By Agent X
Clearwater, Florida, USA — On a sweltering summer morning, while enjoying a bowl of Wheaties and Good Morning America, I heard a knock at the door. Stunned by a visit so early in the morning, I put down the bowl of cereal and went to the door. I peeked out just in time to see a white van zoom around the corner. There was a manila envelope on the porch. I threw the door open, quickly grabbed the envelope and rushed back inside. Examining the envelope I noticed a small bulge. Cautiously, I cut the envelope open and spilled the contents onto my kitchen counter. It was a personal recording device with a tag saying, “Press play.”

I pressed play.

“Good morning, Agent X. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to develop a solution for MicroStation users where any project file, not just MicroStation design files, can be accessed at any time during the course of a project. This solution should be easy to use, utilize minimal system resources and integrate seamlessly into existing workflows. This message will self-destruct in five seconds.”

Typically, Axiom product managers do not receive requests for enhancements in such an interesting manner, and I was intrigued by the self-destructing message. By the time the smoke had cleared, I was already busy on the project. The result was revolutionary.

DgnQuickPick, the MicroStation add-on that allows users to have immediate access to multiple project design files in a single session of MicroStation, now has the ability to open any project-related file, not just MicroStation design files. This means that any file related to a project (Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, PDF files or configuration files) can be immediately accessed using DgnQuickPick. This immediately reduces time and frustration for all users who need access to any project file at any time.

One time-consuming aspect of working with multiple project files is searching for the file, amidst a sea of files, folders and servers. Greg McKinney, former Huitt-Zollars CAD Manager recalls, “Our projects were organized in such a way that there was one project directory and all of the design files were in a subdirectory of the project directory. Spreadsheets, Word documents and PDFs were each in their own subdirectory as well.” With DgnQuickPick, Greg could have added all of these project files to his DgnQuickPick file lists and had immediate access to any file at the click of a button.

Once the files have been loaded into DgnQuickPick’s tree list, opening them is simply a matter of clicking on the file name.

Once the files have been loaded into DgnQuickPick’s tabbed list or tree list, opening them is simply a matter of clicking on the file name. Project managers can even create reusable lists of files with DgnQuickPick. They can share those lists with all members on a project, for example, by saving the lists on a shared drive. That way all members see the standard lists of files in DgnQuickPick. This streamlines the existing workflow and allows users to see all of their project files (DGNs, spreadsheets, Word documents and so forth) in one location. Using DgnQuickPick for V8, there is even an option to open DWG files in AutoCAD, if you prefer. PDFs, Word documents and so forth are opened using the same program Windows would use to open those files when double-clicking on them in Windows Explorer.

DgnQuickPick uses minimal system resources.
“When MicroStation users see DgnQuickPick for the first time, many of them ask me, ‘Isn’t this going to use large amounts of memory?’ I explain to them that while the files appear in the list, DgnQuickPick does not significantly increase the use of system resources to keep the files in the list. The memory usage to open the files, once the user clicks on them in the list, is virtually the same as if they opened the files through Windows,” comments Mark Thomas, Axiom’s Executive Product Manager.

DgnQuickPick is now the only MicroStation utility that allows users to have immediate access to any project file at any time with a single mouse click, saving loads of time and eliminating frustration (no browsing, searching or multiple-clicking required).

Mission accomplished!

Clearwater, Florida, USA — This time of year, many articles about New Year’s resolutions will appear. You’ll see headlines like, “How to Quit Smoking”, “How to Lose Weight” and “How to Get Out of Debt”. This article is no different.

This New Year’s resolution article is about DgnQuickPick and how it can save you time.

While I can’t promise that after reading this article you will be more confident, better looking or a snazzier dresser, I can show you a better way to quickly the design files you need to work in. With DgnQuickPick, MicroStation users can quickly and easily access any number of design files during a single session of MicroStation!

Everyday MicroStation users consume valuable production time searching for their production-related design files. Searching through a sea of drives, directories and files can take a long time. DgnQuickPick gives users immediate access to each file they need. Benjamin Rosendo of Johnson Controls, Incorporated says, “We finished transferring drawings from another facility to ours, and this involved a wide variety of updates to our documentation. DgnQuickPick helped us avoid losing time while jumping from one design file to another. It integrated into our workflow easily and helped us decrease the time spent moving from file to file by at least 40%!”

