrupted files
Corrupted file errors occur when the original template file is corrupted. This
includes things such as incomplete input or missing braces.
The error report provides the reason for error and linenumber of the line that the
error appears on.
Error: Parsing failed:
Error: -reason: incomplete input
Error: -reason: expecting 'object'
Error: -reason: expecting '{'
Error: -reason: expecting '}'
Error: -reason: expecting ';'
See Troubleshooting conversions (p. 166).
Object errors
Error: No objects
There were no objects in template area. See Troubleshooting conversions
(p. 166).
7.8 Troubleshooting conversions
This section gives advice on troubleshooting unsuccessful conversions.
We recommend that you create a backup copy of the template
file before trying to troubleshoot it. Keep the copy intact at all
times so you will not lose information under any circumstances.
Template Conversion
What to do when you receive conversion warnings
In the case of conversion warnings the file is converted to new template format,
but there may be problems with rules or formulas. Do one of the following:
Check the new template with TplEd 3.0 or later to assure that it is
working properly. Conversion warnings should provide information
on components or objects that may have problems.
Try to fix the problems in the old template by opening it with a previ-
ous version of TplEd, save the changes and then rerun the conver-
sion.
What to do when you receive conversion errors
In the case of conversion errors the old template file cannot be converted. The
conversion stops and you must troubleshoot the old template to proceed. You
have three choices, depending on the type of error:
Corrupted file errors: Open the old template with a text editor that
recognizes line numbers, for example Notepad (in Windows acces-
sory programs). Use the line number given in the error message to
find and fix the reason for the error.
Missing template objects: If a template does not have any objects in
its area, it is possible to fix it with an older version of TplEd. Open
the template in an older version of TplEd and redraw the missing
components. Save the template and then try to convert it again in a
newer version of TplEd.
Unexplained errors: If conversion fails without receiving any addi-
tional information, then it is possible that there is an unsupported fea-
ture in the template or a bug in the converter. In this case you should
call your Tekla service representative.
After saving changes to the template you may rerun the conversion.
Symbols in template conversion
If the old template contains symbols, they may appear as empty spaces in the
converted template. This is because the conversion program removes the path to
the symbol library file name, retaining only the information on the file name and
symbol id. TplEd reads the path that you give in the definition file location pref-
erences.
Template Conversion
To retrieve a missing symbol for the new template, check that the symbol library
file of the missing symbol is in one of the default symbol folders. You define the
default folders in the File Location preferences (p. 52), in the Symbols, pictures
field.
See also Set default directories for symbols and pictures (p. 92)
Mapping colors or presentation pens in template conversion
This section is aimed at administrator level users who can set the colors or pre-
sentation pens map in template conversion.
By default ConvTemplate uses the tpled.ini file to decide which mapping files
will be used in conversion. If the tpled.ini file is not defined, ConvTemplate will
search for those files in the current directory.
You can set how TplEd maps colors or presentation pens in conversion with an
ASCII format mapping file called convtemplate.cmap. You give the file location
in TplEd file location preferences. The file is editable in any text editor.
Each text line of this file contains three integers (color identifier - pen identifier -
new color identifier). The integers must be separated with one or several space
characters or with a tab character, and they are applied as follows:
The first integer is the color identifier in the old template file.
The second integer determines the presentation pen. As the old tem-
plate is converted TplEd maps the given color identifier to the given
pen.
If you do not use a presentation and want to map only colors, replace the
second integer (pen identifier) with 0 (zero).
The last integer determines the new color to apply instead of the old
color. The new color applies to each object of the old color in the old
template.
If a matching color identifier is not found, TplEd uses the first mapping in this
file.
Below is a five line example of a mapping file (comment lines excluded). It maps
color 0 to pen 151 with color 151, etc. Pen 151 is the default if matching color id
is not found (which is the case for example for color id 5).
# this is a comment line
# it starts with the hash character (#)
# empty lines are ignored
0
1
2
3
4
151
152
157
158
159
151
151
157
151
159
Template Conversion
Mapping attribute names and properties in template conversion
This section is aimed at administrator users who can set the value field attributes
map in template conversion.
You can set how TplEd reads attributes in conversion with an ASCII format map-
ping file called convtemplate.amap. You give the file location in TplEd file loca-
tion preferences. The file is editable in any text editor.
Attribute conversion between old and new template consists of columns.
The columns are:
1. Attribute name in the old template.
2. Attribute name in the new template. If the name is enclosed in " ", the
GetValue-function is NOT added.
3. Data type in the new template (FLOAT, CHARACTER, INTEGER). This
field is optional.
4. Cached is an optional boolean field. Valid values are TRUE and FALSE.
The default value is TRUE.
5. On row combine is an optional field. Valid values are NONE and SUM. The
default value is NONE.
6. Meaning is an optional string field. This field is optional.
7. Unit is an optional string field. This field is optional
8. Precision is an optional string field. This field is optional.
If any of the optional fields should be ignored (left in their current state), that
field should be marked with *. If no definitions appear after optional fields, then
* is not necessary.
The example below shows a basic attribute conversion between the old template
and the new one.
Template conversion can now use an optional "value field name
and type" mapping file to map old value field names to new
names and force the value field to a specific type. The file is
named contentattributes.map.
Template Conversion
Mapping fonts in template conversion
This section is aimed at administrator level users who can set the font map in
template conversion.
You can set the way TplEd reads fonts in conversion with an ASCII format map-
ping file called convtemplate.fmap. You give the file location in TplEd file loca-
tion preferences. The file is editable in any text editor.
Font conversion between old and new template consists of columns. The col-
umns are:
1. Template type (GRAPHICAL, TEXTUAL)
2. Font name in old template. You may use an asterisk ("*") to match all unde-
fined fonts.
