User’s Guide — Translation Manager

Chapter 1 — Introduction and Overview

Introducing Translation Manager

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Translation Manager’s purpose is to simplify the translation process and efficiently handle the problems that routinely occur when translating sets of CAD files between MicroStation DGN format and AutoCAD DWG format and vice versa.

Pre-processing CAD files

Translation Manager includes a “Pre-process” function that provides two categories of action. The first is to scan all selected source files, either DWG or DGN, and record into ASCII data files information that can be remapped during the translation or verified and repaired after the translation. The second category of Pre-process action makes modifications to the CAD files before they are translated. For example, dropping or exploding complex elements like cells, shared cells, blocks, dimensions, text nodes and multiline text when desired.

Configuring translation settings

The next major action is to configure the selected translators that Translation Manager uses to do the actual translation work. Configuration is done through a Wizard mode that describes every setting and its impact on the translation or through an Expert mode that allows experienced users to quickly adjust all the options for each category of translation settings. Once completed all the settings can be saved to the project file, along with the files to be translated and the translation can be launched.

Many problems that are blamed on translation are actually the result of not understanding or correctly controlling the available translation options. Using the configuration Wizard will help minimize these problems by providing better understanding of each available option.

Post-processing CAD files

The final step is to run Post-process tools that clean up the translated files and fix issues that routinely exist after translation. Post-processing does things like compress or purge empty text and unused shared cell definitions from the output files, fix range errors in MicroStation files, drop or explode cells, shared cells and blocks to component elements, convert MicroStation tags or AutoCAD block attributes to text, fix special characters like degree symbols that don’t display correctly, fix reference file level display problems and in MicroStation files you can also change the color table and copy view attribute settings from a seed file set up the way you want it.

Prerequisites and supported base applications

  1. One of the following Bentley base applications:
  • MicroStation V8 2004 Edition*
  • MicroStation V8 XM
  • MicroStation V8i (through SS4)
  • Power GEOPAK V8i (through SS4)**
  • Power InRoads V8i (through SS4)**
  • AECOsim V8i (through SS4)**
  • MicroStation V10 CONNECT Edition(“V10”)
  1. Or one of the following Autodesk base applications:
  • AutoCAD 2010
  • AutoCAD 2011
  • AutoCAD 2012
  • AutoCAD 2013
  • AutoCAD 2014
  • AutoCAD 2015
  • AutoCAD 2016
  • AutoCAD 2017
  • AutoCAD 2018
  1. A 64-bit Windows operating system.***
  2. Microsoft Excel 2003 or later.

* MicroStation V8 2004 Edition is the earliest Bentley base application version supported by Translation Manager.

** Proprietary vertical application intelligence is not supported by Translation Manager. Support for vertical base applications is limited to the translation of CAD files between the fundamental DWG and DGN file formats.

*** If you need a 32-bit version of Translation Manager because you use a 32-bit version of Windows, please contact us for a Translation Manager 3.3a download link and license.

Terms

When you use Translation Manager and this guide, if you ever encounter something even slightly unclear, please let us know by e-mailing Support@AxiomInt.com. It is our goal to make every aspect of Translation Manager and its documentation as clear as possible.

Here are a few terms which could be easily misunderstood.

“MicroStation”

Most references to MicroStation or MicroStation’s translation engine in this guide apply to any one of the supported Bentley base applications listed herein.

“AutoCAD”

Most references to AutoCAD or AutoCAD’s translation engine in this guide apply to any one of the supported versions of AutoCAD listed herein.

“DGN” files

Two different Bentley CAD file formats use the “DGN” file extension: the V8 DGN format and the V7 DGN format.

Effort has been made to ensure this guide is clear about which DGN format is being referred to when the difference is important.

If there is ever any question about which DGN format is being referred to, please let us know at Support@AxiomInt.com so we can keep this guide as clear as possible.

“DWG” files

A multitude of different Autodesk CAD file formats use the “DWG” file extension.

Effort has been made to ensure this guide is clear about which DWG format is being referred to when the difference is important.

If there is ever any question about which DWG format is being referred to, please let us know at Support@AxiomInt.com so we can keep this guide as clear as possible.

“Translator”

When this guide refers to your “translator,” it means the underlying base application which is chosen in the “Translator to use” pull-down list of Translation Manager’s main dialog box.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

For a base application to appear in this pull-down list, two things must be true:

  • It must be installed on your computer.
  • You must have an active Translation Manager license for that base application version.

Impact of chosen translator

Which base application you choose as the “translator” impacts aspects of all three phases of translation: pre-processing, the translation itself and also post-processing the translated files.

How Translation Manager uses Bentley and Autodesk base applications

Translation Manager uses the supported Bentley and Autodesk base applications to perform its raw translations, which you can fully configure from inside Translation Manager.

Translation Manager also uses MicroStation or AutoCADBentley and AutoCAD base applications (but not their translation engines) for certain pre-processing and post-processing actions.

  • How Translation Manager uses Microsoft Excel

Translation Manager uses Microsoft Excel for the following things:

  • To define the symbology (color, weight, style) and level/layer remapping used during translation. This is true when using either base application family (Bentley or Autodesk and Bentley).
  • To define font remapping during translation (Bentley base applications)
  • To define font remapping during post-processing (Autodesk base applications)

Demonstration version limitations

The demonstration version of Translation Manager has the following limitations:

  • It will only process one file at a time when pre-processing, translating or post-processing.
  • It randomly skips entries to the pre-processing data files (*.dat).
  • All pre-processing modification options are disabled.
  • When translating and post-processing files, all graphic elements in the processed files are turned blue.

Your full working copy of Translation Manager will not have these limitations.

Chapter 2 — Supported CAD File Formats

DGN files

All of Translation Manager’s supported Bentley base applications are able to translate from and to V7 DGN and V8 DGN files.

All of Translation Manager’s supported Autodesk base applications are able to translate from DWG to V8 DGN and from V8 DGN to DWG.

None of Translation Manager’s supported Autodesk base applications are able to translate from or to V7 DGN files.

For absolute clarity, this is also shown in the following table.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

DWG files

The DWG file versions Translation Manager can read and write to depend on the supported version of MicroStation or AutoCAD chosen as the translator in Translation Manager.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD
Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCADAxiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

The base application versions listed in this table have been tested with one or more versions of Translation Manager. Unlisted versions of these base applications in the same version families (for example, other versions of MicroStation V8i SS4) should work equally well with Translation Manager.

Sometimes earlier (but not later) DWG versions not listed in this table may be supported by that base application as input files only.

Bentley base applications

The DWG versions listed in this table are supported as input and output file formats.

Autodesk base applications

“From” means the AutoCAD translator can handle this DWG version as an input file only.

“To” means the AutoCAD translator will always use this DWG version when creating a DWG file. It can also handle this DWG version as an input file.

DGN–to–DGN and DWG–to–DWG “translations”

You may want to use Translation Manager to convert from one DGN file format to another DGN file format (there are two) or from one DWG file format to another DWG file format (there are many). There are also cases where you may want to leave the file’s format unchanged, but use the “translation” process as an opportunity to make other changes to your CAD files.

This section details what combinations are possible, which basically depends on which base application you choose in Translation Manager to perform the underlying translation.

Bentley base applications

This one is simple and excellent. All Bentley base applications supported by Translation Manager can translate from and to all DGN and DWG formats supported by that version of the Bentley base application.

Autodesk base applications

Unlike Bentley base applications, Autodesk base applications can only translate from a DGN format to a DWG format or vice versa. No “DGN–to–DGN” or “DWG–to–DWG” combinations are supported by Autodesk base applications.

Chapter 3 — Installation

Before you install

This chapter will walk you through the installation of Translation Manager.

To install Translation Manager, you need:

  • The latest Axiom product CD or TransMgrSetup.exe; and
  • A license file, usually provided via e-mail or on the installation CD.

If upgrading from an earlier version of Translation Manager, please shut down any running instances of Translation Manager.

Typical installation from CD or download

  1. If you are installing from CD, insert the Axiom product CD into your CD drive. The first installation box may take a few moments to appear depending on computer and CD drive speed.

Conditional: In some cases, Windows® is set to suppress auto-running executables. If the installation process does not begin automatically when you insert the CD, you will need to start the process manually. From the Windows Start Menu, choose “Run…” and type in the following:

D:\Setup.exe

where “D” is your CD drive letter.

  1. If you downloaded TransMgrSetup.exe, double-click on it. When the “WinZip Self-Extractor” box appears, click {Unzip}. The first Translation Manager installation box will appear soon after that.Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD
  2. Click {Next} and the first installation dialog box (below) will appear. You will need to click on “I Agree” to accept the license agreement and then click {Next} to continue the installation.

    Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

  3. Choose your installation folder. We recommend you keep the default installation folder.

    Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

  4. Choose your installation folder. We recommend you keep the default installation folder.
  5. Click {Next} and choose whether to add a desktop shortcut during installation

    Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

  6. Click {Next} two times and the installation of files will begin.
  7. Next the final installation box will display. Push {Close} to close the installer and start Translation Manager.

    Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Congratulations

That’s it! You have successfully completed the installation of Translation Manager!

Chapter 4 — Uninstalling

Uninstalling Translation Manager is quick and easy. Simply run Start | All Programs | Axiom | Translation Manager | Uninstall Translation Manager in Windows. Then follow the on-screen instructions to complete the uninstall process.

Chapter 5 — Quick Start

The fastest way to learn Translation Manager is to walk through using it on a simple set of test files. For my sample project, we are going to use a set of simple DGN files that we will translate to DWG.

Create the Project

After starting Translation Manager, go to Project | New… This will clear the “Which files do you want to translate?” field and reset the translation settings to their default values.

Next choose {MicroStation} to {AutoCAD DWG} for the Translation Mode.

Translation Manager can use the MicroStation V8 translators, the MicroStation CONNECT translators or  the AutoCAD 2010 or later translators. Choose the translator you want to use from the “Translator to use” drop-down list.

Now choose Project | Save As… and create a project name in a folder you have read and write access to. The default extension for the project file is “.pjt”. Click the {Save} button on the dialog. The example used in these instructions is “TransMgr-MtoA-1.pjt”. 

Important Note: You must name your project before any pre-processing, translating or post-processing can be done.

Select the files to translate

Now select the MicroStation design files you want to translate. You can do this by clicking the {Select…} button to the right of the field and using the “Choose Files to Process” dialog. You can drag and drop files into this dialog or use the buttons to browse or search for files. For a complete explanation see the chapter called “Choose Files to Process” later in this guide.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Click {OK} to close the dialog and return to Translation Manager’s main dialog. You will notice that the “Destination folder” shows the same folder as the files chosen to translate. You can use this or choose a different folder.

Pre-process the source files

In most projects you are going to want to Pre-process the source files in order to evaluate and record important information before configuring and running the translation itself. Pre-process records things like all the level or layer names used in the source files, what line styles and line types are used, what colors, line weights and fonts are used as well as recording reference file level or layer display information that can be used in the Post-processing step. Click the {Pre-process…} button on the main dialog to open the Pre-processing dialog box.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Pre-processing dialog with default “Evaluate” settings

This dialog also has a “Drop/Explode”, “Compress/Purge” and “Backup” tab. When using the MicroStation translators there is also a “Modify” tab available. These tools are not used by default but are available if you want to use them on your files before translation. For more information on the drop/explode, modification, compress and backup tools see the “Pre-processing” chapter later in this manual.

Once your choices have been made click the {Process} button and Translation Manager will process each file and display a dialog when it is done showing the data files created and their location.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Click the {Close} button on the completion dialog and then on the Pre-processing dialog to continue to the next step.

Configure the translation

Now it’s time to configure the translation. Two configuration interfaces are available: “Wizard” and “Expert”. The primary difference between them is that in the Wizard interface every setting is explained in a description field in the configuration dialog. If you are new to translation or if you want to understand more about the settings, you should use the default, “Wizard” interface, for this step. If you are familiar with translation settings you can change the interface to “Expert” using the “Interface” menu at the top of the configuration dialog.

Translation Manager supports both the MicroStation and AutoCAD translators. The settings available, when configuring the translation, are different depending on the translator you choose. The images in this quick start show the MicroStation translator dialogs. The AutoCAD dialogs work in the same way but will have different settings and descriptions.

To open the configuration dialog box and get started, click the {Configure…} button on the main dialog.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Translation Manager Configuration (MicroStation translator) — Wizard Interface

On opening the configuration wizard, the first category displayed contains instructions on using the Wizard. Clicking the {Next} button takes you to the first setting in the “Basic” category. A description is shown to explain the purpose and effect of the setting. To continue to the next setting and description click the {Next} button. Clicking any category in the “Category” list box will display the first setting in that category.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Translation Manager Configuration (MicroStation translator) — Expert Interface

In “Expert” mode there are no instructions, so the first category of settings is displayed. To continue to the next category and its settings, click the {Next} button. Clicking any category in the “Category” list box will display the settings for that category.

After all the settings are adjusted as desired you should save the setting changes to the project file. Do this by selecting “Project | Save” from the menu bar at the top of the dialog. Now click the {Close} button to close the dialog and return to Translation Manager’s main dialog box.

Translate the files

Click the {Translate} button on the main dialog to begin translating all selected files in the “Which files do you want to translate?” field based on the configuration settings made. A text window or progress dialog will display showing you that your files are being translated and a completion dialog displays at the end giving a summary of the results.

Post-process the translated files

After a translation there are often problems that can be repaired using Translation Manager’s Post-processing “Repair” routines. There may also be desired modifications or the need to compress or purge the translated files to meet certain CAD standards. To utilize these routines click the {Post-process…} button on the main dialog.

Translation Manager supports both the MicroStation and AutoCAD translators. The post-processing tools available will be slightly different depending on the translator you choose. The images in this section of the quick start show the MicroStation tools. The post-processing tools available, when using the AutoCAD translators, may be different.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Post-processing dialog (MicroStation translator) with default settings

For post processing you will first need to select the translated files you just created. Click the {Select…} button to choose the translated files you wish to post-process. See the chapter named “Choose Files to Process” for more information on using this dialog.

Empty text, for example, can cause problems in translated files. Their existence in most cases is unnecessary, so removing them should not be an issue.

The remainder of the Post-processing tools can be used to drop/explode, modify and compress or purge files as needed to meet standards. By default Translation Manager will create a backup of the translated files before it repairs or modifies them. These backup files will have the extension “.postbkp” added to the original file name. See the chapter called “Post-processing” later in this manual for a full explanation of the “Backup” tab and its options.

If you change or adjust any of the Post-processing options and want to save them to your project choose “Project | Save” from the pull-down menu at the top of the Post-processing dialog box.

Next click the {Process} button to post-process the translated files.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

A dialog will display when post-processing is complete.

Click the {Close} button to finish processing and return to the Post-processing dialog.

Chapter 6 — Using Translation Manager

Loading Translation Manager

Load Translation Manager from the Windows “Start Menu” item “Axiom | Translation Manager” or from the Translation Manager icon installed on your Windows Desktop.

Welcome to Translation Manager

When you first start Translation Manager you will see the “Welcome to Translation Manager” introduction dialog. It provides a quick orientation to the main dialog as well as the basic steps to follow when approaching a translation project.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

If you do not want to see this screen each time you load Translation Manager click the “Do not show this dialog again.” checkbox. Click the {OK} button to close the dialog and open Translation Manager’s main dialog.

Translation Manager’s main dialog box

After you start Translation Manager, you will be presented with the main dialog box:

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

The “File” menu

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

The file menu contains only the Exit option. This will close Translation Manager.

The “Project” menu

Use the options on the “Project” menu to manage Translation Manager’s project settings files. Translation Manager’s project settings are saved to a file with a “.pjt” extension.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Change Program Settings...

Contains setting that affect the overall program.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Display introduction at startup.

By default, when Translation Manager starts it displays an introduction dialog and welcome message with a brief overview. This introduction can be toggled off and on by selecting this menu item. When it’s checked the introduction will display the next time Translation Manager is started.

Use a MicroStation user workspace.

When using the MicroStation translator, Translation Manager uses the default MicroStation user and project workspace components to find things like font and symbology resource files that can affect the output files Translation Manager creates.

If you want Translation Manager to use a different user workspace than the default, turn on the checkbox to activate the {Select...} button. Click the button and navigate to the <user_name>.ucf file that you want Translation Manager to use. 

If a user workspace is selected, the user workspace name will display under the “Translator to use:” on the main dialog

The user configuration file will include a “project” configuration as well. If you want to designate a different project workspace see the instructions below.

Use a MicroStation project workspace.

You must select a user workspace before you can select a project workspace for Translation Manager to use. To specify a project workspace turn on the “Use a MicroStation project workspace” checkbox to activate the {Select...} button. Click the button and navigate to the <project_name>.pcf file that you want Translation Manager to use.

If a project workspace is selected, the project workspace name will display under the “Translator to use:” on the main dialog

Processing multiple files in pre-process and post-process.

Selecting “All files at once” is the default and runs multiple files faster. When “One file at a time” is selected there is a small break between each file processed.

New

Use “New” to start a new Translation Manager project from scratch. Project files use a “.pjt” extension. The default new project name is “Untitled.” Using this option clears the “Which files do you want to translate?” list and “Destination folder:” field. It also resets the translation configuration settings to their default values for the select translator to use.

Open…

Use “Open…” to launch a file selection dialog and navigate to the folder and project file you want to open.

Save

Use “Save” to save any changes you have made to the active project. The active project name is displayed in Translation Manager’s title bar as well as at the bottom of the “Settings” menu.

