GH-Tekla Link Version 1.3 Release Notes

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.======================================================.

| Grasshopper-Tekla Structures Link v1.3 Release Notes |


:======================================================:

New components
--------------

* New "Create Shape" component that creates or modifies a Tekla shape and adds
it to the Shape Catalog.

* New "Get Report Property" component that gets report properties from any
model object.

Tekla Menu
----------

* New menu command "Delete Unused Shapes" that deletes all shape profiles that
are not used by any item from
the component catalog in the Tekla Model.
- Having a lot (100s or 1000s) of unused shapes can slow down the Tekla model
considerably. This is a way
to remove left-over shapes that can pile up when generating items from
Grasshopper.
Note: This also removes unused non-Grasshopper generated shapes.

UI updates
----------

* Added command "Recompute" to the context menu of relevant Tekla components.


- This is similar to double-clicking the component.

* A spinner icon shows up next to the Tekla menu whenever there are Tekla
components solving

* Input fields of the Catalog components receive focus when the dialogs open.

General updates for components


------------------------------

* The output of the part creating components is not flattened any more (so
easier to use it downstreams).
- For this to work properly, use lines or curves to define the geometry of
beams and slabs/plates (rather
than points).

* Fix to bug that meant the objects created in Tekla sometimes weren't updated
to the final state when
modifying the parameters using sliders.

Component updates
-----------------

* Tekla Point: Referenced Tekla Points are displayed in Rhino.


* Tekla Point: A Tekla Point parameter can automatically be used at plane
inputs.

* Beam: Create closed polybeams from closed input curves. The seam point will
be automatically moved in case
it's at a corner.

* Rebar Group: Rebar groups can be created along curved ranges.


- If a curve is provided as the Range input, and only one curve is defined
for the Shape input (or the input
is grafted), the shape curve will be copied along the range and the group
type will be tapered.
- If the range input is a circle or arc, the rebar group type will be tapered
curved.

* Component: The Class field of a Connection or a Detail can be updated by


using it's backing attribute
"group_no" in attribute files or direct input.

* Component: The main part of Details and Seams can be changed without manually
removing the objects in Tekla.

* Convert To Mesh: Fix to bug when reading the mesh from a Tekla solid.

.======================================================.
| Grasshopper-Tekla Structures Link v1.2 Release Notes |
:======================================================:

UI Changes
----------

* Tekla Main Menu added to Grasshopper with commands to enable/disable all


Tekla components, Select all Tekla
objects etc.

* Tekla Brep type name shown as Item and Base Component shown as Tekla
Component.

* Tooltips added for context menu commands.

New components
--------------

* New Create Profile component that creates a fixed Tekla profile from a
curve/outline and adds it to the
Tekla Profile catalog.
- By default, the profile origin is the center of the outline bounding box.
Optionally you can provide your
own origin point or plane (for controlling the profile rotation).
Note: This component is fairly slow as it triggers all kinds of macros in
Tekla Structures, and is thus not
suitable for continous updating with e.g. a slider. A Data Dam component
can be used at the input to
control when the component/profile gets updated.
* New Get UDA Value component that can be used to read the value of any UDA of
any model object.
- If used on a Tekla component, it will return attribute values from the
component instead.

Updated components
------------------

* Improved Item components:


- [Rhino 6 only] Some closed breps in Grasshopper that previously failed to
convert to closed meshes for
transfer to Tekla are now automatically repaired by the Item components to
create valid closed items.
- If a Geometry input is provided, any Line input (point or line) will be
used to set the origin (or origin
and axis) of the resulting shape, and the geometry will show up at the same
location in Tekla and in Rhino
(previously any line input would move the geometry in Tekla so that it
didn't match the location in Rhino.

* Improved Plate and Slab components:


- Contour points are more intelligently applied when converting a Nurbs curve
to a Tekla contour, to
minimize the deviation from the actual curve especially around corners and
avoid unneccessary points on
straight edges.

* Improved Extrude Beams component:


- The component will create a fitting between the first and last beam segment
if the start and end points
are the same.
- The default class of extruded beams is now 1 to avoid transparent color.