3. Font name in new template
4. Font type in new template (TRUETYPE, TEKLA)
5. Width correction factor. The old font width is multiplied with this factor,
giving the width for the new font. This column is optional.
Columns 1, 2 and 4 are case-insensitive.
The following example shows font conversion between the old template and the
new one.
# Attribute conversion between old and new template
#
Old name
DATE
LENGTH
NUMBER
REBAR_POS
New name
DATE
LENGTH
NUMBER
POS
Datatype
CHARACTER
FLOAT
INTEGER
CHARACTER
Cached
FALSE
TRUE
*
On row combine
NONE
NONE
SUM
Meaning
"Date"
"Length"
Unit
"ft-frac"
Precision
"1/8"
NOTE: You must use quotation marks if the font name has
spaces (i.e. "Courier New").
Template Conversion
# Font conversion between old and new template
#
Textual
Graphical
Textual
Textual
Roman
Roman
Romsim
Fixfont
"Courier New"
Fixfont
"Courier New"
"Courier New"
TRUETYPE
Tekla
TrueType
TrueType
0.5
0.75
Template Conversion
Menu Reference
8 Menu Reference
Introduction This chapter covers the menu commands in TplEd. Pop-up menus are also cov-
ered.
You can initiate commands in different ways:
Select command from the menu.
Select command from the pop-up menu.
Use a keyboard shortcut.
Click a toolbar icon. (Stylized icons are shown in the toolbar tables
in Toolbars (p. 41))
File menu commands (p. 174)
Edit menu commands (p. 177)
View menu commands (p. 184)
Insert menu commands (p. 188)
Window menu commands (p. 194)
Options menu commands (p. 195)
Help menu commands (p. 198)
Pop-up menu commands (p. 198)
Menu Reference
8.1 File menu commands
The File menu contains commands related to basic file operations such as creat-
ing a new template file, opening an existing template file and saving files.
New...
Creates a new template. You are prompted to select the type of template (graphi-
cal or textual) before the template is created.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + N
See also Creating a template (p. 57)
Work with multiple templates (p. 61)
Open...
Opens a file selection dialog prompting you to select the file to open.
If TplEd recognizes the file you are opening as "old", TplEd asks you if you
would like to convert the file to template version 3.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + O
See also Open an existing template file (p. 59)
Close
Closes the current file. If there are unsaved changes in the file, TplEd asks if you
want to save before closing.
See also Save a template file (p. 60)
Menu Reference
Close All
Closes all open files. If there are unsaved changes in any file, TplEd asks if you
want to save before closing.
Save
Saves the current template file with the current name and location.
If the file is being saved for the first time, you must specify a name and location
for the file.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + S
See also Save template file with different name or location (p. 60)
Save As...
Saves the current template with a new name or in a different location.
If you specify an existing file name, TplEd asks you if you want to replace the
existing file.
Save All
Saves all open template files.
If a file is being saved for the first time, you must specify a name and location for
the file.
Save template file with different name or location (p. 60)
Template > Type...
Allows you to change template type from textual template to graphical or vice
versa.
Menu Reference
See also Change template type (p. 65)
Template > Page...
Allows you to edit the page and margin settings of the selected template.
See also Edit page and margin settings (p. 64)
View and add information (p. 64)
Recent files
Displays a list of the ten most recent template files that have been opened. You
can open a file by selecting it from the list.
See also Create a new template file (p. 58)
Open an existing template file (p. 59)
Save a template file (p. 60)
Exit
Exits TplEd. If there are unsaved changes in any of the open files, TplEd will ask
if you want to save them.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + Q
If you turn a graphical template into a textual template, only the
text and value field objects remain. All graphical objects will be
deleted. You cannot undo this operation.
Menu Reference
8.2 Edit menu commands
The Edit menu contains operations for the Workarea and the Content Browser.
Undo
Undoes the previous operation so you can correct a mistake you made. You can
undo operations an unlimited number of times in the current session.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + Z
Redo
Redoes the previous operation. You can redo operations an unlimited number of
times in the current session.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + Y
Cut
Cuts the selected components or objects in the Cut buffer (p. 202). You can add
the cut items to a template with the Paste command.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + X
See also Cut, copy or paste object (p. 112)
Copy
Copies the selected components or objects into the Cut buffer (p. 202). You can
add the copied items to a template with the Paste command.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + C
Menu Reference
Paste
Pastes the contents of the Cut buffer (p. 202) after you click or drag to give the
location within the template.
Pasted objects that do not fit inside the template component will not be inserted.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + V
Delete
Deletes the selected components or objects, but does not affect the Cut buffer
(p. 202). You must select the item before you can delete it.
Keyboard shortcut: Delete
Group
Groups individual objects into one group so that they are handled as one object.
Objects must be selected before they can be grouped.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + G
See also Group or ungroup objects (p. 113)
Ungroup
Turns the selected group of objects into individual objects. A group must be
selected before it can be ungrouped.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + U
See also Group or ungroup objects (p. 113)
Edit imported images (p. 99)
Sort and Draw Order > Up
Moves the selected row component higher on the current Hierarchy level
(p. 205) so you can change row position. If you have selected a value field, you
can promote the selected fields sort order.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + Home
Menu Reference
Sort and Draw Order > Down
Moves the selected row lower on the current Hierarchy level (p. 205) so you can
change row position or if you have selected a value field, demotes the selected
fields sort order.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + End
Sort and Draw Order > Row Level Up
Moves the selected row to the higher Hierarchy level (p. 205) so you can turn a
subrow into a parent row.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + Page Up
Sort and Draw Order > Row Level Down
Moves the selected row to the lower Hierarchy level (p. 205) so you can turn a
row into a subrow.