Save As…

Use “Save As…” to save the current project with a new name or to a new location. Using “Save As…” maintains the list of files to translate, destination folder and all translation configuration settings.

Save Settings on Exit

Use “Save Settings on Exit” to avoid being asked to save your project settings changes when you exit Translation Manager. With this setting turned on changes will be automatically saved when Translation Manager is closed.

Restore Factory Defaults

Use “Restore Factory Defaults” to restore all translation configuration settings to their default values. Using this option does not change or clear the files to translate, destination folder, MicroStation translator to use or translation mode.

Project File:

Shows you the active project file’s name and location.

The “Help” menu

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Contents…

Opens Translation Manager’s help file.

About Translation Manager

Select this menu choice to display information about Translation Manager in your default web browser.

Translation mode:

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

This determines the direction of the translation.

The input options are

  • MicroStation
  • AutoCAD

The output options for the Bentley translators (MicroStation, AECOsim Building Designer, Power GEOPAK and Power InRoads) are

  • AutoCAD DWG
  • AutoCAD DXF
  • MicroStation V7
  • MicroStation V8

The output options for the AutoCAD translator are

  • AutoCAD DWG when the input is MicroStation
  • MicroStation V7 when the input is AutoCAD
  • MicroStation V8 when the input is AutoCAD

All combinations of input and output options are allowed when using any of the Bentley translators. With any of the Bentley translators you can choose the specific DWG/DXF file format to output to in the “Basic” category of Translation Manager’s translation configuration dialog.

The version of the Bentley or AutoCAD product you choose in the “Translator to use:” will determine which DWG file formats are supported.

This should be the first setting you make when creating a Translation Manager project. The selected mode will be displayed in the title bar of most dialogs in Translation Manager.

Translator to use:

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Determines the Bentley or AutoCAD base application to use for the translation. When there are multiple supported versions of these programs, all the installed versions, that are licensed for Translation Manager, are listed. Any listed program can be selected.

By default Translation Manager will always use the latest version of the supported software unless you change it.

Which files do you want to translate?

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

This is where you tell Translation Manager which source files, DGN or DWG, you want to translate. The image above shows a single file selected however Translation Manager lets you select any number of files for translation from 1 to thousands.

Select…

Click the {Select...} button next to this field to open Axiom’s “Choose Files to Process” dialog for selecting any number of files from any location you choose. For more information on using this dialog see the chapter entitled “Choose Files to Process” later in this manual.

Destination folder:

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

This is where Translation Manager will output the translated files as well as log files and data files that are created during the Pre-process step.

If this field is empty when the files to translate are selected, the destination folder will be updated to the same folder as the first file in the list. Use the {Select…} button to choose a different folder location. If the folder location doesn’t exist Translation Manager will ask you if you want to create it when you move the focus out of this field.

Select…

Click the {Select...} button next to this field to open a folder selection dialog.

Put each translated file in the same folder as the original file.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

This makes Translation Manager put translated files in the same folder as the file they were created from.

When a file of the same name as the translated (output) file already exists in the input file’s folder:

  • If the existing file with the same name is the same output file format, we do not overwrite it and we do not translate that input file.
  • If the existing file with the same name is a different output file format, the translation is performed on the input file and the existing file of the same name is overwritten.

Note: To prevent overwriting input files when converting from one MicroStation format to another (for example, V7 DGNs to V8 DGNs) or from one AutoCAD format to another, this checkbox is turned off and disabled.

Pre-process…

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Click the {Pre-process…} button to open the Pre-processing dialog where you can run tools that will evaluate and record important information that you will use later in the translation process. There are also tools in the Pre-process dialog to drop complex elements types prior to translation, compress or purge files and make other types of source file modifications if you desire.

Please see the chapter entitled “Pre-processing” later in this manual for more detailed information on the Pre-process tools.

Translate the files

!Unexpected End of Formula

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Configure…

Click the {Configure…} button to open the translation configuration dialog. Use this dialog to configure the translation settings that control various aspects of the translation process.

See the chapter entitled “Translation Configuration Wizard” and “Translation Configuration — Expert Interface” later in this manual for more detailed information on configuring the translation.

Translate

Click {Translate} to start the translation. Translation Manager will send all the information to the MicroStation or AutoCAD translator you selected and the files will be translated based on the configuration settings you have made.

Translation Results

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

When Translation Manager is done translating files it displays the “Translation Results” dialog box. This dialog lets you know if all your files were translated successfully or if there were any problems.

Successful translations

This shows the number of files that were successfully translated.

Failed translations

If one or more translated files failed to translate for some reason you will see the number of failures listed here in red.

To determine the cause of the failure click the {Display Translation Log} button to see the detailed report for the problem files. There are a number of things that can cause a translation to fail. If the report doesn’t allow you to determine what you can do to fix the problem please contact Axiom technical support for help.

Already translated

If one or more of the files you want to translate already exist in the output folder, with the same name and in the translated format you specified, Translation Manager does not translate the file again. It will skip the file. You will see the number of skipped files here in red.

If you want to translate files again, you must first delete or move these files from the destination folder before clicking {Translate}. You can also choose a different destination folder for the output.

Unsupported file format

If you attempt to translate a file that is not a DWG nor a DGN file or if the format of the DWG or DGN is not supported by the MicroStation or AutoCAD translator you are using, Translation Manager will not translate the file. You will see the number of files with unsupported file formats here in red.

Display Translation Log

Clicking the {Display Translation Log} button opens a text file that gives you more detailed information for each file translated. If you see anything but successful translations, opening this log file can give you more information about what went wrong.

Help

Clicking the {Help} button opens Translation Manager’s help file to the section that describes what to do about unsuccessful results.

Close

Clicking the {Close} button closes the dialog and returns you to Translation Manager’s main dialog.

Post-process…

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Click the {Post-process…} button to open the Post-processing dialog where you can run tools that will modify and repair DGN or DWG files after they are translated.

Please see the chapter entitled “Post-processing” later in this manual for more detailed information on the Post-process tools.

Chapter 7 — Pre-processing

The Pre-processing dialog is opened when you click the {Pre-process…} button on Translation Manager’s main dialog.

The “Which files do you want to process?” file list is the same list of files as shown in the main dialog. If you make changes to this list it will also affect the list of files to translate on the main dialog. In most cases you will want to process the same list of files.

Evaluate tab

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

The Pre-processing dialog — Evaluate tab

This section of the Pre-process dialog lists the various items that can be evaluated and recorded by scanning each file in the list of files. The output data files can be used to help create the symbology remapping that the translators implement to create output files that meet the expected CAD standard for the translated format. The data files created will be placed in the “Destination folder:” for this project. Each data file will have the project name followed by an underscore, a descriptor for the type of information it contains and the “.dat” extension. These data files are simple ASCII text files that can be opened in any test editor like “Notepad”. For example the data file for all the used levels or layers in a project named “My Project 1.pjt” would be named:
“My Project 1_levels.dat”

Record all used levels or layers.

When this option is turned on, every level containing elements will have its name recorded into a data file that is written to the “Destination folder:” shown in the main dialog. The list of level names will sorted alphabetically and contain only one entry for each unique level name used throughout the list of source files.

The output is an ASCII text file whose name is based on the active project name and an appended “_levels.dat”.

Example: MyProject_levels.dat

Record all used colors.

When this option is turned on, every used color number is recorded into a data file that is written to the “Destination folder:” shown in the main dialog. The list of color numbers will contain only one entry for each unique color number used throughout the list of source files processed.

The output is an ASCII text file whose name is based on the active project name and an appended “_colors.dat”.

Example: MyProject_colors.dat

Record all used line styles or linetypes.

When this option is turned on, every used line style or linetype is recorded into a data file that is written to the “Destination folder:” shown in the main dialog. The list of line styles will contain only one entry for each unique line style used throughout the list of source files processed.

The output is an ASCII text file whose name is based on the active project name and an appended “_styles.dat”.

Example: MyProject_styles.dat

Record all line weights.

When this option is turned on, every used weight value is recorded into a data file that is written to the “Destination folder:” shown in the main dialog. The list of weight values will contain only one entry for each unique weight value used throughout the list of source files processed.

The output is an ASCII text file whose name is based on the active project name and an appended “_Weights.dat”.

Example: MyProject_Weights.dat

Record all used fonts.

When this option is turned on, every used font is recorded into a data file that is written to the “Destination folder:” shown in the main dialog. The list of fonts will contain only one entry for each unique font name and type used throughout the list of source files processed.

The output is an ASCII text file whose name is based on the active project name and an appended “_fonts.dat”.

Example: MyProject_fonts.dat

Record all special character usage.

When this option is turned on, Translation Manager searches every text string in the source files for the use of special characters like the degree symbol, plus/minus symbol, diameter symbol and the centerline symbol.

