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Archive for the ‘MST Issues’ Category
MicroStation Today — March 2010 (Volume 17, Issue 3)
Tuesday, 23 February 2010Extra: Revolutionary new MicroStation technology allows proximity searching.
Tuesday, 23 February 2010Clearwater, Florida, USA — Axiom has just announced brand-new technology that allows MicroStation users to instantly find elements in hundreds of design files based on how close geographically the elements are to each other.
For instance, you can now instantly:
- Find all text elements in all design files containing the string “gas fumes” within 8 inches of a cell named “flame”.
- Find all instances of text string “Cliff” (in all design files) that don’t have a nearby “Warning Sign” cell on level “Signage”.
- Find all design files that contain two or more cells named “Border”.
You can restrict the search to elements of a certain color, weight, style, font, level, model name, file name and other characteristics.
You can instantly find matches even if each element of the pair reside in different models or even in different design files (such as when you have multiple design files representing overlapping geographic areas)!
This new technology allows you to catch — instantly and in large quantities — quality control errors that could never before be easily detected.
Unfortunately, this new release came too late for us to put a full article in this issue of MicroStation Today. The amazingness and power of the new technology is difficult to fully describe in just a few words.
Tips & Tricks — Quickly and easily move elements from one level to another in all of your design files — in batch.
Tuesday, 23 February 2010By Rick Sewell
Rejected! You know the feeling. It’s the one that washes away any feeling of satisfaction you might have had when you completed and submitted that last project. In looking over the reason the project was rejected, you find out that certain elements were put on the wrong level. In fact, all of the elements on “Electric-Main” shouldn’t be there and need to be moved to “Electric-Prime”. If it was just one design file, it wouldn’t be a problem, but this project has over 500 design files! So much for dinner with the family. While the changes aren’t hard, the correction will easily eat up days. This is certainly not the most efficient use of your time — or your skills.
Lucky for MicroStation users like you, there’s a solution — Global File Changer™. Global File Changer has a built-in custom command that allows you to move — in batch — all of the elements from one level (or even multiple levels) to another level in any number of design files.
Here’s how:
- Load Global File Changer from your Axiom pull-down menu.
- Select “Custom | Move elements to different levels…”. This will open the “Move Elements to Different Levels” dialog box.
- Press the <Add> button to load the “Level Mapping Rule” dialog box.
- Press the <Levels…> button next to the top field labeled “Move elements from which levels?”
This will open a dialog box that lists of all of the available levels in your active file. - In this example, we’re moving all of the elements from “Electric-Main” to another level. So, you would select “Electric-Main” and press <OK>.
- Next, press <Level…> (Figure 2) which is next to the field labeled “To level:”. This will open the same “Select Levels” dialog box as in Step 4, only this time we are selecting the level that your elements are to be moved to.
- For this example, you would select “Electric-Prime”, and press <OK>.
- Press <OK> again on the “Level Mapping Rule” dialog box.
- Now, at the “Move Elements to Different Levels” dialog box, you can see the “Source” and “Target” levels that you have selected. You can make further selections if you choose, but for this example, we’re finished.
- Press <OK> on the “Move Elements to Different Levels” dialog box.
- You will be prompted to choose a location and file name for saving the instructions you just created for Global File Changer to use while processing. Do so and press <OK> to return to the main Global File Changer dialog box.
- From the main Global File Changer dialog box, press <Select…>, which is next to the “Design Files:” field. This will open the “Choose Files to Process” dialog box.
Figure 1. Global File Changer lets you make unlimited changes to multiple design files quickly and easily. The “Custom” menu contains a growing number of built-in commands (such as moving elements to different levels) that just cannot be done using MicroStation key-in commands.
Figure 2. The “Move Elements to Different Levels” dialog box lets you easily set up rules for moving elements from one level to another level — in batch — in just a few or in hundreds or thousands of design files.
