Navigation Panel, Saved Designs and Project Settings

Navigation Panel and Canvas

The Navigation panel is by default collapsed into a bar and located at all times on the left hand side of the screen. It expands into an interactive panel when hovering with your mouse. 

The upper section of the Navigation panel contains the name and settings of your project, "London - Brixton" in the example below. The bottom part of the panel lists all Design Options that you saved, and how many units they each contain. 

"Canvas" is selected by default when creating or entering a project. It refers to main section of the application where Design Options are generated, viewed, explored, edited, exported and saved. 

Most of the Canvas is occupied by the map, where you can create and iterate sites, and visualise the generated buildings in 3D. The Inspector panel on the right hand side summarises a number of key metrics based on the Canvas selection (site, zone or building) and the Explore table at the bottom of the screen is used to define the brief and generate a number of different Design Options suited to your site. 

The Canvas also contains the 2D view, where architectural floorplans for each building are generated. 

Each Design Option shown in the Canvas can be saved for easy access, future reference, and export to BIM, using the "Save" icon of the toolbox. 

How to access your Saved Designs

All Design Options that are saved in the Canvas are listed in the Navigation panel. From the three dots menu shown when hovering over a Saved Design line item, you can rename and delete each option individually. 

As opposed to the Canvas, Saved Designs are immutable. The Inspector panel, detailed metrics, 2D drawings and visualisation tools are accessible, however the site cannot be edited and post-processing tools such as the Wing Editor are disabled. The "Open in Canvas" option of the Navigation panel allows you to load a Saved Design in the Canvas and further iterate your design. The first row of the Explore Table is automatically selected and 10 more Design Options are generated based on the same site and brief. Any changes will have to be saved again. 

How to access the Project settings

The "Settings" menu directly below Canvas in the Navigation Panel allows you to edit your project name and description, by clicking on "Edit Project". The same window is also accessible from the Directory. 

"Cost Settings" allows you to view and change the default percentages used to calculate the Prelims, Contingency and Overhead and Profit (OH&P) Allowance line items of the cost plan. The default values used in TESSA are given below. Any changes is reflected across all Design Options of your project, including Saved Options. 

Lastly, you can permanently delete your project by selecting "Delete project".