The list of special characters searched for are contained in a CSV file called “CharacterTable.csv”. This CSV file contains a listing for all standard MicroStation fonts, AutoCAD fonts and standard Windows true type fonts and the character code for the symbols listed above. Custom fonts can be added to this CSV file if desired.

Each special character found is recorded into a data file that is written to the “Destination folder:” shown in the main dialog. The list of special characters will contain only one entry for each unique font and character combination used throughout the list of source files processed.

The output is an ASCII text file whose name is based on the active project name and an appended “_characters.dat”.

Example: MyProject_characters.dat

Record all combinations of working units or drawing units used.

When this option is turned on, every unique combination of units used throughout the set of source files processed is recorded into a data file that is written to the “Destination folder:” shown in the main dialog. The list of units used will contain one entry for each unique combination of units used followed by a list of the source files that use those units.

The output is an ASCII text file whose name is based on the active project name and an appended “_units.dat”.

Example: MyProject_units.dat

Record all reference file level or layer display settings.

When this option is turned on, the global level display setting for every used level in each reference file is recorded into a data file that is written to the “Destination folder:” shown in the main dialog. The list of reference files and level display settings will exist for each file in the list of source files processed.

The output is an ASCII text file whose name is based on the active project name and an appended “_references.dat”.

Example: MyProject_references.dat

Record all used cells or blocks.

When this option is turned on, Translation Manager records the names of all cells and blocks found in the input files.

Overwrite or Append to existing .DAT files.

The choice here is “Overwrite” or “Append to”. This lets you add to or overwrite existing Pre-processing DAT files, so you can either build up what you have or start fresh. The default setting is to overwrite.

Drop/Explode tab

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

The Pre-processing dialog — Drop/Explode tab

This section of the Pre-process dialog lists the complex elements that can be dropped or exploded before translation as part of preparation for the translation.

Note: The first time a drop/explode, modification or compress/purge option is turned on Translation Manager automatically checks to make sure the “Backup source files before modification” checkbox is turned on in the “Backup” tab of the Pre-processing dialog. If it is turned off, a dialog displays asking if you want to turn on the backup option.

Drop or explode shared cells, cells and blocks to component elements.

When this option is turned on, any shared cell, cell or block in the list of source files will be dropped (MicroStation term) or exploded (AutoCAD term) to its component elements.

Convert visible tags or block attributes to text before dropping.

When MicroStation cells or AutoCAD blocks are dropped to component elements any tags (MicroStation) or block attributes (AutoCAD) are deleted. Turning this option on directs Translation Manager to convert the visible tags or block attributes to text elements so this data will not be lost.

Drop or explode dimensions to component elements.

In some cases dimensions may not translate exactly as expected. If this occurs dropping the dimensions to component elements can maintain graphic integrity. Turn this option on to drop dimensions to component graphic elements.

Drop text nodes or multiline text to simple elements.

Turn this option on to drop text nodes or multiline text to simple text elements.

Drop or explode solids to component elements

This option is only used and displayed when pre-processing DGN files that will be translated to DWG with the AutoCAD translator.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Drop/Explode options pre-processing DGN files using the AutoCAD translator

MicroStation solids do not translate to DWG when using the AutoCAD translator. Turning on this option will drop or explode the MicroStation solids to their component elements. 

Modify tab (MicroStation translator)

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

The Pre-processing dialog — Modify tab — MicroStation translator

The Pre-processing “Modify” tab is only available if you have a supported version of MicroStation V8 installed on the computer and have the MicroStation translator selected on the main dialog for the current project. The “Modify” tab will not display in the pre-process dialog if an AutoCAD translator is selected.

This tab of the Pre-process dialog lists the modifications that can be made to elements/objects in input CAD files as part of preparation for the translation.

Note: The first time a drop/explode, modification or compress/purge option is turned on Translation Manager automatically checks to make sure the “Backup source files before modification” checkbox is turned on in the “Backup” tab of the Pre-processing dialog. If it is turned off, a dialog displays asking if you want to turn on the backup option.

Convert referenced CIT or CAL raster image to a georeferenced TIFF (GeoTIFF) raster image.

AutoCAD does not support referenced CIT files, a common MicroStation-supported raster reference file format. Translation Manager can automatically convert referenced CIT raster files to georeferenced TIFF raster files, a format supported by AutoCAD.

Run MicroStation Visual Basic for Applications (MVBA) macros.

Translation Manager can run a non-interactive MVBA macro as part of the Pre-processing operation, making it possible for you to make innumerable changes to your input files before translating them. MicroStation VBA macros are saved into “Projects.” Each project contains one or more “Modules” and any module can contain one or more subroutines (macros). These subroutines must be non-interactive. This means they do not stop to ask the user for input.

In order for Translation Manager to run a MicroStation VBA you must tell it the Project name, Module name and Macro name. These values are then saved to an ASCII text file in the format:

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

These two examples could be added to a text file named “RunVBA1.txt”

Now you can turn on the checkbox and select the text file by clicking the {Select…} button to the right of the “Commands list file:” field and using the file selection dialog. This will load the text file name into the “Commands list file:” field and Pre-processing will now run those two macros on all selected CAD files.

Translation Manager runs the designated VBA macros as the last step of Pre-processing.

Modify tab (AutoCAD translator)

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

The Pre-processing dialog — Modify tab — AutoCAD translator

Font remap CSV path:

When the AutoCAD translator is used the translation engine does not allow you to replace fonts as part of the translation. This option allows you to replace the fonts as part of the pre-processing step.

This field shows the path to the CSV file that remaps the fonts.

The icon controls to the right of this field allow you to select, create or edit the CSV file.

If you hover the mouse pointer over the icons they will display the following from left to right:

Browse for CSV remapping file — Select a saved or existing remapping CSV file

Edit CSV remapping file — Edit the selected CSV file in Microsoft Excel

Create CSV remapping file — Create a new CSV remapping file and open in Microsoft Excel.

If no CSV file is shown in the field and you wish to create a new one, click the {Create CSV remapping file} button. This will open a file creation dialog box. Navigate to the folder you wish to use for storing this information and create a descriptive file name for your CSV file, then click {OK}. This will cause Microsoft Excel to open with a template that contains instructions, macros and tools to help you configure the remapping.

If you want to select an existing CSV file click the icon with the "Magnifying Glass" image and select the desired CSV file. Click {OK} to load it.

If you want to modify or add remapping settings to the CSV file, click the center button. This will open Microsoft Excel and load the remapping template with the current values from the CSV file. Make your changes and then “Save” the file. A macro embedded in the spreadsheet will update the CSV file to reflect the changes. When finished, close Excel and turn on the “Apply font mapping” checkbox.

Apply font mapping.

When a valid font mapping exists in the selected CSV file this checkbox becomes available. To implement the font remapping during pre-processing, turn on the checkbox.

Compress/Purge tab

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

The Pre-processing dialog — Compress/Purge tab

This section allows you to compress (MicroStation) or purge (AutoCAD) various aspects of your source CAD files

Compress the source CAD files.

If you want Translation Manager to compress or purge your source files turn on the “Compress the source CAD files.” checkbox, then set the items you want compressed or purged by turning on the appropriate checkboxes from the following list of options:

  • Delete unused named shared cells or blocks.
  • Delete unused anonymous shared cells or blocks.
  • Delete unused shared cells or blocks.
  • Delete unused line styles or linetypes.
  • Delete unused dimension styles.
  • Delete unused text styles.
  • Delete unused levels or layers.
  • Delete unused multi-line styles. (Only in MicroStation XM or later)

Different options, from the above list, will be displayed based on the translator you use.

Backup tab

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Pre-processing dialog — Backup tab

This section controls how source files are backed up when modifications are made to them.

Backup source files before modification.

Turn on the “Backup source files before modification” option to ensure backup files are created whenever the source files are modified by the Pre-processing “Modify” or “Compress/Purge” tools.

If this option is off an * (asterisk) will appear on the tab to warn the user that the option is off. In addition, the first time a modification or the compress/purge option is turned on, a dialog will open asking the user if he wants to turn on the backup option before proceeding.

This option is on by default.

Backup file extension:

This controls what file extension Translation Manager will use for backup files. The default is “bkp”.

The backup file extension supports the use of the “?” in place of one or more of the letters. In this case the backup file created will have an extension where the “?” (question mark) is replaced by an incrementing number allowing multiple modifications to be done on the same source files while maintaining the original after each pass.

For example “bk?” would create “filename.bk1” for the first backup, then “filename.bk2” for the next, etc.

Folder for backup files:

By default Translation Manager uses the same folder as the source file for backup files. If you want them placed in a different folder use the {Select…} button to choose the folder.

Add on the backup file extension instead of replacing it.

When on, Translation Manager creates its backup file in the source file’s folder by making a copy of the file and appending an additional extension to the full file name, rather than replacing the file’s original extension with the new extension. The extension that is appended is controlled by the “Backup file extension:” option above.