This affects the drawing order of objects. Objects placed higher
in the order will be drawn on top of a lower object (that is, if
they overlap).
This also affects the sorting order and priority of value fields.
For rows this affects the hierarchy.
This affects the drawing order of objects. Objects placed higher
in the order will be drawn on top of a lower object (that is, if
they overlap).
This also affects the sorting order and priority of value fields.
For rows this affects the hierarchy.
Menu Reference
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + Page Down
Crop > Template Left Side
Removes empty space from the left side of the template up to the object placed
furthest to the left.
See also Crop template components (p. 78)
Crop > Template Right Side
Removes empty space from the right side of the template up to the object placed
furthest to the right.
Crop > Component Top
Removes empty space from the top of the selected component up to the object
placed in the highest position.
Crop > Component Bottom
Removes empty space from the bottom of the selected component up to the
object placed in the lowest position.
Crop > Component Height
Removes empty space from the top and bottom of the selected component up to
the objects placed in the highest and lowest positions.
Menu Reference
Change Type...
Change the type of a template component without losing any of the information
it contains. A dialog opens prompting you to select the new component type
from the choices that are available.
See also Change the component type (p. 79)
Duplicate...
Makes a copy of the selected object to a specified offset in the template. Give the
Offset (p. 206) for the duplicate object in the dialog that opens:
Horizontal is a distance relative to the original object in Graphi-
cal units (p. 204). Positive values move the selection to the right
and negative values to the left.
Vertical is a distance relative to the original object in Graphical
units (p. 204). Positive values move the selection up and nega-
tive values down.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + D
See also Duplicate an object (p. 113)
Move...
Moves the selected objects a specified distance in the template. Enter the dis-
tance in the dialog that TplEd displays:
Horizontal is a distance relative to the original position in Graph-
ical units (p. 204). Positive values move the selection to the
right and negative values to the left.
Vertical is a distance relative to the original position in Graphi-
cal units (p. 204). Positive values move the selection up and
negative values down.
You can also preview an object before you complete the move operation.
Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + M
See also Move an object (p. 114)
Align > Lefts
Aligns the left sides of selected objects.
Menu Reference
See also Align objects (p. 114)
Align > Rights
Aligns the right sides of selected objects.
Align > Tops
Aligns the top lines of selected objects.
Align > Bottoms
Aligns the bottom lines of selected objects.
Align to Grid
Places the selected object on the closest grid point in the template.
See also Align object to grid (p. 116)
End Action
Ends the current drawing action and enables selection of objects.
Keyboard shortcut: Esc
See also Draw several objects running with the same tool (p. 48)
Properties...
Opens the property dialog for the selected item so you can edit its size, line or fill
color and type and output options.
Keyboard shortcut: Alt + Enter
See also Editing template properties (p. 62)
Menu Reference
Editing object properties (p. 116)
Menu Reference
8.3 View menu commands
The View menu commands contain the zooming operations for the template win-
dows. They also allow you to control the visibility of toolbars and the Content
Browser.
Pan
Sets the center point of the window to the point that you click or moves the tem-
plate around the window as you drag.
Shortcut with wheel mouse: drag while holding down the middle mouse button
(or the wheel on a wheel mouse)
See also Pan (p. 47)
Zoom in or out (p. 47)
Restore original view (p. 48)
Zoom In
Magnifies the area you select by dragging or magnifies by centering the view
around the point you click.
Shortcut with wheel mouse: scroll up
Zoom Out
Displays more of the template by centering the view around the point you click.
Shortcut with wheel mouse: scroll down
Menu Reference
Restore
Fits the template into the window.
See also Restore original view (p. 48)
Toolbars > File
A check mark in front of the toolbar name indicates that it is visible.
See also File and Edit toolbar (p. 41)
Toolbars > Component
See also Component toolbar (p. 42)
Toolbars > Object
See also Object toolbar (p. 42)
Toolbars > Zoom
See also Zoom toolbar (p. 43)
Content Browser > Visible
A check mark in front of the option indicates that the Content Browser (p. 40) is
visible. This does not affect output.
See also View or hide the Content Browser (p. 44)
Set object visibility in the Content Browser (p. 45)
Menu Reference
Content Browser > Drawing Objects
A check mark in front of the option indicates that drawing objects are visible in
the Content Browser. This does not affect the output template, only the view in
the browser tree.
See also Set object visibility in the Content Browser (p. 45)
Content Browser > Texts
A check mark in front of the option indicates that texts are visible in the Content
Browser. This does not affect the output template, only the view in the browser
tree.
Content Browser > Symbols
A check mark in front of the option indicates that symbols are visible in the Con-
tent Browser. This does not affect the output template, only the view in the
browser tree.
Content Browser > Pictures
A check mark in front of the option indicates that pictures are visible in the Con-
browser tree.
Content Browser > Groups
A check mark in front of the option indicates that groups are visible in the Con-
browser tree.
Menu Reference
Content Browser > Fields
A check mark in front of the option indicates that value fields and graphical
fields are visible in the Content Browser. This does not affect the output template,
only the view in the browser tree.
Menu Reference
8.4 Insert menu commands
Insert menu commands allow you to add template components and objects.
The objects are inserted with default properties that you can edit. You can also
set default properties for new objects. For details, see Editing object properties
(p. 116).
Component > Header
Adds a header at the top of a template. A template can contain only one header.
Edit header or footer properties (p. 71)
Component > Page header
Adds a page header. If you insert several page headers, the new one is always
inserted below existing page headers.
See also Use a page header or page footer (p. 72)
Edit page header or page footer properties (p. 72)
Component > Row
Adds a new row below existing rows. When you insert a new row, you can define
the content type for the row.