* Updated Deconstruct components:


- Some outputs (Attributes, Position, Numbering, Deforming, Type) will only
be calulated in case they are
connected to another component (can be a Panel). This is to speed up
computiation by avoiding extraction
of unnecessary information.
- Once the outputs have been connected, double-click the parent Deconstruct
component to re-run it and
calculate the values.
Note: This means you can't preview output values by hovering the output,
unless it's connected to something.

* Updated Profile Contour component:


- If no Plane input is given, the profile will show up at the origo as
before, but with the global Y-axis as
its up-direction (previously up was X-axis). This is to align it with the
Create profile component.
- The old component is deprecated but works as previously in projects where
it's already in use.

* Rebar Components that have the option "Remove while inputs are being
modified" enabled, will have their
objects removed from Tekla if the Shape input is invalid.
* Tekla Input and Floating Parameters (i.e. all Tekla Model Object, Tekla
Point, Position, ComponentInput
params) accept direct input from objects that are Tekla API types.
- Useful when creating scripting components that output Tekla objects which
should then interact with the
Tekla link components (i.e. no need to create your own Goo types for these
Tekla types any more).

Fixes
-----

* Fix to some components disappearing when a definition is opened without a


connection to Tekla Structures.

* Fix to Index Out of Range error that sometimes appeared for the Rebar Group
component.

* Fix to issue where some attributes were bleeding between Tekla objects.
- When extracting attribute information from a Tekla part and using that info
as input for creating new
parts, some attributes would stay linked to the original part attributes
even outside of Grasshopper.

* Fix to tolerance issue when converting curves to e.g. polybeams when using
large units in Rhino.

.======================================================.
| Grasshopper-Tekla Structures Link v1.1 Release Notes |
:======================================================:

* New components for referencing and deconstructing Tekla objects


-----------------------------------------------------------------

* New Param components (as floating params) to reference objects from Tekla
Structures into Grasshopper.
- Can be used instead of the old Get components (these are now deprecated).

* New Deconstruct components to extract model object attributes.


- Can be used instead of and extends the old Get components (these are now
deprecated).

* New Expand attributes components to browse Part, Position, Numbering and


Deforming Attributes that are
extracted with the Deconstruct components.

* New Expand UDA component that can be used to expand UDA strings that are
extracted from parts.

* Other new components


----------------------

* New Construct UDA component that can be used to construct UDA input strings
for the Part Attributes and
Rebar Attributes components.
- Can be used to construct Attributes input for the Component component as
well.

* New Convert to Mesh component for creating a Grasshopper mesh from a Tekla
object.
- This is much faster than the Convert to Brep component, but occasionally
might be missing some faces if
there are holes in the object.

* Improved Item components


--------------------------

* Item components have a right-click menu item to set the Meshing Parameters
as Minimal, Coarse or Smooth.
- Previously Coarse was always used.
- This will enable faster updates when Minimal is used and finer details
when Smooth is used.
Note: This is not meant to fix problems due to "bad" breps, you still need
to take care of those yourself.

* Generated shape names are shorter (23 chars + numerical suffix) to prevent
some reported errors with long
shape names.
- On update, any old shapes will remain in the Shape Catalog and a new
shape with the shorter name will be
created.
- New and updated items will thereafter use the shape with the new shape
name.

* Default cast unit type for items is CAST_IN_PLACE.

* A Box can be used as input for the Item components.

* Improved Profile Contour component


------------------------------------

* Profile Contour component now has an input for a Plane or a Curve.


- The profile will be projected onto the plane.
- In case of a curve, the plane is the plane perpendicular to the start
point of the curve.

* The seam point of the profile contour will not depend on the profile
orientation any more.
- It's always the point farthest away in the y- direction of the local
profile coord system.
- Note that this might be at a different vertex than if using the old
Profile Contour component.

* The Default At Depth position of the Profile Contour component is now


Behind.

* The old Profile Contour component will continue to work in definitions


where it's already used.

* Various other improvements


----------------------------
* Tekla Tab renamed to show target Tekla version for quick version
verification.

* More descriptive texts when hovering outputs in Grasshopper.

* Updated icons for catalogs.

* Catalogs open next to the cursor (no more off-screen dialogs).

* Grasshopper preview for Point, Beam and Plate type objects (as reference
lines).

* Rebar Groups don't need a range input if they are tapered.