What’s DgnQuickPick?
DgnQuickPick displays design file names as tabs in a dockable toolbar. Just as the Firefox browsers shows different web pages on each tab, DgnQuickPick shows a different design file on each tab. All the user has to do is click on a tab and the design file is instantly displayed. MicroStation users have had functionality similar to this with the “Recently Used File” list in the MicroStation “File” pull down menu. DgnQuickPick, however, gives users the ability to access files other than those most recently used. Tabs can be added to the toolbar in numerous ways. A user can 1) click on an element in the active file, 2) browse and add files from directories or 3) create a list of design files in a text file.

Add multiple project files instantly!
With DgnQuickPick, users can load a list of files written in a text file using the Add Files dialog.
In previous versions, users could only create a list of files using the full file path for each file they wished to add to the DgnQuickPick toolbar. File paths like c:\axiom\sample\file1.dgn had to be written on each line of the file list. The latest version of DgnQuickPick now supports the use of configuration variables.

If a user defines a configuration variable and the variable points to specific directories, then DgnQuickPick will automatically add all the files in those directories. If the configuration variable points to specific files, then DgnQuickPick will automatically add those files.
Configuration variables in file lists allow users to add files to the tabbed list without specifying each file path.

This new feature promises to save users time. Rather than specifying individual files in their DgnQuickPick file lists, users can simply add MicroStation configuration variables, almost instantaneously adding dozens of files to their DgnQuickPick toolbar. CAD managers can use project configuration variables in their DgnQuickPick file lists to ensure that all MicroStation users — company-wide — use the same design files.

Instantly know which file is which.
DgnQuickPick uses a color-coding system to indicate characteristics of files in the toolbar. The filename of the active file always displays green, reference files attached to the active file are blue and “read-only” files are red. Tabs containing black-colored filenames are merely additional files in the list. Since DgnQuickPick continually monitors the status of the all files in a user’s toolbar, users can immediately tell when a file in their toolbar becomes “read-only”. This prevents users from mistakenly trying to edit “read-only” files.

Happy New Year!

By Nigel Davies of Evolve Consultancy
One of the items just outside of the Top Ten on the MicroStation Wish List is to have a Multiple Document Interface. Bentley has pretty much stated that’s something we’re not going to get, so what are the options?

Axiom is one of those companies who are simply full of good ideas. They’ve made a very successful business out of developing tools to run on top of MicroStation, delivering many things you can’t do with the base product. Or at least things you can’t do very easily. No company should be without RefManager. CellManager is worth a look as well. But there’s one hidden gem which is simply fantastic for navigating a number of files rather than having to File | Open… Browse… Select… Open… File | Open… Browse… Select… Open… over an over again: DgnQuickPick.

The idea behind DgnQuickPick is that you can create, save and open sets of design files which you need to work on. You choose as many, or as few, files as you like and DgnQuickPick builds them into its dialogue.

They are presented to you in a dialogue as a series of tabs, rather like Excel Worksheets which you can dock.

DgnQuickPick’s main dialog box

When you start DgnQuickPick, you are prompted to select the files you wish to use.

You can use a complete directory, including filters if you wish. E.g. You only want to use all the architectural files starting with “A”? Easy. Change the directory filter to say “…A*.dgn”. You can choose to load the Active File which kind of defeats the object of using DgnQuickPick, or use a pre-defined File List. DgnQuickPick stores lists as text files making it easy to identify, open and work on the same package of files or drawings whenever you need to. Unlike a traditional Multiple Document Interface (MDI) the files are not open. They’re just a pick list at this point, but you’d never notice the difference.

Files are colour-coded for quick reference.

DgnQuickPick uses a simple colouring system to help you understand how the files are being used. The open (active) file is shown in green with its references in blue. Any file currently being edited by someone else is displayed red with a “locked” icon. A file available for editing is shown in black.