Select the preferred content type from the list that appears and click
OK.
You can also insert the row without selecting a content type, just click OK.
TplEd adds the new row right below the header components of the template, or if
there are other rows, below them.
See also Use a row (p. 72)
Content types (p. 202)
Edit row properties (p. 74)
Filter unwanted lines out from output (p. 75)
Menu Reference
Sort output lines (p. 76)
Row rules (p. 130)
Component > Page footer
Adds a page footer. If you insert several page footers, the new one is always
inserted below existing page headers.
See also Use a page header or page footer (p. 72)
Edit page header or page footer properties (p. 72)
Component > Footer
Adds a footer at the bottom of template. A template can contain only one footer.
Edit header or footer properties (p. 71)
Line
Draws a straight line.
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 Draw a line (p. 89)
Editing template objects (p. 112)
Edit object properties (p. 112)
Align object to grid (p. 116)
Polyline
Steps Draws a polyline or polygon.
Menu Reference
1. Click to define the starting point.
2. Move the mouse and click to define the next vertex point.
3. To add more vertex points, repeat the previous step.
4. Double-click where you want to end drawing. If you click near the starting
point, you create a polygon shape.
See also Draw a polyline (p. 89)
Arc
Steps Draws an arc.
2. Move the mouse to specify the curvature.
3. Click to end drawing.
See also Draw an arc (p. 90)
Circle
Creates a circle.
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 circle (p. 90)
Rectangle
Creates a rectangle.
Menu Reference
Click to define the opposing corners.
You can also drag to draw the rectangle.
See also Draw a rectangle (p. 90)
Text
Steps Creates a text object.
1. A dialog appears prompting you to type in the desired text.
2. Click OK.
3. Click to define the insertion point of the text. If you are working with a
graphical template, you can rotate the object while inserting it, see Insert
text (p. 95) for details.
You can edit texts through the property dialog. You can also edit the font settings.
See also Texts (p. 95)
Edit text properties (p. 96)
Edit text string (p. 97)
Symbol...
Opens a dialog for selecting a symbol to add.
See also Insert a symbol or picture (p. 92)
Edit symbol properties (p. 93)
Picture...
Opens a dialog for selecting a picture file to add.
Menu Reference
See also File formats TplEd can use (p. 91)
Insert a symbol or picture (p. 92)
Edit picture properties (p. 94)
File...
Steps Opens a file selection dialog for selecting an AutoCAD or a MicroStation file to
import.
1. Specify the file you want to import.
2. Click OK to continue.
3. If you double-click where you want to position the file, a dialog opens for
setting the size for imported data. See Import AutoCAD or MicroStation
file (p. 97) for details,
or
you can drag to define the position and size for the imported data.
The file appears in the template as a group of drawing objects.
See also File versions TplEd can import (p. 97)
Edit imported images (p. 99)
Limitations in AutoCAD and MicroStation file imports (p. 100)
Edit size (p. 118)
Value Field
Steps Adds a value field that you can use to get data from your Tekla product database
or from other value fields of the current template.
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.
Menu Reference
Start dragging where you want to insert the field, and continue
dragging to rotate to the desired angle.
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.
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. Click OK. The value field now appears inside the template component with a
TplEd-generated name.
For details on the attributes available in your Tekla product,
please refer to your product documentation.
Menu Reference
See also Insert a value field (p. 101)
Edit value field properties (p. 103)
Graphical Field
Adds a graphical field so you can define a rectangular area that your Tekla prod-
uct will fill during template output.
Click to define the opposing corners.
You can also drag to draw the graphical field.
See also Insert a graphical field (p. 109)
Edit graphical field properties (p. 110)
8.5 Window menu commands
Window menu commands allow you to arrange template windows in the
workarea. If there are open template files, they are listed the below menu com-
mands and are indicated by their name.
Cascade
Arranges templates windows as overlapping tiles.
See also Tile Horizontally (p. 194)
Tile Vertically (p. 195)
Arrange (p. 195)
Tile Horizontally
Arranges template windows as horizontal, non-overlapping tiles.
Menu Reference
See also Cascade (p. 194)
Arrange (p. 195)
Tile Vertically
Arranges template windows as vertical, non-overlapping tiles.
Tile Horizontally (p. 194)
Arrange (p. 195)
Arrange
If you have minimized template windows, this command arranges them at the
bottom of the main window. It does not affect other windows.
Tile Horizontally (p. 194)
8.6 Options menu commands
Options menu commands are used to edit general program settings. A check
mark in front of a menu option indicates that it is active.
Continuous Action
Activates or deactivates the continuous drawing mode.
When the continuous action is activated, you can draw several drawing objects
running without reselecting the drawing tool.
See also Draw several objects running with the same tool (p. 48)
Menu Reference
End drawing action (p. 48)
Grid > Snap
Activates or deactivates the drawing grid.
If the grid is active, all clicks during drawing, moving and resizing snap to the
nearest grid point as if the grid point had been clicked.
See also Show or hide grid (p. 49)
Grid > Visible
Displays or hides the drawing grid.
If the grid is visible, the workarea is dotted with grid points to help position
objects and draw regular shapes.
See also Activate grid (p. 49)
Grid > Density...
Opens a dialog for setting the distance between grid points in the selected tem-
plate.
See also Set grid density (p. 65)
Draw with the grid (p. 49)
Pick > Multiple
Enables or disables selection of multiple components or objects.
Menu Reference
When this option is enabled, you can select multiple items. When it is disabled,
you can select only a single item.
Pick > Partially
Enables or disables area selections where objects that are partially inside the area
also get selected.
When this option is enabled, the partially selected objects is also selected. When
it is disabled, only the objects completely inside the selection area get selected.