Figure 3. You can choose which level or levels you want to quickly move elements from — in batch — with this super-simple interface.
Figure 4. Never get stuck again manually moving elements from one level to another. The “Move Elements to Different Levels” dialog box , shown here, displays the rules that you have set up for moving elements — in batch — from one level (or levels) to another level.
Figure 5. The
Here, you can browse for all of the files you need to process. There is more than one way to select your files for processing. From talking to customers, I’ve found that most users just press the “Browse for files” button. This will allow you to navigate to and select each file that should be processed. Once your files are selected, press <OK> .
Finally, press <Start> on the main Global File Changer dialog box to process your files.
After a matter of minutes the job will be complete! Your client won’t believe that you made the necessary changes in that amount of time. Now you can go back to the feeling of satisfaction of finally having the project complete.
Send us your MicroStation tips!
We will give you full credit for the tip and your peers will look at you with the reverence a MicroStation guru rightly deserves! Send your favorite MicroStation tip to MsTips@AxiomInt.com.
Tips & Tricks — MicroStation drawing inspection made easier than ever.
Wednesday, 30 December 2009By Steve Palmer
Are you often burdened with the task of manually inspecting multiple project design files in preparation for CAD standards inspections? Is it tedious for you to open up each project file, one by one, to check how well your drafting crew (or a subcontractor) complied with your drafting standards? How much time does this typically consume for each project — hours, days, weeks?
How would you like to dramatically reduce the amount of time required to inspect and correct multiple design files? Like minutes rather than hours, days or weeks?
Axiom’s CadExplorer™ (formerly known as CadExplore Browser™) technology allows you to instantly view and analyze MicroStation project data in ways never before possible. It allows you to display all elements in all files with infinitely flexible sorting and filtering so that you can easily see standards violations, errors and oddball departures which would never be spotted without CadExplorer technology.
And you can save and reuse your favorite CadExplorer filters and sorts. This feature lets you easily return to the precise view of your project data, so you can quickly confirm that all errors and oddball departures have been addressed.
You can easily do this with CadExplorer — here’s how:
First, CadExplorer automatically collects information from your project files and CadExplorer Server automatically maintains your CadExplorer database — so project information is ready for immediate access at any time using CadExplorer.
When you start CadExplorer, all project information, as shown in Figure 1, is displayed in a spreadsheet-like grid. The grid displays one row for each element (line, circle, cell, text, etc.) in your design files.
Figure 1. CadExplorer allows you to view CAD project information — such as details about every graphical element in a project — in a spreadsheet-like grid.
For even a small project, CadExplorer’s grid will typically contain thousands of rows — one row for each element in the whole project. To keep all of this information under your control, CadExplorer provides tools, which make it easy to filter and sort project data exactly the way you need to see it.
For example, with just a couple mouse-clicks you can direct CadExplorer to group and summarize the level names used in all project design files.
Figure 2. CadExplorer makes it easy to group data. For example, to group information by “Level Name”, simply click and drag the column heading “Level Name”, then drop it into the space above the column headings.
This drag and drop action groups all elements under the level name on which they reside. This grouping allows you to instantly see oddball, non-compliant level names and find out exactly where they are being used.
Figure 3. When you drag and drop the column heading “Level Name” into the blank area below the tabs, CadExplorer collapses (groups together) all drawing elements which reside on each level. For example, Figure 3 shows four elements on the level named “temporary”. Who created that non-standard level? Click on the “+” symbol to view details about the elements residing on the oddball level “temporary” — details such as “which project files the elements on the non-standard level reside in”.
This summarized view allows you to inspect all the level names in use by all design files in your entire project — and you can see this instantly without opening any of the files with MicroStation.
From this grouped view, you can now click on the “+” sign next to a level name to display the elements which have been placed on that level.
Figure 4. In this example, four elements were placed on the non-standard level named “temporary” in Floor2.dgn. Double-click on one of the four rows to view the illegally placed elements with MicroStation — this allows you to immediately handle elements placed on this non-standard level.
