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Tekla, now part of the Trimble group, recently gave its users a sneak preview of what they should expect to find in the next version of Tekla Structures. No guarantees, of course, but as most of the new features and enhancements derive from customer input, it might be churlish of them not to come up with the goods announced! The preview focused on a number of different areas, from the new user interface, through its enhanced organiser and modelling features, to more detailed CNC enhancements, drawings, Tekla Warehouse, and extensions to model sharing.

New, Intuitive User Interface
Intuitive is an oft-misused word when it comes to describing user interfaces. It should mean that the software leads you through processes in the way you would expect it to. Most intuitive UIs don't exactly come up with the goods, but Tekla's does, making it easy to change over from traditional UIs or learn the new one, if you are a newcomer to the software, and find rarely used commands quickly and easily.

That's thanks to a combination of features, starting with its new look, with larger icons and simpler layout, and its use of keyboard shortcuts and contextual toolbar. Most impressive, though, is the Quick Launch feature - found in the top right of the screen or invoked with Ctrl Q, which takes a couple of your input characters, and then searches commands, components, macros and warehouse content to bring up suggestions as to what you were looking for. It highlights where these can be found in the ribbon for future use or, as a last resort, draws up a list of commands for you to select the one you need.

The new UI also allows users to customise keyboard shortcuts, adding commands together, and to check out existing shortcuts and possible conflicts between them - ideal for power users who want to fine-tune their productivity.

The contextual toolbar is another productivity gainer. Another customisable tool, this allows you to check and edit model content properties, where previously you would have used the properties dialogue boxes. You can use it to edit common properties and control property locations within the model - basically combining the functions of the mini toolbar and the property dialogue box in one simpler function.

Organiser
Tekla says that the Organiser tool has now become a much more powerful means for supporting workflows. One of the new features to come will be the ability to break down model categories into layers of sub-category groupings and to colourise these, based on object groups, property category and status. From this, object category and status information can be written to the model for collaboration within the same model or via IFCs to external users.

Categories are auto-filled from model content properties, which automatically synchronises, fetching information from all assemblies and phases, providing an overview of the model for planning purposes - or estimation, as this quick high-level model breakdown tool counts up instances of individual objects at any phase of the project.

Fabrication workflows are, perhaps, the best way to describe how the Organiser manages workflows. After setting up a category as fabrication status, assemblies requiring fabrication can be selected and dragged into successive fabrication status columns - 'in fabrication,' 'ready to ship' etc. The next step is to select all assemblies and synchronise these to write UDAs to the model and to update values in the object browser. Once synchronised, the model view indicates groups coloured for easy identification of fabrication status - which is subsequently submitted to the Delivery Management Process. Users can set up and daisy chain processes from one inbox to the next, leveraging the Organiser and model to walk through both processes and workflows.

Modelling
The enhancements to Modelling reflect requests from users and are quite specific. Hidden object snaps, for instance, have stopped snapping to the wrong hidden geometry, an annoying little quirk. Construction circle snaps have also been improved by enabling ‘intersections of circle’ and ‘perpendicular to circle’ snapping.

CNC Export Enhancements
The enhancements in CNC are all about making it easier to set up the export model for specific manufacturers’ machines and includes, in addition to hard stamp placement controls, access to advanced set-up options, additional output controls and the ability to customise DSTV headers - supported by an improved CNC log.

Drawings
Some new, and some enhanced facilities have updated Drawings. Amongst the new is Drafter Configuration, requested by users, which will optimise the workflow involved in creating drawings. Drafter can produce drawings without having to interrupt drafting to number drawings.

There are also enhancement to drawing editing tools, which include, besides a list of standard details, the ability to use Rich Text, word-wrap and Excel input within drawings - providing, of course, access to many more fonts and font types. Enhancements also include new snap and dimension pull-outs and flexibility in the hatching of surfaces - all designed to make drawings more productive.

Tekla Warehouse
A principal feature of Tekla Structures is Tekla Warehouse - a free source of BIM standard and custom components and assemblies available to all users - and quite a bit more; applications, report templates, drawing and model set-up files, profiles and materials.

Tekla Structures 2016 will add even more assemblies to the list - Metal Framing, which helps users model pre-fabricated units, partition walls, ceilings, shaft walls and fairing panels. Users can choose typical profiles when they define walls and will be able to modify stud positions and bracing layouts or configure accoustic ceilings.

Transmission Towers have specific requirements as well, and Tekla Warehouse can be used to bring in templates to quickly design towers, selecting the required braces from a library of configurations. Users are able to specify arm types, locate double braces, where required, both inside and outside legs, and - one of the latest components - install a tower base component with a fixing layout already defined.

The Warehouse can also supply all of the features of per-engineered buildings, quickly defining 3 plate beams with all of the correct outputs in place, picking up the right connections from the Warehouse library. And, like all of the above industry-specific steel structures, they come with all fabrication requirements in place.

Extension Management
Tekla users are encouraged to make any useful extensions they have devised available to other users. Using the .TSEP (Tekla Structures Extension Package) both Tekla and externally supplied extensions to Tekla Structures are managed, informing users what extensions are available, what they do and how they can install - or remove - them. Extension management also enables corporations to set up and administer the extensions they have internally installed.

Tekla Model Sharing
Remote teams working on the same model in globally dispersed locations can use Tekla Model Sharing to collaborate more effectively. Using low network bandwidth, only modified data is transmitted to update the model, optimising sharing by polling team members to detect packages due for input and alerting users when the line is clear for them to send in their own updates.

The actual process has also been greatly speeded up, and is now some 6 to 10 times faster. Additionally, you now have the opportunity to review changes from other users and, because some projects involve many disciplines and engineers producing reams of modifications, set up filters to drill down to identify areas of concern that require their input.

Productivity
Promised for Tekla Structures 2016, then, are a number of features that are designed to improve productivity, either by making the user interface easier and quicker to handle or by updating features that had previously caused more frustration than errors. Plenty to look forward to then!
www.tekla.com/uk