Example: “file.dgn” would be backed up to “file.dgn.bkp”

Chapter 8 — Translation Configuration Wizard

To access the translation configuration dialog click the {Configure…} button on Translation Manager’s main dialog box. By default the dialog will start with the Wizard interface active. The purpose of the Translation Configuration Wizard is to walk you through every translation setting available so that you can understand its purpose and achieve the best translation results possible.

Translation Manager supports both the MicroStation and AutoCAD translators. The settings available, when configuring the translation, are different depending on the translator you choose. The images in this section show the MicroStation dialogs. The AutoCAD dialogs work in the same way but will have different settings and descriptions.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Configuration Wizard Settings Page 1 of 1 for the “Instructions” category

When using the Wizard, click the {Next} button at the bottom of each page to advance to the next settings page in the highlighted category. If you are on the last settings page in the highlighted category, click the {Next} button to advance to the first settings page of the next category. To return to the previous settings page, click the {Back} button. Each settings page contains a Description field, like the one shown above that describes the setting, its use and any recommendations for that setting.

Manually clicking any category in the “Category” list will display the first settings page in that category. The blue text at the top of each page shows the active category. The indented blue text below that shows you which settings page in the active category you are in as well as the total number of pages in that category.

Any time you change a setting from its default value, an asterisk (*) will appear to the right of the category name so you will be aware of the fact. If you want to restore ALL settings to their default values, click Settings | Restore Factory Defaults.

You can switch between the Wizard and Expert configuration interface via the “Interface” menu. In Expert mode, all settings for each category are displayed on a single page without detailed descriptions, making it quicker to adjust settings once you are familiar with them. Clicking the {Next} button in Expert mode advances you to the next category.

When you are done adjusting the settings, you should save them to the active Project (“.pjt” file extension) shown in the title bar with Settings | Save or to a new project name with Settings | Save As….

Chapter 9 — Expert Translation Configuration

To access the translation configuration dialog click the {Configure…} button on Translation Manager’s main dialog box. By default the dialog will start with the Wizard interface active. To change to the “Expert” interface, select “Interface | Expert.” The state of the configuration interface is saved into the project file whenever you save it.

Translation Manager supports both the MicroStation and AutoCAD translators. The settings available, when configuring the translation, are different depending on the translator you choose. The images in this section show the MicroStation dialogs. The AutoCAD dialogs work in the same way but will have different settings and descriptions.

The purpose of the Expert translation configuration method is to allow you a quick way to adjust all the settings in a single category when you are familiar with the purpose of each setting and don’t need instruction. You can change between the Wizard and Expert methods by using the “Method” menu at the top of the dialog.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Translation configuration dialog using the Expert interface

When using the Expert method, click the {Next} button at the bottom of the dialog to advance to the next category or simply click the category in the category list box. Click the {Back} button to return to the previous category.

When you are done adjusting settings click the {Close} button to return to Translation Manager’s main dialog.

Chapter 10 — Remapping Symbology

Remap Symbology options

In this category you will set how you want the symbology in your source files to be mapped in the translated files.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

As you can see from the checkboxes (in the above screen shot), there are 5 types of symbology you can control:

  • 1 — levels or layers
  • 2 — fonts (Only available during translation when using the MicroStation translators)
  • 3 — line styles or linetypes
  • 4 — colors
  • 5 — line weights

The values you set are stored in a CSV (comma separated value) file that the MicroStation and AutoCAD translator uses. The name of the CSV file is shown in the field at the top of this settings page. There are three buttons to the right of the field. If you hover the mouse pointer over them they will display the following from left to right:

Browse for CSV remapping file — Select a saved or existing remapping CSV file

Edit CSV remapping file — Edit the selected CSV file in Microsoft Excel

Create CSV remapping file — Create a new CSV remapping file and open in Microsoft Excel.

If no CSV file is shown in the field and you wish to create a new one, click the {Create CSV remapping file} button. This will open a file creation dialog box. Navigate to the folder you wish to use for storing this information and create a descriptive file name for your CSV file, then click {OK}. This will cause Microsoft Excel to open with a template that contains instructions, macros and tools to help you configure the remapping. In the spreadsheet each type of symbology you can remap is configured in its own worksheet. There is also an “Instructions” worksheet that will help you understand how to use the Excel file, configure the remapping and update the CSV file with the changes.

If you want to select an existing CSV file click the button with the "Magnifying Glass" image and select the desired CSV file. Click {OK} to load it. Any symbology section that contains remapping settings will become active. If you want them applied during the translation activate the appropriate checkbox.

If you want to modify or add remapping settings to the CSV file, click the center button. This will open Microsoft Excel and load the remapping template with the current values from the CSV file. Make your changes and then “Save” the file. A macro embedded in the spreadsheet will update the CSV file to reflect the changes. When finished, close Excel and turn on the appropriate checkboxes.

Chapter 11 — Post-processing

The Post-processing dialog is opened when you click the {Post-process…} button on Translation Manager’s main dialog.

Translation Manager supports both the MicroStation and AutoCAD translators. The post-processing tools available are different depending on the translator you choose. The images in this quick start show the dialogs when a MicroStation translator is chosen on the main dialog. The dialogs when the AutoCAD translator is chosen will work in the same way but may display different choices.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Post-processing dialog — Repair tab

Which translated files do you want to process?

The first step is to choose the translated files you want to post-process in the “Which translated files do you want to process?” field. Click the {Select…} button to the right of the field to use the “Choose Files to Process” dialog to select the translated files you want to Post-process. A full description of how to use this file selection utility is in the chapter entitled “Choose Files to Process” later in this manual.

Post-processing — Repair tab

The repair tab contains options that fix problems that routinely occur during translation. All options in this tab are on by default.

Remove text with only spaces and empty text

In many translations the output files often contain empty text elements or text elements only containing spaces. These text elements can cause “Fit” or “Extents” problems. Turn on this option to remove these problem text elements in the translated files.

Remove unused shared cell or block definitions

Turn on this option to remove shared cell or block definitions stored in the translated files if they are not used in the translated file. Unused shared cell or block definitions can sometimes create hard to diagnose problems in the translated files. This includes levels or layers that can’t be deleted even though elements do not display in the CAD file.

Fix range errors (MicroStation files only)

Turn this option on to fix range errors that can exist in MicroStation files. Range errors can make graphic elements seem to disappear. Fixing these errors can restore these elements to view.

This option is ignored when processing AutoCAD files.

Post-processing — Drop/Explode tab

The Drop/Explode tab contains tools that make changes that are not performed by the translator or that are not done correctly in all cases by the selected translator.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Post-processing — Drop/Explode Tab

Convert tags or block attributes to text

Turning this option on will cause tags and block attributes to be converted to text elements. This is desired in some cases after translation when users or clients want to drop or explode cells and blocks to component elements or in MicroStation output files drop shared cells to MicroStation normal cells. There are other times when clients do not want tags or block attributes used in their files. This option provides a solution.

Convert only visible tags or attributes.

When converting tags or attributes to text this option says to only do this for visible tags or attributes. It is not unusual for there to be invisible (non-displayed) tags or attributes. Converting these invisible tags or attributes to text can cause some very odd text elements to display in the output files. To avoid this, turn on this option.

Delete invisible tags or attributes.

When converting tags or attributes to text this option directs Translation Manager to delete the invisible tags it finds in the file. This can be used to clean up any invisible tags or attributes when they are not wanted in the output files.

Drop or explode cells or blocks

Turn this option on to if you want to drop or explode MicroStation cells or AutoCAD blocks in translated files.

Drop or explode shared cells, cells or blocks to component elements.

When this radio button option is active, any shared cell, cell or block in the list of translated files will be dropped (MicroStation term) or exploded (AutoCAD term) to its component elements.

When processing AutoCAD files a warning dialog will display if you do not have the “Convert tag or block attributes to text” option turned on. The warning says that block attributes will be deleted by using this option and suggesting that you turn on the “Convert tag or block attributes to text” option.

Associate tags to first component element (MicroStation files only).

Turn this option on to copy any tags associated to MicroStation cells to the first component element in the dropped cell.

MicroStation allows tags to be associated to any graphic element while AutoCAD only allows block attributes to be associated to a block.

Drop shared cells to normal cells. (MicroStation files only)

When this radio button is active, any MicroStation shared cell in the list of translated files will be dropped to a MicroStation normal cell.

AutoCAD files do not have an analogous entity to a normal cell.

Copy tags from the original cell to the new cell if they exist.

Turn this option on to copy any tags associated to a shared cell to the new normal cell if they exist.

Post-processing — Modify tab

The Modify tab contains tools that make changes that are not done by the translator or that are not done right in all cases by the selected translator. The Modify tab has several different options depending on whether you are using the MicroStation or the AutoCAD translator for translation.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Post-processing — Modify Tab for the MicroStation translator

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Post-processing — Modify Tab for the AutoCAD translator

Replace special text characters.

