Tekla Structures

This section describes the Selection and View filters. • Use the Selection Filter to avoid making errors when selecting objects. • Use the View Filter to define which objects appear in each view. This is particularly useful for complicated models containing a large number of objects.

	T	The view and selection filters are based on the object group functionality. Fore more information.

	View filter Use the View filter to define which objects are displayed in a view, according to object properties. Work area, view depth, view setup, and the object representation settings also affect whether an object is visible. To display the View filter dialog box: 1. Double-click the view to open the View properties dialog box, or click View > View Properties…. 2. Click the Object group… button.

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Selection filter

Use the Selection Filter to define which objects can be selected. Tekla Structures also contains several switches that control whether you can select an object).

	To use the Selection Filter on an object, the object must be visible in the relevant view.

Selection filter dialog box To display the Object Group – Selection Filter dialog box:

• Click the Selection Filter icon • click Edit > Selection Filter….		e,	or

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Use object properties to define whether or not an object can be selected. To use the Selection Filter dialog box that was available in previous versions, set the variable XS_USE_OLD_FILTERING to TRUE.

		Using the variable XS_USE_OLD_FILTERING affects only the appearance of the dialog box. Internally Tekla Structures uses the new filters in all filtering.

See also	XSUSEOLDFILTERING

Standard selection filters Tekla Structures contains several standard selection filters. The selection filter list box on the Selecting toolbar lists both standard and user-defined filters.

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	To apply a filter, select one from the list. Standard filters always appear first on the list. Converting old selection filters The selection filter list box is divided into two parts: • New selection filters (file extension .SObjGrp), which you can use in selection filtering • Old filters (file extension .msf)

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When you select an old filter, Tekla Structures automatically converts it to a new filter and saves the new filter. The old filter is then removed from the list box. Defining your own filters To define your own filters: 1. Click the Selection Filter icon v , or click Edit > Selection Filter…* to open the Object Group – Selection Filter dialog box. 2. Find a filter which has close to the same settings as you need. 3. Modify the settings, then enter a new name in the Save as field. 4. Click Save as, then OK to exit. You can now choose the new filter from the dropdown list.

		To have the filters you define appear at the top of the list, right after the standard filter, use capital letters in the filter name.

Examples	The Selection Filter is very useful when using the drawing wizard to automatically create drawings. For example, if you only want to produce drawings of the beams in the model, use the Selection Filter to select them. Use the Selection Filter to select the parts you want to carry loads.

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Filtering techniques

Filter by multiple properties	You can define filters containing several properties. You can also have multiple filtering values for each property. If you use multiple values, separate the strings with blank spaces (for example, 12 5). If a value consists of multiple strings, enclose that particular value in quotation marks (for example, “custom panel”). By using conditions, parentheses, and the And/Or option you can create filters that can be as complex as needed.

		When you create rules between objects that represent different categories, use the And option when possible to avoid potential problems with more complex rules.

Set filtering on To set filtering on for a particular property, select the corresponding checkbox. The checkboxes define which rows of the filter are enabled and effective. In the following example, only the second row affects filtering:



Complement To use complement filtering (in other words, defining which parts not to select), select Does filtering not equal in the Condition column. Template You can select objects according to template properties. To do this, select Template in the properties Category column, and then select the desired property in the Property column.

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In the Object Group – Selection Filter dialog box, use the following units for template properties, even when using the US Imperial environment:

• mm for lengths

• mm2 for areas

• kg for weights

• degree for angles

To check which units Tekla Structures uses for certain template properties, use the Select from model… option in the Value column.

Assembly types

If the category you have selected is Assembly, the property you have selected is Assembly type, and you use the option Select from model… in the Value column, Tekla Structures returns the value as a number. The number indicates the type of assembly in question. The following table lists the numbers and the corresponding assembly types:


	Value	Assembly type
	0	precast
	1	cast in place
	2	steel
	3	timber
	6	miscellaneous

See also

Filtering examples

Beams and columns

To create a selection filter for beams and columns:

1. Click Add row twice to add two new rows.

2. Fill in the part names, BEAM and COLUMN.

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To select the value directly from the model, click Select from model… and pick an object.

3. Select the Or option. The filter is now looking for an object that has the Name BEAM or COLUMN.

The same result is accomplished if you write BEAM COLUMN in the Value column in the first row. If you use multiple values, you must separate the strings with blank spaces.

4. Enter the filter’s name next to the Save as button, and click Save as.

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	Phases	To create a selection filter for all parts in phases 1 and 2: 1. Click Add row. 2. Fill in the part phases, 1 and 2. Separate the strings with a blank space. 3. Enter the filter’s name next to the Save as button, and click Save as.



	Complement filter If you only want to select certain parts, use complement filter to filter out the remaining parts.

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Select switches also affect the selection of objects.

To create a filter that selects all parts except for those with the profile BL200*20:

1. Click Add row.

2. Fill in the profile, BL200*20.

3. In the Condition column, select Does not equal.

4. Enter the filter’s name next to the Save as button, and click Save as.

Using wildcards

You can use wildcards to shorten filter strings. A wildcard is a symbol that stands for one or more characters. Tekla Structures uses the following wildcards:


Wildcard	Description	Example
* (asterisk)	Matches any number or characters	HE* matches all parts with a profile name that begins with the characters “HE”. You can also this symbol at the beginning of a word: BRAC.

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Wildcard	Description	Example
? (question mark)	Matches a single character	HE?400 matches parts with profile names such as HEA400, HEB400, and HEC400
[ ] (square brackets)	Matches whatever is enclosed in the brackets	L[78]X4X1/2 matches parts with the profile names L7X4X1/2 and L8X4X1/2

The characters * and ? can also be used in object names. If the object name you want to filter contains * or ?, enclose * or ? in square brackets. E.g., to find the profile P100*10, enter P100[*]10 in the filter field.

Filter in dialog boxes

The Filter also appears in many dialog boxes. In a Filter field you can enter characters from the name of the object you are looking for, and then click the Filter button to find the matching names.

Tekla Structures – Filter

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