Centralized distribution of Tekla Structures 20.0
Introduction
From version 19.0 onwards Tekla Structures consists of the following installations:
- Tekla Structures software installation
- Either the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version of the software installation, depending on your operating system. Note that the Common environmentTekla Structures environment that forms a basis for other environments
The common environment is included in the software installation and includes the global settings, macros, symbols, items, and fonts, for example. The common environment and global settings form the basis for all other environments.
is included in the software installation from version 19.0 onwards.
- Either the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version of the software installation, depending on your operating system. Note that the Common environmentTekla Structures environment that forms a basis for other environments
- Tekla Structures environmentregion- or company-specific settings and information that are predefined in Tekla Structures or that are defined by the user
To be able to use Tekla Structures, the user must install the software and for region-specific settings at least one Tekla Structures environment. The software installation includes the common and blank project environments and the global settings. The common environment and global settings form the basis for all other environments.
Property files form the largest part of a Tekla Structures environment. A Tekla Structures environment consists of, for example, profile catalogs, part property files, and drawing settings.
installation- Localized environments include your country-specific codes and standards.
Installing Tekla Structures software and environments one by one on each user’s computer is a time consuming taskin the task manager, a representation of a piece of work that needs to be carried out in order to complete a project
in large companies, and therefore, Tekla Structures is often installed in a centralized manner across company workstations.
This document clarifies the basic principles of building a centralized installation for the Tekla Structures installation package
Scope of this document
- Installing Tekla Structures using setup.exe files containing the needed settings, see Method 1.
- Installing Tekla Structures using an MSI package with a transformation file, see Method 2.
This document is meant for a Tekla Structures main user who prepares installation packages and determines the correct installation settings for the IT department. The company IT department can then distribute Tekla Structures into workstations in the company network.
The basic assumption is that you, or someone in your company, have earlier experience in centralized distribution and that you are familiar with the distribution tools used in your company. The steps to configure the actual distribution depend on the software you are using, and therefore this document or Tekla is not able to give you support on that. This document only explains the steps that can be considered Tekla Structures specific, or relevant to a Tekla Structures main user.
Do not use any self-made batch files for the centralized installation of Tekla Structures. Tekla Structures installation is designed to be run either interactively by double-clicking the installation .exe, or in centralized manner explained in this instruction by using proper distribution tools.
Hardware recommendations
Installation settings in Tekla Structures 20.0
Tekla Structures stores all files associated with a model in a folder it creates with the same name as the model database (.db1).
In multi-user mode all users access the same model folder.
). In the centralized distribution, the dialog boxes are typically not visible to the user, and therefore the settings need to be defined in some other way.
The installation settings are valid for both installation methods explained in in this document. The settings are the same even they are entered in different ways depending on the installation method used.
Installation settings for Tekla Structures 20.0 Final software
Installation folders
- INSTALLDIR – Software installation folder
- TS_MODELDIR - Default location for Tekla Structures models
- TS_INSTALLDIR - Software installation folder in environment installations
- If your software installation folder is C:\Program Files\Tekla Structures\, then your environment installation folder should be C:\ProgramData\Tekla Structures\.
- If your software installation folder is C:\TeklaStructures\, then your environment installation folder should also be C:\TeklaStructures\.
- If you want to use any other installation location, then the software installation folder and the environment installation folder must the same.
Languages
Installation settings for Tekla Structures 20.0 Service Releases
- INSTALLDIR – Software installation folder
Installation settings for Tekla Structures 20.0 Environments
Method 1: Preparing a centralized distribution of Tekla Structures with Setup.exe files
Enter the settings described in the previous chapter in the command line. Notice that it is essential to enter INSTALLDIR and TS_MODELDIR when installing Tekla Structures 20.0 software especially when you want those to be something else than default values. When installing Tekla Structures 20.0 environmens you always need to enter TS_INSTALLDIR .
You can find more information about the setup.exe settings here
Instructions for Project Type “Basic MSI” are valid for Tekla Structures installers.
Examples of a command line command for running setup installation silently
- To install 64-bit Tekla Structures 20.0 to the Program Files folder:
TeklaStructures200x64Software.exe /s /v"/qn INSTALLDIR=\"C:\Program Files\Tekla Structures\" TS_MODELDIR=\"C:\TeklaStructuresModels\" /lvoicewarmupx TS200_logfile.log"
TeklaStructures200x64Software.exe /s /v"/qn /lvoicewarmupx TS200_logfile.log"
- To install 64-bit Tekla Structures 20.0 SR1 to the Program Files folder:
TeklaStructures200SR1x64Software.exe /s /v"/qn INSTALLDIR=\"C:\Program Files\Tekla Structures\" /lvoicewarmupx TS200SR1_logfile.log"
- To install Tekla Structures Default environmentTekla Structures environment that contains basic example settings that are not related to any standards specific to a country or a region
separately:
Env_Default_inst_200.exe /s /v"/qn TS_INSTALLDIR=\"C:\Program Files\Tekla Structures\" /lvoicewarmupx TS200Default_logfile.log"
Method 2: Preparing the centralized distribution of Tekla Structures with MSI-files
Checking Tekla Structures prerequisites
The prerequisites for Tekla Structures 20.0 are:
- Microsoft .NET 4.5.1 Full
- Microsoft Visual Studio C++ 2005 x86 Redistributable 8.0.59192
- Microsoft Visual Studio C++ 2005 x64 Redistributable 8.0.59193
- Microsoft Visual Studio C++ 2010 x86 Redistributable 10.0.40219
- Microsoft Visual Studio C++ 2010 x64 Redistributable 10.0.40219
Extracting Tekla Structures software installation package
2. Run Command Prompt as administrator.
3. Change directory to the folder where you saved installer and run the installation package with setting /a. If you want to extract prerequisite packages from setup.exe, add a folder path after the /a setting to extract the prerequisites to that folder.
