Instruction 1 (9)

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Steel Column Scheduler Tutorial April 23, 2011

Tekla, Inc.

Atlanta Tel. +1 770 426 5105

114 Town Park Drive – Suite 500 Fax +1 770 919 0574

Kennesaw, GA 30144 (Toll-free 1-877-TEKLA-OK)

USA

Steel Column Scheduler tutorial

4/23/2011

Michael Gustafson, Tekla Inc.

Overview

This tool creates a graphical column schedule drawing for structural steel columns. It reads selected

columns in the model and creates associated columns information in a schedule such as fonts, colors,

line work and even user-defined attributes.

Scope

It creates a schedule once. To update a schedule, it deletes what was placed before and replaces the

schedule with what is new from the model.

It works with multiple grid array systems in the model and recognizes single grids added to a grid array

system.

It schedules each column individually (ie, it does not group columns).

It places one schedule per sheet. To put more than one schedule per sheet, the user could possible

Link drawings together.

Installation & Launch

1. Use Tekla Structures 17.0

2. Run tool from toolbar installed or from Macros/ColumnScheduler.

3. Save away a GA drawing sheet name for column schedule. This can be loaded from the interface

later.

Instruction 2 (9)

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Steel Column Scheduler Tutorial April 23, 2011

Tekla, Inc.

Atlanta Tel. +1 770 426 5105

114 Town Park Drive – Suite 500 Fax +1 770 919 0574

Kennesaw, GA 30144 (Toll-free 1-877-TEKLA-OK)

USA

General tab

4. Layout - Pick desired GA drawing properties setting file to define a sheet layout. Create a new

one for column schedules if needed.

5. Scale - Pick Autofit by default and then set Margins on next Settings 1 tab.

6. Fill in level information

7. Save or Save As an attribute file.

Instruction 3 (9)

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Steel Column Scheduler Tutorial April 23, 2011

Tekla, Inc.

Atlanta Tel. +1 770 426 5105

114 Town Park Drive – Suite 500 Fax +1 770 919 0574

Kennesaw, GA 30144 (Toll-free 1-877-TEKLA-OK)

USA

Settings 1 tab

Set up the Settings 1 tab page. See below for descriptions. Note the definitions of:

Height – Text height in mm

Section Height – Row height or column width in mm

8. Margins - Margins are measured from edge of drawing sheet in mm

9. Name filter – The Name field value will be used to filter out selected objects.

10. Title, Mark, Level, Location, Column marks, Grids – see image below.

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Steel Column Scheduler Tutorial April 23, 2011

Tekla, Inc.

Atlanta Tel. +1 770 426 5105

114 Town Park Drive – Suite 500 Fax +1 770 919 0574

Kennesaw, GA 30144 (Toll-free 1-877-TEKLA-OK)

USA

11. Writing Column Marks to model User-defined attributes – Users have requested to write the

column mark generated from the tool to the model so that the GA drawings can call out the

column marks. This is possible be setting the Column mark fields as shown where the user

defined attribute is written into the second field. DESIGN_GROUP_MARK is the recommended

user-defined attribute since that is what is used with the Design Group Numbering macro.

12. Row and column size, floor level labels, steel column line work – see image below.

Instruction 5 (9)

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Steel Column Scheduler Tutorial April 23, 2011

Tekla, Inc.

Atlanta Tel. +1 770 426 5105

114 Town Park Drive – Suite 500 Fax +1 770 919 0574

Kennesaw, GA 30144 (Toll-free 1-877-TEKLA-OK)

USA

13. Symbols – Four symbols are definable in the column schedule. Symbol files are installed in the

environment system folder. The column base symbol can be offset vertically by specifying a mm

value in the right most field. This will allow the bottom base symbol to be more clearly shown on

the drawings.

14. Save or Save As an attribute file.

Settings 2 tab

Set up settings in Settings 2 tab page.

15. See below for descriptions. Note that template editor variables can be used instead of user-

defined attribute values if the UDA fields are null or blank (i.e, see BOTTOM_LEVEL example

below).

Instruction 6 (9)

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Steel Column Scheduler Tutorial April 23, 2011

Tekla, Inc.

Atlanta Tel. +1 770 426 5105

114 Town Park Drive – Suite 500 Fax +1 770 919 0574

Kennesaw, GA 30144 (Toll-free 1-877-TEKLA-OK)

USA

Create Drawing

1. Select columns in the model.

2. Toggle on which elevations to show in schedule.

3. Create.

4. An interface will open that allows the user to view what data will be generated on the column

schedule. Create schedule.

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Steel Column Scheduler Tutorial April 23, 2011

Tekla, Inc.

Atlanta Tel. +1 770 426 5105

114 Town Park Drive – Suite 500 Fax +1 770 919 0574

Kennesaw, GA 30144 (Toll-free 1-877-TEKLA-OK)

USA

5. New drawing will open with updates.

6. Change Name and Title 1 in GA drawing properties. This name will show up in the column

scheduler tool when opened the next time.

Update Drawing

1. Select sheet in the list.

2. It highlights columns in model that were originally associated with this drawing. Select or unselect

columns to be added or removed from the sheet.

3. Update

4. Create schedule.

5. Drawing will open with updates.

Instruction 8 (9)

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Steel Column Scheduler Tutorial April 23, 2011

Tekla, Inc.

Atlanta Tel. +1 770 426 5105

114 Town Park Drive – Suite 500 Fax +1 770 919 0574

Kennesaw, GA 30144 (Toll-free 1-877-TEKLA-OK)

USA

Instruction 9 (9)

Draft

Steel Column Scheduler Tutorial April 23, 2011

Tekla, Inc.

Atlanta Tel. +1 770 426 5105

114 Town Park Drive – Suite 500 Fax +1 770 919 0574

Kennesaw, GA 30144 (Toll-free 1-877-TEKLA-OK)

USA

Hints & Tips

User should set up margins first to maximize the size of the schedule. Then pick a maximum number of

column grids to fill up the drawing. If the user picks too many column grids per sheet, the columns will

run past.

Column grid call outs will measure from the nearest grid.