Turning this option on directs Translation Manager to replace special characters that may not display correctly due to font remapping during the translation. Click the {Configure…} button to open the “Character Replacement” dialog where you define the characters to replace.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Replace Special Characters Dialog

The “File” menu

The file menu contains only the Exit option. This will close Translation Manager.

The “Settings” menu

Use the options on the “Settings” menu to manage Translation Manager’s character replacement settings files. These files are saved with a “.cfg” extension.

Settings | New…

Use “New” to start a new replace special characters settings file from scratch.

Settings | Open…

Use “Open…” to start a file selection dialog so you can select the replace special characters settings file you want to open.

Settings | Save

Use “Save” to save any changes you have made to the replace special characters settings.

Settings | Save As…

Use “Save As…” to save the current replace special characters settings file with a new name or to a new location.

Settings | Settings File:

Shows the active replace special characters settings file’s name and location.

Import

Click the {Import} button to automatically import the list of special characters contained in the “<Project_Name>_characters.dat” file created during Pre-processing. When this list is imported, Translation Manager also checks the active projects symbology remapping CSV file for any font remapping that may be defined. If it finds that a special character’s font is being remapped it checks the special characters code table that comes with Translation Manager for the replacement font and if found, extracts the appropriate replacement character code and updates the list in the dialog. If the replacement font does not exist in the “CharacterTable.csv” or the replacement font does not have a replacement for that character then the “Mapped Font” and “New Code” value for that character will be empty.

Add

To manually add a special character replacement rule in the list box, click the {Add} button, then choose the original font from the list of fonts and the special character you wish to replace. Now choose the mapped font from the list of available fonts and Translation Manager will automatically update the rule with the new code for the special character you have chosen from the special character code table.

Insert

Click the {Insert} button to manually insert a new special character replacement rule above the currently selected rule in the list box.

Remove

Click the {Remove} button to remove the selected rule from the list.

Copy

Click the {Copy} button to insert a new special character replacement rule, that is a copy of the selected rule, above the currently selected rule in the list box. This can save time when you want to include multiple special characters for the same original and mapped font combination.

Up

Click the {Up} button to move the selected special character replacement rule up in the list of rules.

Down

Click the {Down} button to move the selected special character replacement rule down in the list of rules.

Edit Code Table…

Click the {Edit Code Table…} button to open the “Edit Special Characters Code Table dialog box. The name of the file containing the code table is “CharacterTable.csv”.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Edit Special Characters Code Table dialog

This table, as delivered, contains a list of all the standard MicroStation, AutoCAD and True Type fonts and the special character codes for the degree, plus/minus, diameter and centerline symbols. If the cell for a particular font and character description is blank then the font does not contain that special character.

The values in this code table are used in Pre-processing when searching for all the special characters that are used in the source files before translation as well as in the replace special characters Post-processing step. In order for Translation Manager to find or replace special characters you will need to insure they are included in the code table.

You can add additional rows for new fonts and you can add additional columns for other special characters within this dialog box as well as adding or changing the existing codes for any font already in the table.

Unicode Tip: MicroStation fonts support ASCII character codes from 0-255. TrueType and AutoCAD SHX fonts support standard ASCII codes as well as the extended Unicode character codes in the range of 256 to 65535. Translation Manager supports Unicode character codes when the replacement font is a TrueType or SHX font.

The “File” menu

Choose “File | Save” from this menu to save any changes you have made to the replace special characters code table.

Choose “File | Exit” from this menu to close the dialog. Translation Manager will ask you if you want to save your changes if any changes have been made to the code table.

Add Column

Click {Add Column} to add a new special character column to the code table. You will then be presented with a dialog to give the new column a name for your special character. Click {OK} after giving it a name to add the column to the code table.

Remove Column

Click {Remove Column} to remove a special character column from the code table.

Add Row

Click {Add Row} to add a new row for an additional font to the bottom of the code table.

Insert Row

Click {Insert Row} to insert a new row for an additional font above the currently selected row in the code table.

Remove Row

Click {Remove Row} to remove the currently selected row from the code table.

Copy Row

Click the {Copy Row} button to insert a new row, that is a copy of the selected row, above the currently selected row in the code table. This can save time when you want to add a font that uses the same special character codes as an existing font.

Up

Click the {Up} button to move the selected row up in the list of rules.

Down

Click the {Down} button to move the selected row down in the list of rules.

OK

Click the {OK} button to close the dialog. Translation Manager will ask you if you want to save your changes if any changes have been made to the code table.

Cancel

Click the {Cancel} button to close the dialog and discard any changes made.

OK

Click {OK} to close the “Replace Special Characters” dialog. If any changes have been made but have not been saved you will be asked whether you want to “Save”, “Save As…” or “Don’t Save” the changes.

Cancel

Click the {Cancel} button to close the Replace Special Characters dialog and discard any changes that may have been made to the character replacement settings.

Match reference file level display to original source file.

Turn on this option when you want Translation Manager to match the translated file’s reference file level display to the settings contained in the Pre-process data file. The data file, if it exists, will have the same name as the project with an “_references.dat” appended to the name and it must be in the “Destination folder” defined in the main dialog.

If this file does not exist you will need to “Pre-process” the source files with the option “Record all reference file level or layer display settings” turned on. See the chapter entitled “Pre-processing” for more information.

Replace the MicroStation color table.

Use this to change the color table that is attached to any MicroStation output (translated) files. AutoCAD does not support a custom color table, therefore this option is only available when post-processing DGN files.

Replace it with:

The choices are “Default MicroStation color table” and “User-specified color table”.

User’s color table: (with MicroStation translator selected)

Click the {Select…} button next to this field to choose the specific color table to attach to the output MicroStation files. MicroStation color table definition files by default have a “.tbl” extension.

User’s DGN containing color table: (with AutoCAD translator selected)

Click the {Select…} button next to this field to choose a DGN file that has the color table attached that you want to copy to the output MicroStation files. In most cases the DGN seed file will have the appropriate color table.

Update the view attributes. (MicroStation DGN files only)

MicroStation DGN files have eight independent views that can be accessed at any time. Each of these eight views have view attributes like grid display, fill, etc that can be set on or off for each view. After a translation to MicroStation these view attributes are frequently set differently than a user may want.

Turn on the checkbox for this option to activate it. If the design file displayed in the field below the checkbox is not the MicroStation design file that contains the view attributes you want to copy, then click the {Select…} button next to this field and choose the MicroStation design file you wish to use.

If you are using the MicroStation translator you would then click the {Get View Attributes} button. This will launch an application that will extract the necessary information from the design file for use in Post-processing. It is a good idea at this point to save your project settings at this time to include these view attributes in the project.

If you are using an AutoCAD translator the application will evaluate the selected seed file and extract the view attributes after the {Process} button in clicked.

Run MicroStation Visual Basic for Applications (MVBA) macros. (MicroStation translator only.)

Translation Manager can run a non-interactive MVBA macro as part of the Post-processing operation, making it possible for you to make innumerable changes to your output files after translating them. MicroStation VBA macros are saved into “Projects.” Each project contains one or more “Modules” and any module can contain one or more subroutines (macros). These subroutines must be non-interactive. This means they do not stop to ask the user for input.

In order for Translation Manager to run a MicroStation VBA you must tell it the Project name, Module name and Macro name. These values are then saved to an ASCII text file in the format:

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

These two examples could be added to a text file named “RunVBA1.txt”

Now you can turn on the checkbox and select the text file by clicking the {Select…} button to the right of the “Commands list file:” field and using the file selection dialog. This will load the text file name into the “Commands list file” field and Post-processing will run those two macros on all selected CAD files.

Translation Manager runs the designated VBA macros as the last step of Post-processing.

Font remap CSV path: (With AutoCAD translator only)

When the AutoCAD translator is used the translation engine does not allow you to replace fonts as part of the translation. This option allows you to replace the fonts as part of post-processing.

This field shows the path to the CSV file that remaps the fonts.

The icon controls to the right of this field allow you to select, create or edit the CSV file.

If you hover the mouse pointer over the icons they will display the following from left to right:

Browse for CSV remapping file — Select a saved or existing remapping CSV file

Edit CSV remapping file — Edit the selected CSV file in Microsoft Excel

Create CSV remapping file — Create a new CSV remapping file and open in Microsoft Excel.

If no CSV file is shown in the field and you wish to create a new one, click the {Create CSV remapping file} button. This will open a file creation dialog box. Navigate to the folder you wish to use for storing this information and create a descriptive file name for your CSV file, then click {OK}. This will cause Microsoft Excel to open with a template that contains instructions, macros and tools to help you configure the remapping.

If you want to select an existing CSV file click the icon with the "Magnifying Glass" image and select the desired CSV file. Click {OK} to load it.