Keyboard Input
When you choose to input a line with the number pad you can activate all of the
keys or only the ones you select from the list.
Keyboard > All means that all number pad keys are active when NumLock is on.
See also Draw a line (p. 89)
Preferences...
Opens the Preferences dialog, allowing you to edit:
general preferences such as measurement units and use of TrueType fonts in
TplEd
the color settings of the Workarea
the file locations of Tekla product-specific definition files, etc.
See also Setting program preferences (p. 49)
General preferences (p. 50)
Workarea preferences (p. 51)
File Location preferences (p. 52)
Menu Reference
8.7 Help menu commands
The Help menu contains commands for accessing HTML help and version and
copyright information.
Contents
Opens the HTML Help for TplEd.
About TplEd
Displays version and copyright information for TplEd.
8.8 Pop-up menu commands
Pop-up menus are shortcuts to the most common TplEd editing and viewing
tasks. They are available when you right-click in the workarea or in the Content
Browser.
Workarea pop-up menu commands
The following commands are in the workarea pop-up menu:
Command Menu command
End Action Edit > End Action (p. 182)
Continuous Action Options > Continuous Action (p. 195)
Cut Edit > Cut (p. 177)
Copy Edit > Copy (p. 177)
Paste Edit > Paste (p. 178)
Crop 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)
Menu Reference
Content Browser pop-up menu commands
The following commands are in the Content Browser pop-up menu:
Align Edit > Align > Lefts (p. 181)
Edit > Align > Rights (p. 182)
Edit > Align > Tops (p. 182)
Edit > Align > Bottoms (p. 182)
Group Edit > Group (p. 178)
Ungroup Edit > Ungroup (p. 178)
View > Pan View > Pan (p. 184)
View > Zoom In View > Zoom In (p. 184)
View > Zoom Out View > Zoom Out (p. 184)
View > Restore View > Restore (p. 185)
Pick > Multiple Options > Pick > Multiple (p. 196)
Pick > Partially Options > Pick > Partially (p. 197)
Grid > Snap Options > Grid > Snap (p. 196)
Grid > Visible Options > Grid > Visible (p. 196)
Properties... Depending on what you click on, you can view the
properties of the template page, component or object.
Cut Edit > Cut (p. 177)
Copy Edit > Copy (p. 177)
Paste Edit > Paste (p. 178)
Move up Edit > Sort and Draw Order > Up (p. 178)
Move down Edit > Sort and Draw Order > Down (p. 179)
Level up Edit > Sort and Draw Order > Row Level Up (p. 179)
Level down Edit > Sort and Draw Order > Row Level Down (p. 179)
Content Browser View > Content Browser > Visible (p. 185)
Properties... Depending on what you click on, you can view the proper-
ties of a template page, component or object.
Menu Reference
Glossary
Glossary
A
Arc
An arc is a TplEd drawing object. The curvature is defined by the Bulge factor
(p. 201).
Attributes
An attribute can be something like line color, font name or other characteristic
that can define an attribute. See also Global attributes (p. 204).
B
Bulge factor
A fractional number that defines an arc between two points as x/y, where y is the
distance between the points; and x is the distance between the center of the arc
and the center of the imagined straight line between the points. A positive bulge
factor produces an anti-clockwise arc. A negative bulge factor produces a clock-
wise arc. The shape of the arc is always part of a complete circle.
C
Column fill direction
The rows of a template can be output just like newspaper columns. Fill direction
is the order in which the columns are filled during output, and can be horizontal
or vertical. For details, see View and add information (p. 64).
Glossary
Column fill policy
The rows of a template can be output just like newspaper columns. Fill policy
determines whether the columns are filled one at a time using the whole available
page height, or evenly so that all columns are filled to the same height.
Components
A TplEd template is made up of several layout components: a header, page head-
ers, rows, page footers and a footer. Texts and graphics can then be added inside
components by using template objects. For details on components, see Working
with Template Components (p. 69).
Content Browser
The Content Browser is the left hand window of the TplEd main window. It dis-
plays the template components and the objects that they contain in a hierarchical
tree. See Content Browser (p. 40).
Content types
Content types are object types in the Tekla product database. Content types in
template row definitions automatically filter out unwanted object types from the
output template. The current version of TplEd uses content type listings whereas
the previous versions used table types. The list of content types as well as their
effect is Tekla product-specific (p. 209). See also Content types (p. 26).
Cut buffer
All cut or copied objects are stored in the TplEd cut buffer. They can be retrieved
in an open template with the paste command. TplEd maintains the cut buffer
through one working session.
D
Data function
Data functions are used in value field formulas and row rules to create references
to data sources, i.e. to the Tekla product database or to other value fields in the
current template.
Default properties
The color, fill and output options of a template object are defined with object
properties. TplEd maintains the default settings for each object type that are
applied to all new objects that you add. You can edit the default settings for new
objects as well as the current properties of an object. See Editing object proper-
ties (p. 116).
Glossary
Definition files
TplEd definition files contain Tekla product-specific (p. 209) information that
is used with rows, value fields and graphical fields. Definition files are editable
text files. There are three different types of definition files: row Content types
(p. 202), Global attributes (p. 204) or Value field meanings (p. 210). The con-
tents and syntax of the files is described at the beginning of each file.
Duplicate output lines
Output lines are duplicates when they have identical values in all value fields that
are used in sorting. Duplicates appear in template output when there are several
similar objects in the Tekla product database. If you want to output only one line
instead of outputting a line for each duplicate object, set the row sort type to
COMBINE.
Drawing objects
Basic graphical objects in TplEd: a line, arc, rectangle, circle, polyline or poly-
gon. Drawing objects can appear in graphical templates only.
DWG image
AutoCAD vector file format. Basic shapes of DWG files can be imported into
TplEd and edited there.