To open another file all you need to do is click on the tab related to that dgn and DgnQuickPick handles the rest. The colours are automatically adjusted to maintain visual feedback of what relates to what.

The dialogue is resizable — you can make it as short or as long as you wish, but you don’t need to worry if you have more dgn files referenced than will fit in the dialogue. As soon as the dialogue is smaller than the number of tabs, Forward & Back buttons appear allowing you to navigate through the list.

Files are easily added to the series of tabs.

If you have more files that you need to add — say someone in your teams creates a new file — you can add it using the Add button at the very left hand-side of the toolbar. This offers you the ability to add a file by selecting an element in a reference, a complete directory or filtered list, exactly the same as when you first started DgnQuickPick, or manually using a typical multiple file selection dialogue.

The third icon on the toolbar is to adjust, save and load settings. If you’re familiar with Axiom products you’ll be aware that most of their tools work in this way to speed up the time it takes to recall exactly how you want the tool to work.

Simply browse for the file and click <Attach File>.

The Settings dialogue provides you with alternatives to using DgnQuickPick to open your files. You can change the “Tab Action” — i.e. what action DgnQuickPick performs when you click on one of the dgn tabs. “Attach” will load the selected file as a reference, “Detach” will unload it. Tab Sorting changes the display order of the tabs into alphabetical or reverse alphabetical listing.

What’s more, you can specify a keyin to run with every action, so as you open a file you could, for example, fit all or turn a certain set of levels on.

Finally, Axiom provide you with a config var, DGNQUICKPICK_FILELIST that, when pointed to a text file, instructs DgnQuickPick to load the files listed in the text file automatically. The one thing that DgnQuickPick and this text file doesn’t support, unfortunately, is Workspaces and configuration variables, so you’ll need to specify each and every file in the full long-winded manner using drive letter, full path and file name. It would be great if you could configure DgnQuickPick to load all files specified in MS_RFDIR, but you can’t have everything. [Editor's note: Axiom reports that they are currently working on this feature.]

DgnQuickPick is very intuitive and easy to pick up. It, to use a cliché, does exactly what it says on the tin, reducing your time spent searching for files. You can quickly build up lists of dgn files to help you navigate your projects. I guess that’s why it’s called DgnQuickPick!

Originally published on www.eatyourcad.com. Reproduced with permission. Thank you to Nigel and EatYourCAD.com for their valuable contributions to the MicroStation Community.

Everyone has heard the phrase “Good things come in small packages”. Chocolate truffles, iPods and diamonds are all good examples. It seems that the saying also proves true with Axiom’s newest time-saving utility, DgnQuickPick.

DgnQuickPick is a MicroStation add-on that gives users immediate access to multiple project design files in a single session of MicroStation, just by clicking on a tab labeled with the file’s name. MicroStation users familiar with Mozilla’s Firefox web browser will notice the similarities between Firefox’s “tabbed browsing” feature and DgnQuickPick’s tab functionality. Users can easily select the file they need to open by simply clicking on the filename in the DgnQuickPick toolbar.

DgnQuickPick, aside from being able to give immediate access to a design file, can also be used to attach references to files, detach reference files and execute key-in commands simply by clicking on file names in the toolbar.

Make a tab for each design file in a directory to allow for quick
access from a single session of MicroStation.

Get around a MicroStation license shortage!
Many MicroStation Select members use concurrent user licensing. This means that MicroStation licenses are only available to a specific number of users at any given time. For example: if a CAD shop has a ten-seat concurrent user license, only 10 sessions of MicroStation can be open at any given time, even if three of them are running on the same workstation. When someone attempts to open an 11th session of MicroStation, they will not be able to do so. This causes time delays during projects.

DgnQuickPick helps CAD managers get around wasting valuable MicroStation licenses due to users opening multiple sessions of MicroStation on their workstations. Rather than having to open multiple sessions of MicroStation to view multiple design files, a user can open all the ones he or she wishes using DgnQuickPick and easily switch between files.

Project design files can be automatically loaded at the beginning of a DgnQuickPick session by using a File List. File lists are text files that contain full paths to specific files. By using this feature, a user can have immediate access to any frequently-used design file automatically.