When you double-click on a specific element, CadExplorer automatically opens the design file in MicroStation and zooms in on that element. You can then easily use MicroStation commands to delete or modify the few oddball elements that were revealed by CadExplorer.
Click CadExplorer’s “Save SmartTab” tool to save this customized layout — all sorting and filtering is remembered. Your customized layout thereafter displays on the SmartTabs menu for handy reuse whenever needed!
Figure 5. SmartTabs are saved and reusable customized views of your project data. Your SmartTab names appear in the SmartTabs menu.
That’s just the beginning for CadExplorer.
This article illustrates just a few of the time-saving, unprecedented CadExplorer features you can use to group and summarize any important design file information you need to quickly find and view in your project files.
Recent CadExplorer releases now include the ability to search and replace the content of text elements as well as the ability to update element symbology. For a complete overview of CadExplorer, get a free on-line demonstration!
Tips & Tricks — Replace the reference file paths in all of your sheet files at the same time!
Wednesday, 14 October 2009By Rick Sewell
Have you ever completed a project and then found out that the client needs some of the references saved with a different path? The purpose of this article is to show you how to replace the reference file path saved in your sheet files — while retaining all of your varying reference file names — in just minutes.
- Load RefManager from your “Axiom” menu in MicroStation.
- On the main dialog box, set “Action:” to “Modify Reference File Attachments”.
- The “Modify Reference File Attachments” dialog box now appears with the “Category” already set to “Attachment Names”. Now, set the “Component:” to “Full Path”.
- Change the “Method:” to “Replace Entire String”. (The “From:” field will become inactive.)
- In the “To:” field, enter the full new path that you want to use. It’s okay if the new path only exists on your client’s network.
- Press the (Close) button to return to the main dialog box.
- Press the (Attachments…) button.
- On the “Filter Reference File Attachments By” dialog box, click on “File Name” in the Category list.
- In the “String:” field, enter the names of the reference files whose paths you want to change in your sheets. Put a semi-colon (“;”) between each file name.
The reference file attachment filter allows you to very specifically define which reference file attachments will be modified. This kind of pinpoint accuracy is part of what makes RefManager so powerful.
Note: This limits the string substitution RefManager is going to perform to only the reference files you specify. This is so you control exactly which attachments get this new path. For example:
Say there are a whole bunch of different reference files attached to your sheet files, and these reference files are all attached using that same path you are going to change. However, you only want to change the path for the attached reference files named “construct.dgn” and “main.bdr”. In the “String:” field, enter:
construct.dgn;main.bdrThis way, only “construct.dgn” and “main.bdr” will have their paths changed.
It is also possible to use wildcards in the “String:” field so as to allow a broader range of reference file names to be processed. For example, “main*.*” would find and process files such as: main.dgn, main.bdr, main-border.dg1.
- Press the (Close) button to return to the main RefManager dialog box.
- Use the “Master Files:” field to tell RefManager which sheet files to process. You can use — like “*.— if you like. Or use the
button to choose files graphically. You can choose as many files as you want and process them all in one job with RefManager. - Press to process your files!
- Now — in just — all of the files you are processing will reference “construct.dgn” and “main.bdr” with the new path!
RefManager has a variety of features, such as “Modify Reference file Attachments”, which allow you to solve any MicroStation reference file problem fast!
RefManager allows you to change any or all of the components of a reference file path in all of your sheet files at once.
MicroStation Today — October 2009 (Volume 16, Issue 10)
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
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MicroStation Today — August 2009(Volume 16, Issue 8)
Saturday, 1 August 2009
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MicroStation Today — June 2009(Volume 16, Issue 6)
Monday, 1 June 2009
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MicroStation Today — April 2009(Volume 16, Issue 4)
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
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MicroStation Today — March 2009(Volume 16, Issue 3)
Sunday, 1 March 2009
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