* Enum inputs accept text or numbers.

* Default Depth position for panels created with the Panel component is
Front.

* Fix to bug with Spirit Level fittings for the Extrude Beams component.

* Fix to bug where Reinforcement start number couldn't be set if the prefix
was set.

.======================================================.
| Grasshopper-Tekla Structures Link v1.0 Release Notes |
:======================================================:

* Components to insert reinforcement


------------------------------------
New Create Single Bar component for creating Single Bars.

New Create Rebar Group component for creating Rebar Groups.

New Rebar Catalog, Attributes, Hook, Hooks, Cover and Group components for
setting rebar attributes.

* Support for Imperial units


----------------------------
The Tekla components will use the units of he currently open Rhino document.
Note: Referenced or internalized Rhino/Grassshopper point and geometry
values won't use the new scale if
the Rhino document changes, however points picked in Tekla will adapt. Keep
in mind if reusing a script
from a different using system. E.g example scripts are created using metric
(mm) units, so this means the
slider values etc might need to be adjusted if viewed with imperial units.

* Component component improvements


----------------------------------
The Phase can be set for Components from the attributes input (like other
attributes), using the "Phase"
keyword and an integer.
Attribute input can contain prefixes (that will be removed), which means that
input can be copy-pasted
directly from attribute files. E.g. "macro_attributes.class_ref 14" is
interpreted as "class_ref 14".
Won't work for components that store the attributes in xml format.

* Catalog components improvements


--------------------------------
Catalog components show the currently selected item beneath the component in
the UI.

New right-click menu item "Pick from catalog..." for catalog components
(executes the same command as
double-clicking the component).

* Misc smaller improvements, including


--------------------------------------
The Grid component creates several grids if the input is a tree.
Note: You might need to flatten the input for the Grid component in old
definitions.

The Create Beam component removes the old beam when the input changes from a
straight line to a curve (i.e.
beam to polybeam) or vice versa.
Note: This will not restore the guid of the beam if changing the input from
a line to a curve and back.

Fittings created by the Extrude Beams component get a better angle when the
segments have different length.

UDA input can contain prefixes, which means that input can be copy-pasted
directly from attribute files.
E.g. 'beam_attributes.comment "this is a beam"' is interpreted as 'comment
"this is a beam"'.

.======================================================.
| Grasshopper-Tekla Structures Link v0.9 Release Notes |
:======================================================:

This release improves responsiveness especially when working with Tekla


components/connections.
0.9.1 takes care of a bug that prevented some connections from being re-inserted on
input modifications.

* When using the "Run in background" mode (i.e. the default), the Tekla objects
that the Grasshopper components
insert or modify in the background will now automatically appear at the
component output when they are ready.
The component icon is changed to a spinner while the objects are being processed
in Tekla.
This allows the Grasshopper UI to remain responsive while outputs can still be
used downstream for inserting e.g.
connections.
Beneficial especially if used with the new "Remove" option for the Component
component (see below).

* Faster interruption in Tekla when inputs are changing.


This allows you to quicker see partial results on screen when modifying e.g. a
slider.

* New right-click option "Remove while inputs are being modified" for the Component
component. This mode means the
inserted components in Tekla are removed while part and point inputs are being
modified, to allow for quicker
updates of the model.
Note: In this mode, the components will get new GUIDs after each input
modification.
This option is checked by default on newly inserted components.

* Resolved Illegal Z-direction error in Tekla preventing some connections from


being inserted.

.======================================================.
| Grasshopper-Tekla Structures Link v0.8 Release Notes |
:======================================================:

* New Bent Plate component (Tekla Structures 2017 or newer).


Behaves like the "Create bent plates using faces" command in Tekla Structures.

* Possibility to create points as native Tekla points (control points) with the
Create Tekla Point component.
!Note: You might need to re-insert any Tekla Point components to remove potential
Parameter Index errors.

* The Get Point component shows the picked point in Tekla (as a control point) as
well as in Rhino.

* Improvements in the robustness when inserting and modifying components.

.======================================================.
| Grasshopper-Tekla Structures Link v0.7 Release Notes |
:======================================================:

!Note: If using Tekla Structures 2017 or 2017i, this update requires at least 2017
SP5 or 2017i SP1.