DGN image
MicroStation file format. Basic shapes of DGN files can be imported into TplEd
and edited there.
DXF image
Native CAD vector file format designed for exchange of vector data between
CAD programs and other programs. Basic shapes of CAD files can be imported
into TplEd and edited there.
E
No entries beginning with E.
Glossary
F
Fields
TplEd fields are objects whose contents are defined at runtime by the Tekla prod-
uct. A field can contain graphical or textual data. For details, see Graphical field
(p. 204) and Value field (p. 209).
Formulas
Essential parts of value field definitions that determine what data is gathered and
output with this field. The data source can be your Tekla product database or
other value fields in the current template, and the reference to the data source is
made with TplEd data functions. This is where you use the Global attributes
(p. 204) listing of your Tekla product. For details on creating and using formulas,
see Edit value field formula (p. 107).
Free attribute
A free attribute provides additional product-specific information for a template, a
row, a value field or a graphical field. It can, for example, define whether to out-
put a scale with steel bar bending shapes or not.
In TplEd free attributes can either be user-defined (not necessarily product-spe-
cific) or application-defined (Tekla product-specific (p. 209)).
G
Global attributes
Global attributes are properties of objects in the Tekla product database. You can
get information from the Tekla product by using attributes in value fields formu-
las and in row rules. The list of global attributes is Tekla product-specific
(p. 209). For details, see Using data from a Tekla product (p. 26).
Graphical field
A template object that is an area reservation for Tekla product graphics or text.
The field contents are resolved during template output. The reference to Tekla
product data is defined in TplEd with Global attributes (p. 26).
Graphical units
Graphical units are the measurement unit in which all measures are expressed in
TplEd. Graphical templates can use millimeters or inches. In textual templates
the distances are always measured in character units.
Glossary
Groups
Groups are collections of template objects. When objects are grouped, you can-
not edit an individual object in the group, only the whole group.
H
Hierarchy level
Parts of a template are arranged in a hierarchy, where the template components
are on the first hierarchy level, and the template objects on the second hierarchy
level below a component. A row can also be moved a hierarchy level lower to
create a subrow. You can view and edit the hierarchy in the Content Browser.
Hierarchy tree
A template can contain one or several row components and the rows can be
arranged into a hierarchy so that a row can have subrows. The subrows of a row
create a branch in the tree that describes the hierarchy of the template. The sub-
rows can be referred to as child components, whereas the row containing them is
a parent component.
I
No entries beginning with I.
J
No entries beginning with J.
K
No entries beginning with K.
Glossary
L
Line
A line is a TplEd drawing object.
M
No entries beginning with M.
N
No entries beginning with N.
O
Object
Objects in the Tekla product database are real world items that the product mod-
els. Objects have properties that are saved in the database. In TplEd you can refer
to objects with the row Content types (p. 26) and to the object properties with
Global attributes (p. 26).
Template objects are anything that appear in the Object toolbar (p. 42) in
TplEd. They include lines, arcs, polylines, circles, rectangles, filled objects,
texts, symbols, pictures, graphical fields and value fields.
Offset
For a graphical object, offset is the distance from the current coordinate point in
Graphical units (p. 204).
For formula string functions offset represents the position of a character within a
string. Character positions are numbered from zero up so that the first character
in a string is set with an offset of 0, the second character with an offset of 1, etc.
Output
Printing the template definition file (.rpt or .tpl) to screen, to file or to printer.
Templates are output in Tekla products.
Glossary
Output line
An output line refers to the output of a row component. A row is usually output
repeatedly during template output so that several objects of the Tekla product
database get handled. Thus one row definition produces multiple output lines,
one for each handled object. For details, see Template output process (p. 30).
Output policy
Defines how the page header or page footer components are output. There are
numerous output options. See Edit the output options of component (p. 81).
P
Pen
A pen is a definition that consists of pen id, color, line width and type. Pen defi-
nitions are saved in Presentation (p. 207) files that can be created and edited
with PresEd. If you use a presentation in TplEd, note that TplEd may not be able
to display the pen color, in which case you must choose the pen to use by the pen
name.
Pictures
Raster format files. You can insert pictures in templates with a reference to the
original file.
Polyline
A TplEd drawing object that is made up of a combination of several connected
lines.
Predefined rules
You can save the rules that you apply to rows in a text file for later use. Pre-
defined rules files have the file extension .pdr.
PresEd
PresEd is a tool for creating and editing presentations in Tekla products.
Presentation
A presentation file defines a set of pens that you can use when drawing. The pre-
sentation can use a color map file that defines a set of product-specific colors.
You can use a presentation in TplEd only if your Tekla product uses them. Pre-
sentation files are created and edited with PresEd. A presentation can be used in
TplEd by defining the default presentation file location. For details, see Using a
presentation (p. 55).
Glossary
Q
No entries beginning with Q.
R
Rules
Conditional expressions that determine exceptions in the output of a row. See
Row rules (p. 130).
S
Sort order
The sort order determines how items are alphabetized: in ascending or descend-
ing order. In TplEd you can sort the output lines of a row by any of its value
fields. Sort order is a value field-specific property.
Sort priority
If multiple value fields affect row sorting, you must determine their mutual sort
priority. The output lines based on a row are alphabetized first by the field with
the highest sort priority, etc. This is visualized by having the more important
value field above the less important value fields in the hierarchy tree (or sort and
drawing order tree).
Summary row
A summary row 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 mean-
ing that they are direct child rows of a template.
SYM
Tekla symbol file format that contains up to 256 symbols, each identified by a
symbol id number.
Symbols
Symbols are objects created with SymEd and used in TplEd and your Tekla
product.
Glossary
SymEd
SymEd is a tool for creating and editing symbols in Tekla products.