If you want to modify or add remapping settings to the CSV file, click the center button. This will open Microsoft Excel and load the remapping template with the current values from the CSV file. Make your changes and then “Save” the file. A macros embedded in the spreadsheet will update the CSV file to reflect the changes. When finished, close Excel and turn on the “Apply font mapping” checkbox.

Apply font mapping.

When a valid font mapping exists in the selected CSV file this checkbox becomes available. To implement the font remapping during post-processing, turn on the checkbox.

Post-processing — Compress/Purge tab

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

The Post-processing dialog — Compress/Purge tab

This section allows you to compress (MicroStation term) or purge (AutoCAD term) various unused components of your translated CAD files.

Compress the translated CAD files.

If you want Translation Manager to compress or purge your translated CAD files turn on the “Compress the translated CAD files.” checkbox, then set the items you want compressed or purged by turning on the appropriate checkboxes from the following list:

  • Delete unused named shared cells or blocks.
  • Delete unused anonymous shared cells or blocks.
  • Delete unused line styles or line types.
  • Delete unused dimension styles.
  • Delete unused text styles.
  • Delete unused levels or layers.
  • Delete unused multi-line styles.
  • Delete unused element templates. (DGN files only)

Post-processing — Backup tab

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Post-processing dialog — Backup tab

This section controls how translated files are backed up when modifications are made to them.

Backup source files before modification.

Turn on the “Backup source files before modification” option to ensure backup files are created whenever the translated files are modified by the Post-processing “Repair”, “Drop/Explode”, “Modify” or “Compress/Purge” tools.

If this option is off an * (asterisk) will appear on the tab to warn the user that the option is off.

This option is on by default.

Backup file extension:

This controls what file extension Translation Manager will use for backup files. The default for Post-Processing is “postbkp” to ensure pre and post-processing backup files are not confused.

The backup file extension supports the use of the “?” in place of one or more of the letters. In this case the backup file created will have an extension where the “?” (question mark) is replaced by an incrementing number allowing multiple modifications to be done on the same translated files while maintaining the original after each pass.

For example “postbk?” would create “filename.postbk1” for the first backup, then “filename.postbk2” for the next, etc.

Folder for backup files:

By default Translation Manager uses the same folder as the processed files for the backup files. If you want them placed in a different folder use the {Select…} button to choose the folder.

Add on the backup file extension instead of replacing it.

When on, Translation Manager creates its backup file in the processed file’s folder by making a copy of the file and appending an additional extension to the full file name, rather than replacing the file’s original extension with the new extension. The extension that is appended is controlled by the “Backup file extension:” option above.

Example: “file.dgn” would be backed up to “file.dgn.postbkp”

Chapter 12 — Choose Files to Process

Using Axiom’s “Choose Files to Process” box

Use Axiom’s “Choose Files to Process” box to create a list of files to process. Here is an empty list (no files chosen yet):

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Adding files to the list

There are four ways to add files to the list:

  • By browsing for them with the “Browse for files” button .
  • By searching for them with the “Search for files” button , which brings up the “Search for Files” box.
  • By dragging and dropping them from Windows Explorer into the “Files to Process” list. You can open a Windows Explorer window using the button.
  • By importing an existing ASCII text file with files listed in it using “File | Import File List…”

File and Edit menus

Most of the options in the “File” and “Edit” menus are duplicated along the button bar or on the right-click menu in the “Files to Process” list.

Browse for files

Click on this button or press {Ctrl+O} to open the “Browse for Files” box:

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Select one or more files and press {Open} to add them to your list of files to process.

Search for files

Click on this button or press {Ctrl+F} to open the “Search for Files” box (with its “Basic” tab activated):

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Search in:

Choose the folder you want to search for files in. Click the “Choose a folder to search” button to browse to the folder you want to search.

Include subfolders.

Enable this if you want to search for files in subfolders too.

Search for files using:

Use this to restrict your search to files with certain names or extensions. Most users search by file extension, such as “*.dgn”.

Search for files by date:

Choose files to process based on their modification date. You can choose to search for files that were last changed before or after a specific date and time.

{Search Now}

Once you have made your file search choices, click {Search Now} to perform the search. When the search is done, you will see a count of the number of files found. Press {Add Files} to add the files to your list of files to process.

{Add Files}

After searching for files, press this button to add the found files to your list of files to process.

{Close}

Press this button to close the “Search for Files” box.

Search for Files: Advanced tab

If you want to search for files in more than one folder at a time, click on the “Advanced” tab of the “Search for Files” box (not pictured here).

Here you can choose any number of folders to search by checking them on in the folder tree.

Drag-and-drop files from Windows Explorer

Click this button or press {Ctrl+E} to open a Windows Explorer window from which you can drag and drop files or entire folders into your “Files to Process” list.

Dragging a folder into the list adds the files in that folder to the list, not the folders themselves.

Tip: You can drag files into your list from any Windows Explorer window, not just a Windows Explorer window opened by this button.

Dragging folders (not files) into the list

Dragging folders into the list is different than dragging files. Dragging files is direct — the files go right into your list. But since folders could include files you don’t want to process, dragging folders initiates a search of those folders. You can then fine-tune the search by adding or removing folders, choosing which types of files to include and limiting the search by file modification dates.

Once you’ve made your search choices, click {Search Now} to begin the search. When that’s done, click {Add Files} to add the found files to the list of files to process.

Tip: When dragging both files and folders into your list simultaneously, the files still get added to your list immediately and a search is initiated for the folders, as usual.

Remove selected files

Press this button to remove the selected files from the list.

Remove all files

Press this button to remove every file from your list.

Warning: This will clear your entire list of files. Use it with care.

Remove missing files

This removes any files from the list that cannot be found. This is available only from the Edit menu — there is no dedicated button for it.

Save list to file

Press this button or {Ctrl+S} if you want to save the currently displayed list of files to a text file that you can reuse in the future.

Tip: Import a previously saved file list using the “Import File List...” choice on the File menu or by simply dragging one or more of these .LST files into the list of files to process from Windows Explorer.

Files to Process

The object of this entire box is to put files in the “Files to Process” list.

Right-clicking on the list

Right-click anywhere in the list to see this context-sensitive menu of available actions:

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Selecting files in the list

You might want to select one or more files in the list so you can remove them. There are multiple ways to select multiple files in the list.

Using {Shift-left-click}

You can select multiple adjacent files in the list by first left-clicking on the first file then holding down the {Shift} key while left-clicking on the last file in the series.

Using {Ctrl-left-click}

You can select multiple files arbitrarily by holding down the {Ctrl} while left-clicking on each one.

Removing files from the list

There are several ways to remove files from the list:

  1. Select one or more files and click the {Remove selected files} button.
  2. Select one or more files and right-click on one of them, then choose a removal option from the menu which appears.
  3. Select one or more files and press the {Delete} key on your keyboard.
  4. Click the {Remove all files} button.

Version

Right-click on the title bar and choose “About Axiom File List Processor” to bring up a box containing version information which is useful if you are calling Axiom for support.

{OK}

Once you have chosen all the files you want to process, press {OK} to close the “Choose Files to Process” box.

{Cancel}

If you change your mind, press {Cancel} and any changes you made to your list of files to process will be discarded.

Advanced Commands

The “Choose Files to Process” box is extremely powerful and easy to use. However, for those users who want more raw power, it is possible to create a list of files to process without even picking up your mouse.

Instead of opening the “Choose Files to Process” box, you can type wildcards and other special commands directly in the file specification field in the main dialog box of the host program (for example, FileFixer’s “Which Files:” field.)

Using these commands, your list of files to process will be created automatically when you start processing. Or you can open the “Choose Files to Process” box to view and edit your list of files before you begin processing them.

This table describes the most popular of these advanced commands.

Axiom's Translation Manager User's Guide for MicroStation and AutoCAD

Chapter 13 — Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What does Translation Manager do when it gets a DWG file as input when the translation direction is MicroStation to AutoCAD?

When the format of the input files are the same as the output format Translation Manager reports the fact in the log files created when you attempt to process them.

What does Translation Manager do when it gets V7 and V8 DGN files as input when translation direction is MicroStation to AutoCAD?

Translation Manager allows both V7 and V8 DGN files to be translated to AutoCAD in the same batch of files.

What does Translation Manager do when it gets totally inappropriate types of files as input? (Such as spreadsheets, PDFs, text files and so on.)

It recognizes the improper file format and reports this in the log files created.

Chapter 14 — Infrequently Asked Questions

Working with older DWG versions when Translator = AutoCAD

If you have chosen AutoCAD as your translator and you are working with DWG files which are older than the native DWG version of the AutoCAD version you’ve chosen as the translator to use, please note that any actions (certain pre-processing modifications and any post-processing modifications) which cause Translation Manager to open those input or output DWGs in AutoCAD, AutoCAD will quietly upgrade those DWGs to its latest-supported DWG version. When translating to DWG, this isn’t  problem because the AutoCAD translator already creates DWGs in the highest version it supports. But when DWG files are your input files, this is something to keep in mind.