* New Convert to Brep component that renders any Tekla model object geometry as
Breps in Rhino.
Note: The boundary output of the Get Plate component is now a polyline instead
of a Brep.

* New Profile Contour component that can be used to extract the outline and holes
of a profile from the
profile catalog in Tekla.

* New Get Item, Get Connection and Get Model Object components to reference objects
from Tekla structures.
* Internal lines of generated items are now hidden in the model view and in the
drawings.

* The Plane Cut and Fitting components react correctly to changes in the input
part.

.======================================================.
| Grasshopper-Tekla Structures Link v0.6 Release Notes |
:======================================================:

!Note: This update might generate some "Input parameter chunk is missing. Archive
is corrupt."-messages when
opening an old definition. These can be ignored and will disappear when you've
saved the definition again.

* New Pad Footing and Strip Footing components.

* New Deforming component that can be used to set start and end offsets and angles
for beams.

* Non-solid breps and meshes can be inserted as surfaces with the Create Item
components.

* Improvements when transferring solids with the Create Item components.

* Default detail type is now End detail and default direction is Auto (can be
changed with the zsuunta attribute)

* The detail type (end/intermediate/reverse) can be set with the detail_type


attribute.

.======================================================.
| Grasshopper-Tekla Structures Link v0.5 Release Notes |
:======================================================:

* Position attributes can be set for Custom Parts (by using text attributes as they
are used in the attribute file)

* Negative decimal values can be used for attributes/UDA:s

* Single points can be used as input for the componentInput component

.======================================================.
| Grasshopper-Tekla Structures Link v0.4 Release Notes |
:======================================================:

* Baking of items works better (shape of baked object is saved to shape catalog).

* Up direction attribute (zsuunta) can be set for components.


* Icons added for inputs.

.======================================================.
| Grasshopper-Tekla Structures Link v0.3 Release Notes |
:======================================================:

* New Item componens (Tekla Structures 2017 only)


-------------------------------------------------
For creating steel and concrete items, thus allowing you to transfer any
arbitary geometry from Rhino.
Not possible to release for previous Tekla versions

* New Plane Cut component


-------------------------
For cutting a part with a plane.

* New Part Cut component


------------------------
For cutting a part with another part.

* New Fitting component


-----------------------
For fitting a part end.

* Cut the link between the component and the part


-------------------------------------------------
Added right-click option to "bake" the part to tekla. This means that
the link between the component and the part is cut and a copy of the
part is manipulated upon futher modifications.

* Phase attribute
-----------------
[Breaking Change] Added Phase (number) to part attributes.

* Notable bugfixes
------------------
Orientation of plates and slabs automatically adjusted to global Z
direction.

Direct modification of generated plates and slabs fixed (previously part


DM wasn't working if start and end points were similar).

.======================================================.
| Grasshopper-Tekla Structures Link v0.2 Release Notes |
:======================================================:
* New Component component
-------------------------
For inserting connections, details, plugins etc.

* New Component Catalog component


---------------------------------
For picking the component to insert from the Tekla Component Catalog.

* New Component Input component


-------------------------------
For creating custom plugin input.

* Part Attributes component updates


-----------------------------------
[Breaking change] The UDAs list of strings input is changed to a UDA
single string item input.
Now, if using a list of strings for the UDA input, the component
will assign them to different parts. To set multiple UDAs for

one item, you can still provide them in a single text input,
separated by newlines.
You need to delete and re-insert any inserted Part Attributes
components to take the updated behavior into use.
[Breaking change] Updated UDA syntax to match what we have in different
inp files. See the documentation or the tooltips at the input for the
new syntax.

* Object-creating components updates


------------------------------------
Forcing the components to re-run by double-clicking the icon preserves
existing GUIDs. I.e. the operation doesn't delete and replace all the
generated members any more, just recreates any deleted ones and resets
the rest.

* Input components updates


--------------------------
Now works with trees internally instead of lists. Otherwise they might
lose track of the input objects when using tree inputs.
[Breaking change] Outputs the model object in addition to the other
info. You need to re-insert the components to update the outputs.

* Get Plate Component updates


-----------------------------
fix to situations where it didn't read the plate.

* Point component updates


-------------------------
Faster removing of points when the component is deleted.