The XS_FIRM advanced option in Tekla Structures allows centralizing custom settings via Trimble Connect. Users create a project and folder in Trimble Connect, invite collaborators, set permissions, and upload settings files. XS_FIRM is then defined in Tekla to link to this folder. Tekla syncs local and cloud files, prompting updates if differences exist. Some system-based paths can't be set remotely and require local path definitions using variables like %localappdata%.
The advanced option XS_FIRM is designed to provide customized settings across all Tekla Structures models. Below is an explanation of how you can centralize your customized settings by using this advanced option and Trimble Connect.
1. Go to Trimble Connect (online version). Log in with your Trimble Identity.
2. Click the button , enter the details for the new project, and click the Submit button:
The project is created and opened.
3. In the Team category, click the button to invite users to your custom settings folder
4. Enter the email addresses of all users. You can also assign groups and roles to them.
5. Click the button . Users will receive an activation email.
6. In the Data category, click the Explorer button. Then click the New Folder button:
7. Enter a name for the folder and click Submit:
The structure now looks like this:
8. You can adjust the permissions of the added users. You can also check if the invited users have activated the activation email. To do this, go to the Team category. You can also modify the permissions of the CS_folder folder.
9. Select the checkbox for the CS_folder folder:
10. Click the button or the button
(permissions) and the following dialog box appears:
11. By default, 'Inherit from parent folder' is checked, but if that option is not desired, uncheck it and start adding people or groups. Then assign whether they will have 'Full access' or ' Read only access'.
More about permissions on: File Permissions | Trimble Help
12. Click Save.
13. To add the custom settings to the CS_folder, click the Explorer button in the Data category. Then click the CS_folder:
14. Click the Add button to add (upload) the custom settings to the CS_folder. You can also drag the settings files from Explorer into the folder.
The folder structure in our example now looks like this:
15. Now define the advanced option XS_FIRM in Tekla Structures to route to the CS_folder.
The following format is used as a reference:
1. Always use this same syntax.
2. Project URL in Trimble Connect.
3. Project server location of Trimble Connect (step 2).
4. The name of the folder in the Trimble Connect project that contains the custom settings.
Note the following: Depending on the server location you use, these have a fixed format. The options are:
Europe = europe
Asia = asia
North America = northAmerica
16. Start Tekla Structures, log in with your Trimble Identity, and open a model.
17. Open the Advanced Options dialog from File Menu > Settings > Advanced Options.
18. Define the advanced option XS_FIRM to point to the CS_folder:
19. Click Apply and Ok.
20. Restart Tekla Structures and reopen the model.
Tekla Structures now checks for differences between the files in the local CS_folder (C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Trimble\Tekla folder sync\<folder>) and the files in the CS_folder in the Trimble Connect project. If changes exist, Tekla Structures will show the following message:
21. Click Yes to save and close the model. The files will now update and the model will reopen. Click No if you do not want to update the files.
LIMITATIONS
In Trimble Connect, you can define both the project folder (XS_PROJECT) and the company folder (XS_FIRM), as they are model-based paths. However, system-based paths cannot be defined, such as:
- DAK_SYMBOLPATH
- DXK_BMPPATH
- XS_UEL_IMPORT_FOLDER
- ...
Therefore, one configuration option is to define the paths of the above variables based on the local location where the company folder files are synchronized.
The typical save path would be:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Trimble\tekla folder sync\<project-id>\europe\firm\settings...
You can use the variable %localappdata% to centralize the AppData information for all users and not depend on their specific username. Ultimately, the example path would be:
XS_UEL_IMPORT_FOLDER=%localappdata%\Trimble\tekla folder sync\<project-id>\europe\firm\settings\
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