Manufacturer's versus user's table template

Table templates and OTS files

The introductory chapter mentioned a table template. Each table template has a corresponding file stored in one of the SCIA Engineer folders. The exact location depends on the origin of the template. SCIA Engineer distinguishes three different origins (or we may say types) of templates: (i) template prepared by the manufacturer, (ii) template prepared by the manufacturer but modified by the user, (iii) template completely created by the user.

All table template files use extension .OTS. The name of each particular OTS file is composed of three parts: (i) prefix (optional), (ii) name of the table, (iii) name of the particular template (in square brackets). For example, the for the Load Case table there are three templates available. Their name is default, Detailed, and Header – see the picture below.

The corresponding OTS files are named:

• DataSetSCIA-EP_LoadCase [default].ots,

• DataSetSCIA-EP_LoadCase [Detailed].ots,

• DataSetSCIA-EP_LoadCase [Header].ots,

where "DataSetSCIA-EP_" is the prefix, "LoadCase" is the name of the table, and "default" (or "Detailed" or "Header") is the name of the template.

Tip: The full path to the corresponding OTS is shown in the top part of the Table Composer dialogue.

Template prepared by the manufacturer

By default, SCIA Engineer is distributed with a set of basic templates for all tables that appear in the document. Even though the manufacturer tried to do its best in the design of the templates, it is inevitable that for some users the predefined layout will not be the right one. Therefore, the distributed templates may be edited if required – see below.

The manufacturer’s templates are stored in folder DocumentTemplates under the folder where SCIA Engineer was installed.

Example: Let us assume that SCIA Engineer was installed on disk E in folder SCIAEsa. The manufacturer’s table templates files are then stored in folder: E:\SCIAEsa\DocumentTemplates\.

Template prepared by the manufacturer but modified by the user

When the user modifies a manufacturer’s table template, the template file (.OTS) is first copied into the user’s folder. Any modifications done by the user are thus made on the copy of the original template. It is therefore possible to return easily back to the manufacturer’s settings.

The original table template file (the OTS file stored in folder DocumentTemplates under the folder where SCIA Engineer was installed) is never altered through the SCIA Engineer user interface. It is always preserved in the original form.

Example: Let us assume that SCIA Engineer was installed on disk E in folder SCIAEsa. The manufacturer’s table templates files are then stored in folder: E:\SCIAEsa\DocumentTemplates\. When any of the templates is edited, the corresponding OTS file is first copied to the User folder, e.g. C:\Documents and Settings\PavelU.PRAHA\ESA52\User\DocumentTemplates\.

The exact location of the User folder can be specified in the Setup > Options dialogue in the tab sheet Directories.

Note: As soon as the manufacturer’s table template is modified, the icon shown in the Table Manager changes from to , with the pencil indicating that the template has been changed somehow.

Template completely created by the user

The OTS file corresponding to a table template created by the user is automatically stored in the User folder. The Table Manager uses a special icon () for such a template.

Example: Let us assume that the User folder was adjusted to C:\Documents and Settings\PavelU.PRAHA\ESA52\User\. Any user-created table template has its corresponding OTS file stored in C:\Documents and Settings\PavelU.PRAHA\ESA52\User\DocumentTemplates\.

The exact location of the User folder can be specified in the Setup > Options dialogue in the tab sheet Directories, see above.

Special table templates for Header, Footer, and Title Page

OTS files corresponding to table templates for header and footer of a document page and for the title page of a document are kept in separate folders under the DocumentTemplates folder.

Example:

Manufacture’s templates:

Footer templates in E:\SCIAEsa\DocumentTemplates\Footer\,

Header templates in E:\SCIAEsa\DocumentTemplates\Header\,

Title page templates in E:\SCIAEsa\DocumentTemplates\TitlePage\.

User templates:

Footer templates in C:\Documents and Settings\PavelU.PRAHA\ESA52\user\DocumentTemplates\Footer\,

Header templates in C:\Documents and Settings\PavelU.PRAHA\ESA52\user\DocumentTemplates\Header\,

Title page templates in C:\Documents and Settings\PavelU.PRAHA\ESA52\user\DocumentTemplates\TitlePage\.