By using setting /a, the installation package is run in the administrator mode. This means that the software is extracted instead of installed, even though the user interface is very installation-like.
4. The installation initializes and then shows the first InstallShield Wizard dialog box. Click Next..
5. Select the location where you want the system to extract the software installation.
6. Click Finish.
7. You can now browse into the extraction folder that you defined in step 5. The folder contains the .msi package and subfolders.
When extracting the setup, if you defined a folder after setting /a, the prerequisites are extracted to separate subfolders (Prq folder in the picture above). If the operating systems on the client computers are up-to-date, you do not need to install all extracted prerequisites but only those needed for Tekla Structures if they do not already exist on the client computers. In the extracted folder, the Microsoft .NET 4.0 installer is named “dotNetFx40_Full_x86_x64.exe” and the Visual Studio redistributable installer file names start with “vcredist“. You can also get the latest versions of these from the Microsoft web site.
Extracting Tekla Structures Service Release installation package
Extracting Tekla Structures Environments installation packages
If you are going to install a service release, use the environment installers released at the same time.
At the end of the extraction process your folder should look for example as follows:
The software installation is available as an extracted MSI package on the Tekla Structures DVD. Note that you still need to extract the environments.
Setting the installation settings
Transformation file
Transformation files can be created and viewed with a variety of installation or .mst editing software. The software is third-party software and it is not included in the Tekla Structures installation package. A free viewer for transformation files is available at: http://www.instedit.com/.
As the steps to create the .mst file depend on the .mst editor you use, Tekla cannot provide you with more detailed instructions on the creation method. The following chapter describes the valid settings that can and need to be defined by using the .mst file.
The installation settings in a transformation file for Tekla Structures 20.0 Final software
In InstEd you can create a new transform file with command Transform - New Transform. You can do changes by changing the Property value in the Property tableview in object browser that shows the values of selected model object properties
The property table is created based on a selected property template.
and saving the transformation file. It is not recommended to modify the original msi file.
If you want to change the default installation folder or model folder you need to add INSTALLDIR and change TS_MODELDIR in the property table and save the changes in your .mst file. You don't have to change TSMODELDIR as it will be changed automatically during installation.
Installation settings in a transformation file for Tekla Structures 20.0 Service Releases
Installation settings in a transformation file for Tekla Structures 20.0 Environments
Example of a command line command for running MSI installation silently
msiexec /i "Tekla Structures 20.0 x64.msi" TRANSFORMS=TS200x64_installation.mst /qn /lvoicewarmupx TS200_logfile.log
The example is for the Tekla Structures 20.0 x64 software package so you need to have similar commands for the service release and all environment installers.
Configuring the distribution
However, some general hints and tips about the centralized distribution can be given:
- Tekla Structures needs to be installed with administrative rights. Make sure that proper rights are given.
- Typically, the installations that are run in a centralized manner are set to run in a silent mode. This means that Tekla Structures users will not see any installation dialogs. Due to this silent mode it is recommended to set any additional information messages as invisible and to record them into a separate log file instead, if this is supported in the distribution tools used in your company.
Validating the installation result
Checking Tekla Structures shortcut

Checking the installation paths in the Control Panel
Checking the content of teklastructures.ini
- Browse to your software installation folder (defined in INSTALLDIR in the .mst file).
- Browse to the sub folders nt\bin\.
- Open teklastructures.ini in a text editor.

The .mst file values should match the teklastructures.ini values in the following way:
INSTALLDIR – XS_DIR
Environment installation folder – XSDATADIR
TS_MODELDIR – XS_RUNPATH
Troubleshooting
- How the installation was executed; msiexec or setup commands used
- Which MSI installers and mst files were used (send the mst files)
- Installer log files
- Description of the problem
Some tips on using InstEd
Creating a new mst file
Then make your changes (add, delete, modify) in the tables. The changes are saved in the mst file when you save the tables (File > Save).
Comments
If you are installing to computers having previous Tekla Sturctures versions installed it is possible that giving INSTALLDIR in Tekla Structures 20.0 software installation does not have any effect but installation always goes to the same folder as the previous version.
To resolve the problem create this registry key (eg by running .reg file) before running the installer:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Tekla\Structures\20.0\setup
and add there a string value MainDir and for value data give the folder where you want installation to go. Eg C:\Program Files\Tekla Structures\ or C:\Tekla Structures\
Do not include 20.0 subfolder in that path but include the last backslash.
(In a x86 operating system the registry key is
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Tekla\Structures\20.0\setup)