Execute any key-in or macro upon opening a design file from DgnQuickPick

Master multi-tasking
Upon opening a design file from its interface, DgnQuickPick can run any MicroStation key-in command or macro on the file automatically. Through DgnQuickPick’s settings window, a MicroStation user can set up DgnQuickPick to automatically run a fit view command or a command to set the active cell library. Also, since DgnQuickPick can execute any MicroStation key-in, the “mdl load” command can be used to launch any Axiom utility automatically!

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA, USA — Do you have to have multiple sessions of MicroStation open just to view multiple design files? DgnQuickPick is a MicroStation add-on that allows users to have immediate access to multiple project design files in a single session of MicroStation, by only clicking on a tab labeled with the file’s name. DgnQuickPick reduces design time and frustration for all those users who need access to more than one design file at a time.

One time-consuming aspect of working with multiple project files is searching for the file you need amidst a sea of files, folders and servers. Typically, if a MicroStation user wants to open a design file during their current session, he would carry out the following sequence: 1. Go to the File menu. 2. Select the “Open” option. 3. Browse to the file they wish to open. 4. Click the <OK> button. This operation takes a user out of the active file and into a new file.

Some may say, “What about the recently viewed list in the File menu?” The ten most recently-opened design files used are available there, but users sometimes need to go further back and the buffer is cleared after the user exits MicroStation.

DgnQuickPick allows users to easily have access to any number of design files in a single session of MicroStation. This saves time, reduces frustration and eliminates the need for workarounds.

This feels familiar…
DgnQuickPick borrows the tab functionality from the immensely popular Firefox web browser. With Firefox, links can be opened as separate tabs in one window, rather than in multiple browser windows. Users can jump from one website to another and never worry about closing, or opening, a browser window. Apply this functionality to the MicroStation design environment, and that is the essence of DgnQuickPick.
The list of design files (tabs) is displayed in a dockable toolbar. If a user wants to open a particular file, all he has to do is click on a tab and the file is opened.

DgnQuickPick‘s main toolbar.

Features
DgnQuickPick tab names are automatically generated based on the filename. Also, DgnQuickPick utilizes a color-coding system to indicate characteristics of the files in a list. The active file is always displayed in green. Blue means that file is referenced to the active file. Black names are merely additional files in the list. “Read-only” files and files that are being used by another user are displayed in red. Once a “red file” is closed or write-enabled, its color in the tab list is immediately changed to one of the other above-mentioned color choices. Files can be added to a list using several different methods. One method lets a user easily create a tabbed list of all the design files in a single project directory. Other methods for adding files include a “by element” option where a user can add a file to the tab list by clicking on any element in that file – for example an element in a displayed reference file. To activate this feature, all the user has to do is click on the Add Tab button and select the “By Element” option. To remove a file from the tab list, just click on the <Remove Tab> button in the Remove Tabs dialog (second icon from the left) and click on the tab you want to remove.

With DgnQuickPick, users can add tabs,

or remove tabs with a click.

Currently, DgnQuickPick supports DGN files and DWG files (in the V8 version).

Attach a reference in one click!
DgnQuickPick has additional functionality not directly related to opening files quickly. For example, files within a list can easily be attached to the active file as a reference file. This way, if users need to attach a reference file quickly they can bypass the customary File | Reference method of attaching a reference.

DgnQuickPick users can also automatically execute MicroStation key-in commands a file is opened. If the user wants to perform a single key-in or multiple key-ins on a file when it is opened, all the user has to do is specify the key-in commands and DgnQuickPick will automatically carry out the commands on the file.

What users say
“With DgnQuickPick I am ablw oto have multiple drawings opeen at the same time and tab between them,” stated RaChelle Schiller, Xcel Energy. “If one of the drawing contained on the tabwas referenced to another drawing on the ta, the changes are updated automatically wgich eliminates the need to reload the reference. [DgnQuickPick] has increase my productivity. This program is a hit!”

Change is coming!
DgnQuickPick simplifies a task that is done many times throughout the day at any CAD shop. Rather than laboriously browsing and scrolling to find and select needed files, DgnQuickPick gives MicroStation users the ability to access their project design files with just one click.