How to create a User Interface - Part 2
Not version-specific
Tekla Tedds
Tekla Tedds for Word
Environment
Not environment-specific
British Standard
This is the second part of a step-by-step guide showing you how to use the Tedds Interface Designer to create user interfaces for your own custom calculations. In this part you will make the interface created in part 1 easier to use by using different types of input controls.
This guide is written for Word 2007/2010 some of the steps described may be slightly different if you are using an older version of Word.
Types of input control
The Tedds interface designer allows you to use the input control that is most appropriate for the type of data you want to capture. Eight different types of input control can be used which are outlined in the table below:
| Control | Function |
|---|---|
| Blank | Used for spacing out controls. |
| Label | Displays a single line of text. |
| Edit | Type any value. |
| Edit Drop List | Type any value or select from a pre-defined list. |
| Drop List | Select a value from a pre-defined list. |
| Edit Up Down | Type any numeric value or adjust the current value by a pre-defined amount. |
| Check Box | Select from one of two possible values (checked/unchecked). |
| Button | Performs an action by calculating a Tedds expression. |
Enhancing the user interface
For the input of the minimum yield strength it makes sense to use an Edit Drop List control which allows the user to type any value of their choosing but also provides a list of commonly used values to choose from.
- Open the document created in part 1 and start editing the user interface.
- Select the Minimum yield strength input control by clicking on it.
- In the Control Properties list find the Type property, click in the right column and then change the value to Edit Drop List.
- Next click on the right column of the Choices property which will open a window with two columns labelled Display and Value. In the Value column enter a value of 275 in the first row and a value of 355 in the second row.
Close the user interface, return your changes to the document and then re-calculate the document.
Image
You should now see the improvement to the user interface, you can enter any value in the edit box for the minimum yield strength or you can click the button to drop down a list of typical values to select from.
For the effective length it's not appropriate to provide typical values but an Edit Up Down control would be useful as it makes it easy for the user to adjust the value by a predefined amount.
- Select the Effective length input control.
- Change the Type property to Edit Up Down.
- For the Change value property enter a value of 100 mm.
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When an Edit Up Down control is used, clicking the up or down buttons will increment or decrement the current value by the Change value which in this example is 100 mm.
You don't need to change anything for the input of the Tie force or the slenderness limit which can both remain as edit controls.
Output options
To enhance the user interface a little more you will also now add some output options. These options will determine whether a sketch is included in the calculation and also whether the individual checks that the calculation performs are included or not.
- Add a new Group and change the Title property to Output options.
- Add a new Check Box control in the new group.
- Change the Name property to _Sketch.
- Change the Description property to Include sketch
- Change the Default value property to 1
When you add a Check Box control the Checked value property will be automatically set to 1 and the Unchecked value property will be set to 0. Now add two more controls to determine whether a slenderness and stress check are carried out in the calculation.
- Add a new Check Box control.
- Change the Name property to _CheckSlender.
- Change the Description property to Include slenderness check.
- Change the Default value property to 1.
- Add a new Check Box control.
- Change the Name property to _CheckStress.
- Change the Description property to Include stress check.
- Change the Default value property to 1.
Close the user interface, return your changes to the document and then re-calculate the document.
Image
You should now see your completed user interface with all the improvements that have been added in this part of the guide. Try using the different input controls and then click on the Variables button in the side-bar of the user interface to see how the changes you make, for example clicking a checking box, affect the value stored for that variable.
Summary
You've now updated your Tedds user interface so that it is even easier to use. You've provided quick and easy access to typical values for the minimum yield strength, the the effective length can be changed with just a click of the mouse and the user can choose what to include in the final output. You can find out more about creating your own user interfaces by searching for "Interface Designer" using the search.
See also
How to create a User Interface - Part 3. The next part of this step-by-step guide which will show you how to enhance your user interface so that the user can choose the steel section to design from a Tedds Data List.