T
Tekla product-specific
TplEd has settings whose outcome depends on the Tekla product that you are
using. Whenever you see a property or definition that is Tekla product-specific,
you should look for details on your Tekla product documentation.
Texts
TplEd text objects are static text strings.
Transparency
Transparency is related to Tekla symbol library files. Each symbol in a file con-
sists of parts that can have fixed line or fill color and type, or they can have trans-
parent properties. Transparency means that you can determine the line and fill
properties in TplEd (or the Tekla product does that, if the symbol is used directly
by it). For details on using and editing transparent symbols, see the SymEd
Users Guide.
U
No entries beginning with U.
V
Value field
A template object that defines a reference to a Tekla product database. The field
contents are resolved during the template output process. The connection to a
database object or property is defined in the value field formula with Global
attributes (p. 26).
Glossary
Value field meanings
Value field meanings define output formatting for value fields. The list of avail-
able meanings and their effect is Tekla product-specific (p. 209). See also Value
field meanings (p. 27).
W
Workarea
The right hand side of the TplEd main window where templates can be edited.
See also Workarea preferences (p. 51).
X
No entries beginning with X.
Y
No entries beginning with Y.
Z
No entries beginning with Z.

Index
A
acos ................................................ 143
Activating
components .................................. 40
grid ............................................. 49
objects ......................................... 40
templates...................................... 40
All ................................................... 141
and ................................................. 144
Arithmetic operators ............................ 142
Arrange rows....................................... 76
asin................................................. 143
atan................................................. 143
atan2............................................... 143
Attribute conversion settings ................... 54
Attribute functions............................... 139
Attributes............................................ 26
AutoCAD files .............................. 97, 100
ave.................................................. 144
B
Backup files ...................................... 160
BMP.................................................. 91
C
ceil .................................................. 144
Change output options........................... 81
Change template type............................ 65
Check syntax..................................... 129
Color conversion settings ....................... 54
Colormap settings................................. 54
Columns
column settings of template............... 83
Command line options ........................... 36
Comparison operators .........................136
Components..................................27, 69
editing properties ............................80
inserting........................................70
Conditional structure............................135
Content Browser...................................40
select object & components...............46
Content types ......................................26
definition file ..................................53
setting row content type....................81
Continuous action .................................48
Control functions.................................137
Conversions
backup files .................................160
command line options ....................159
convert a folder of templates............158
corrupted files ..............................166
general errors ..............................165
log file ........................................159
margin setting warnings..................162
object errors ................................166
object warnings ............................163
rules warnings..............................161
runtime messages.........................158
template warnings.........................161
troubleshooting.............................166
warnings .....................................161
Converting templates...........................155
CopyField .........................................141
Copying
making a duplicate ........................113
template object to another template.....61
template objects ...........................177
cos ..................................................143
cosh ................................................143
Count ...............................................141
Create a formula.................................128
Crop template components .....................78
D
Data functions.................................... 139
Data type conversion functions .............. 145
Deactivating
grid.............................................. 49
templates, components or objects....... 62
Definition files
content types ................................. 53
global attributes.............................. 53
value field meanings........................ 53
Directories
set for symbols and pictures.............. 92
Distinct duplicates................................. 82
Dock the Content Browser ...................... 44
double.............................................. 145
Drawing object properties ....................... 91
Drawing options ................................... 48
Duplicates.........................................113
combine duplicate output lines ........... 82
of Tekla product objects .................203
of TplEd objects ...........................113
E
Edit menu commands .......................... 177
Editing
grouping objects ...........................113
imported images............................. 99
rotating objects.............................116
template component properties .... 77, 80
template object properties............... 112
template objects ...........................112
template properties ......................... 62
Errors in template conversion ................160
Exiting TplEd ....................................... 37
exp..................................................144
F
fabs.................................................144
File formats of pictures........................... 91
File location preferences ........................ 52
File menu commands .......................... 174
Fill import settings................................. 54
Fill types............................................. 99
Filtering data
introduction to content types.............. 26
ways to filter output lines .................. 75
find..................................................146
Float the Content Browser.......................44
floor .................................................144
Font .................................................100
Font conversion settings.........................54
Footers
inserting........................................70
steps to use footer...........................71
format ..............................................146
Formula syntax...................................129
Formulas ..................................127, 128
Free attributes....................................122
add............................................122
delete.........................................124
edit ......................................85, 124
Functions
common tasks..............................148
data type conversions ....................145
misc...........................................143
statistical .....................................144
string..........................................146
trigonometric................................142
G
getat ................................................147
GetFieldFormula.................................141
GetValue ..........................................139
Global attributes ...................................26
definition file ..................................53
functions .....................................139
Graphical fields ..................................109
editing ........................................110
editing attributes ...........................111
inserting......................................109
Graphical templates...............................24
Graphical units .....................................50
Grid
activating ......................................49
align objects to grid .......................116
deactivating ...................................49
hiding...........................................49
setting grid size ..............................65
showing ........................................49
Grid settings ........................................49
Groups .......................................99, 113

H
Headers
editing properties............................ 71
inserting ....................................... 70
steps to use header......................... 71
Help menu commands......................... 198
Hiding
grid ............................................. 49
row in output.................................. 83
template objects in Content Browser ... 45
value field in output ....................... 109
hypot ............................................... 144
I
Importing files ...................................... 97
Insert menu commands........................ 188
Inserting
drawing object into component .......... 88
graphical fields............................. 109
symbols and pictures....................... 91
template components ...................... 70
value fields.................................. 101
Installing TplEd .................................... 35
int ................................................... 145
IsFirst .............................................. 138
IsLast .............................................. 138
IsSet................................................ 140
L
length .............................................. 147
ln .................................................... 144
log .................................................. 144
Log file............................................. 159
Logical operators................................ 137
M
Main window ....................................... 39
match .............................................. 147
Mathematical operations ...................... 142
max................................................. 144
Measurement units ............................... 50
MicroStation files.......................... 97, 100
mid.................................................. 147
min.................................................. 144
