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How will your legacy V7 files behave once
in V8?
by Al Germolus, Product Manager
for FileFixer.
CLEARWATER, FLORIDA, USA
— The best way to guarantee that V7 files import into
MicroStation V8 healthy and whole, is to first process then
with FileFixer before importing them in V8. This isn't
to say that it is necessary to repair all V7 files
prior to import into V8, but I do recommend at least checking
them for problems. When facing the migration of 10,000 legacy
V7 files that have been handled by a slew of designers through
the years, things could get quite treacherous when migrating
to V8, as many MicroStation CAD managers have attested.
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| To avoid a disastrous situation,
it is necessary to take the correct steps to ensure a
problem is handled properly. Such is the case with legacy
V7 design files that are to be migrated to MicroStation
V8. |
Faulty migrations of legacy V7 design files to V8 can be
attributed to unhealthy V7 design files. Here are some of
the more observable problems that can compromise the successful
migration of V7 files to V8 of and why they occur:
1) In a V7 file, elements are stored in sequential order
(one element after another). Near the beginning of each element
there is data that indicates the size (number of words) of
the element. This is how MicroStation knows where the next
element is located in the file. If the data containing the
size of the element is corrupted (incorrect), then MicroStation
cannot find any more elements after the corrupt one. When
this V7 file is imported into V8, only the elements before
the corrupt element are imported and displayed, leaving users
with half-empty files. By using FileFixer to fix the
V7 file prior to migration, all data containing the element
size can be automatically repaired so that all elements are
imported into the V8 file.
2) The design file header (type 9) element is the first element
in a V7 file. It stores a variety of vital information such
as, the largest graphic group number in the file and the highest
text node number in the file. Sometimes when this element
is corrupt, none of the elements in a V7 file are displayed
in MicroStation. You can expect that if this error is not
fixed, no elements will display in V8 either. This problem
can be easily fixed by using FileFixer's "Replace
Design File Header" command.
3) In each element there is a bit called the complex bit,
which is data that indicates whether an element is part of
a complex element, such as a cell. If this bit is not properly
set (turned on) in a V7 element, then the complex element
will be migrated as a simple element into the V8 design file.
FileFixer can repair complex bit errors so that when
the element is imported into the V8 file, it is part of the
appropriate complex element it belongs to.
The above are just some of the more severe instances that
will derail a successful V7 to V8 migration. To find these
crippling symptoms of corruption, run FileFixer's "Search
for Problems" mode. After FileFixer searches for
problems, it generates a report delineating all the
problems present in the processed V7 design files.
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| Access FileFixer's "Search for Problems"
option from the "Mode" drop down menu. |
Isolating problematic V7 design files
FileFixer allows users to fine-tune the severity of
errors that are reported. The resultant list will contain
those files with the most serious problems — repair those
files with FileFixer, and afterwards they will be a
lot less likely to be problematic during and after importing
them into V8. FileFixer veterans routinely use FileFixer's
"Build a list…" option to isolate and handle
the true trouble-marker files.
To do this, open FileFixer (V7 version) and select
"Options|Search". Within that dialog box, select
the "Design File" category of options and check
the "Build a list…" option:
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Set FileFixer to only search for files containing
severe problems.
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Then, back on the main FileFixer dialog box, select
"Search for Problems" mode, type in "*.dgn"
(wildcard value that will include all DGNs in the drive the
active design file is in) in the "Which files?"
field, and click <Start> to analyze all of your design
files.
Quick solution for major problems
After running FileFixer on the V7 design files in "Search
for Problems" mode and finding out which design files
could threaten your successful migration, use FileFixer's
"Automatic Repair" mode to repair the most severely
damaged. Doing so will eliminate over 97% of the problems
on the first run and greatly increase the chances of successfully
migrating your legacy V7 files to V8.
Heed the warnings!
We hope that this article has enlightened technical personnel
regarding the importance of ensuring the integrity of legacy
V7 files which are to be migrated to V8. To learn more about
how FileFixer
can help during V7 to V8 migrations, contact an Axiom MicroStation
Consultant today! Call 727-442-7774 extension 9145, e-mail
9145@axiomint.com now!
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