mod.................................................144
Move an object...................................114
Multiple templates.................................61
N
n! ....................................................144
New templates .....................................58
NextValue .........................................139
O
Objects...............................................28
align ..........................................114
align to grid .................................116
cut, copy, paste ............................112
delete.........................................112
duplicating...................................113
edit properties ..............................112
edit size......................................118
group .........................................113
insert............................................87
inserting drawing objects ..................88
inserting symbols and pictures ...........91
inserting text objects........................95
move..........................................114
resize, reshape.............................115
rotating.......................................116
ungroup......................................113
Open existing template...........................59
Open multiple templates.........................61
Options menu commands .....................195
or ....................................................144
Output ..............................................138
Output of templates
file...............................................24
output process ...............................30
ways to edit template output ..............66
Output options .....................................81
P
Page footers
inserting........................................70
output options ................................81
steps to use page footers..................72
Page headers
editing properties ............................ 72
inserting ....................................... 70
output options ................................ 81
steps to use page headers................ 72
PageBreak........................................138
Panning over the workarea ..................... 47
Pens............................................ 54, 55
Pick settings
pick multiple .................................. 55
pick partially .................................. 55
Picture file formats ................................ 91
Pictures
default directory.............................. 54
editing properties ............................ 94
inserting from file ............................ 92
Pop-up menus ..................................... 44
pow.................................................144
Predefined rules ................................. 134
Preferences
file locations .................................. 52
graphical units................................ 50
set............................................... 49
Presentations
colormap ...................................... 54
setting presentation file .................... 54
Presentations in TplEd........................... 25
Preview a moved object ....................... 114
Preview Pane ...................................... 41
PreviousValue ................................... 140
Printer and screen output options ............. 24
Properties
set for new objects ........................ 117
R
Raster file formats................................. 91
Restoring original view........................... 48
reverse............................................. 147
Rotating objects ................................. 116
round............................................... 144
Row rules .........................................130
edit .............................................. 85
set file for predefined rules................ 53
Rows
arrange.........................................76
default output .................................30
definition file for content types............53
edit properties ................................74
edit sorting options ..........................82
inserting........................................70
introduction to content types ..............26
sorting by value fields.....................105
steps to use row .............................72
Rule Contents ....................................132
Rule syntax .......................................129
Rule Wizard.......................................131
Rules
store in text file .............................134
S
Saving templates ..................................60
Select components................................46
Select objects ......................................46
Selecting
components...................................61
objects..........................................61
templates ......................................61
Set preferences ....................................49
setat ................................................147
Showing
grid..............................................49
template objects in Content Browser....45
sin...................................................143
sinh .................................................143
Size
of template components ...................80
of template objects ........................118
of templates...................................64
Sort output ..........................................76
sqave...............................................144
sqrt ..................................................144
sqsum..............................................144
Starting TplEd ......................................36
command line options ......................36
Statistical functions..............................144
Status bar ...........................................44
StepIn ..............................................138
StepOut ............................................138
StepOver ..........................................139
Store rules.........................................134
string................................................145
String functions ..................................146

Sum ................................................ 141
Symbols
angle ......................................... 121
default directory ............................. 54
inserting from symbol file.................. 92
Symbols in TplEd ................................. 25
T
tan .................................................. 143
tanh................................................. 143
Tekla products
content types................................. 26
global attributes.............................. 26
using data from.............................. 26
value field meanings........................ 27
Template components ..................... 27, 69
crop............................................. 78
inserting ....................................... 70
Template conversion
attribute names ............................ 169
backup files................................. 160
colors & presentations ................... 168
fonts .......................................... 170
log file........................................ 159
symbols...................................... 167
Template hierarchy ............................... 45
Template objects.................................. 28
Templates
add information ..............................64
change type...................................65
conversion ..................................155
edit properties ................................62
examples ......................................30
graphical .......................................24
grid settings...................................65
in Tekla products ............................25
margins ........................................64
measurement units..........................50
new .............................................58
opening ........................................59
output...........................................24
page size ......................................64
parts ............................................27
saving ..........................................60
saving for first time ..........................60
size .............................................64
textual ..........................................24
usage...........................................23
version information..........................64
Text
angle..........................................121
edit string......................................97
inserting........................................95
properties......................................96
Textual templates .................................24
Toolbars .............................................41
Total ................................................141
TplEd
exiting ..........................................37
installation.....................................35
starting .........................................36
Trigonometric functions ........................142
U
Using templates....................................23
V
Value field
angle..........................................121
Value field functions ............................140
Value field meanings .............................27
setting definition file.........................53
setting meaning for value field..........109
Value fields .......................................101
edit formula ................................. 107
editing........................................103
formulas .....................................127
get data from other fields ................104
get data from Tekla product............. 103
inserting .....................................101
meanings...................................... 27
set data type................................105
set output properties......................108
setting sort priorities ......................106
setting sorting order....................... 105
sum automatically ......................... 106
value-with-unit ................................... 145
Vector file formats................................. 91
View menu commands......................... 184
Viewing
Content Browser............................. 44
panning over the workarea................ 47
restore original ............................... 48
template windows ........................... 47
zooming ....................................... 47
vwu .................................................145
W
Warnings in template conversion............ 160
Window menu commands.....................194
Workarea............................................ 40
preferences ................................... 51
zooming ....................................... 47
Z
Zoom operations
zoom toolbar.................................. 43
zooming in and out.......................... 47

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