Note: Translation Manager causes AutoCAD to open files in non-graphics mode, so you won’t see an AutoCAD window open.

This problem will not occur when using MicroStation as the translator.

This problem will not occur (it’s not relevant) when using AutoCAD as the translator but working with DWG files that are already the native DWG version of your chosen AutoCAD version.

Extremely rare

In our experience, very few (perhaps none) of our users want to modify DWG files older than the version native to their chosen AutoCAD version. However, we’ve documented this here in order to fully inform our users of this extremely rare issue and to provide a means for you to let us know if you need Translation Manager to work differently.

Let Us Know!

If you would like a future version of Translation Manager to prevent AutoCAD from performing this silent DWG file upgrade, please let us know at Support@AxiomInt.com.

I use 32-bit Windows. Can I use Translation Manager?

We haven’t heard this question yet, as of this writing. But there is an excellent 32-bit version of Translation Manager ready for anyone who needs it.

If you still use a 32-bit version of Windows, you need Translation Manager version 3.3a. Please contact Axiom’s Licensing department for a license and download link at License@AxiomInt.com.

Chapter 15 — We’ll Make (Almost) Any Enhancements You Want

We Welcome Your Suggestions

Translation Manager is a very powerful program. Nonetheless, we realize that you, a skilled and creative CAD user, will think of ways in which it can be improved. We invite you to tell us your ideas.

For over twenty-five years we’ve listened to you, the skilled CAD professional, and have implemented the features you’ve requested. Every widely acclaimed product we’ve ever developed, including FileFixer, evolved in this manner.

We’d like to make Translation Manager perform every function you could ever imagine such a product being able to do. We intend to make you such a satisfied Translation Manager customer that you can’t wait for the next user group meeting so you can tell your friends and associates how much you like Translation Manager and how strongly you recommend it.

Your suggestions on how to improve Translation Manager are most welcome. You may email your suggestions to Support@AxiomInt.com, or call us.

Chapter 16 — New Features and Fixes

4.0a — 21 April 2017

New: Translation Manager is now a 64-bit application. This allows it to process more files and larger files than previously possible!

New: Translation Manager now supports the following additional base applications as its “Translator to use”:

  • MicroStation CONNECT
  • MicroStation V8i SELECTseries 4
  • Power GEOPAK V8i  (through SS4)
  • Power InRoads V8i (through SS4)
  • AutoCAD 2017

New: Added the ability to automatically create the destination folder if it doesn’t exist.

Fixed: An abort in Pre-processing evaluation when a multi-line text element with more than 10,248 characters was encountered.

Improved: Changed the default values of some commonly used Compress /Purge options so that users don’t have to manually turn them all on.

Improved: Many changes were made to dialogs, messages and labels to improve the user experience.

3.3a — 11 December 2015

New: Translation Manager now supports the use of different MicroStation user and project workspace components when using the MicroStation translators.

New: Added support for Windows 10!

New: To prevent files from being quietly redirected to the “VirtualStore” folders of Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 and Windows 10, Translation Manager and its installer have new default locations for the following files:

  • License files (“Axiom.lic”) now get installed to “%programdata%\Axiom\”. For example, “C:\ProgramData\Axiom\Axiom.lic”.
  • Settings files (“TransMgrSettings.xml” and “CharacterTable.csv”) now default to “%appdata%\Axiom\<product>\”. For example, “C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Roaming\Axiom\TransMgr\TransMgrSettings.xml”.3.2a — 29 May 2015

New: Translation Manager now supports the use of AutoCAD 2016 for the translation engine.

Improved: Fixed a problem that would occur if the destination folder didn’t exist at processing time. Now Translation Manager will create the folder or allow you to go back and change it.

Changed: Dropped support for Excel 97 and Excel 2000. Oldest supported Excel version is now 2003.

3.1a — 30 January 2015

New: Added support for 32-bit versions of AutoCAD (2010–2015) as the “Translator to use” choice. The corresponding 64-bit versions of AutoCAD were already supported.

New: Added a pre-processing option to drop or explode MicroStation solids to their component elements. This is especially useful for making them translate to DWG when using the AutoCAD translators.

New: Added a pre-processing option to remap fonts when using the AutoCAD translator. This is very useful for setting up MicroStation input files that use fonts which are not supported natively in AutoCAD.

New: Added support for Microsoft Excel versions back to Excel 97. The previous release required Excel 2003 or later. Microsoft Excel is used to set up remapping of symbology and fonts in Translation Manager.

Improved: Fixed a problem that would occasionally cause the components of dropped shared cells or exploded blocks to be placed on the wrong level.

Improved: Fixed a problem that would occasionally cause text produced by dropped tags or exploded block attributes to be placed on the wrong level.

3.0a — 26 November 2014

New: Translation Manager now supports the use of AutoCAD 2010–2015 64-bit as the “Translator to use”. This allows users without MicroStation to translate files to and from AutoCAD DWG and MicroStation DGN.

New: A full set of Pre-processing tools to evaluate and prepare CAD files for translation without the use of MicroStation.

New: A full set of Post-processing tools to repair and modify translated CAD files without the use of MicroStation V8.

Improved: Speed of Pre and Post-processing has been improved when processing multiple CAD files at once.

2.5c — 9 June 2014

Fixed a MicroStation abort when replacing non-Unicode special character values with longer Unicode values inside complex elements like cells or blocks.

2.5b — 7 March 2014

Fixed a bug in the Evaluate tool ({Pre-process…} | Evaluate) that prevented some DWG files with a modified “User Coordinate System” from being processed.

2.5a — 28 February 2014

New: Added Unicode character support to the Replace Special Characters tool ({Post-process…} | Modify | Replace special text characters.) Previously, this supported only characters in the ASCII range of 0–255, but it now supports characters in the Unicode range of 256–65535 as well. This improvement only applies to TrueType or AutoCAD SHX destination fonts as MicroStation fonts do not support the Unicode character.

Fixed: The Pre-processing option for converting referenced CIT or CAL raster images to GeoTIFF images was sometimes grayed out unnecessarily.

Added a check to ensure that the required DWG seed file can be found when translating from MicroStation to AutoCAD.

2.4a — 2 October 2013

New: Added support for using the AECOsim Building Designer translators.

New: Added a translation summary dialog that displays after translations are done.

Changed mutually exclusive Drop Cell or Block options to radio buttons.

All Translation Manager’s basic settings are saved under the user’s folder, to prevent permission problems, during installation. This caused problems when system administrators did the installation of Translation Manager. We now create these files for the user at startup if they don’t exist.

Fixed a rarely occurring problem that incorrectly added component elements of dropped cells or blocks to the incorrect model in translated files.

2.3a — 24 May 2013

New: AutoCAD 2013 introduces a new DWG file format, which is also used by AutoCAD 2014. This version of Translation Manager added support for AutoCAD 2013 files. Specifically:

  • Added Pre-processing support to evaluate and create data files from AutoCAD 2013 files.
  • Added support for translating to and from AutoCAD 2013 files when using the MicroStation SELECTseries3 version 08.11.09.357 or later translator. Post-processing support for AutoCAD 2013 output files also requires this version of MicroStation.

Improved: We now display the MicroStation version numbers, in parentheses, on the “MicroStation translator to use:” option button.

2.2b — 3 April 2013

Added the latest release of the “Choose Files to Process” dialog to fix problems in Windows 8.

2.2a — 26 October 2012

New: Added ability to run a MicroStation VBA macro after the translation, as part of the Post-processing step.

New: Added a Drop/Explode tab to the Pre-processing and Post-processing dialogs.

New: Added new translation options supported in MicroStation SELECTseries 3.

2.1c — 27 July 2012

Fixed a problem that prevented Translation Manager from loading when installed for the first time on a computer.

2.1b — 12 June 2012

Fixed a problem when using MicroStation V8I as the MicroStation translator, that prevented Translation Manager from creating AutoCAD 2010 files when that version was chosen for output in the translation configuration options.

2.1a — 29 May 2012

New: Added the ability to compress/purge any or all source files to Pre-processing and Post-processing.

New: Added a Post-processing feature that will apply the view attributes of a specified DGN file to all the translated MicroStation files. This only applies when Post-processing DGN files, not DWG files.

New: Added a new dialog for editing the Replace Special Characters code table.

New: Added the ability to add user-defined special characters to the code table.

Changed: The Pre-processing and Post-processing dialogs have been reorganized into multiple tabs.

Changed: The “Replace Special Characters” configuration dialog has been improved to make creation of rules very simple. Many new controls were added and additional automation was added to save users time and eliminate frustration.

Changed: Translation Manager’s main dialog box has been simplified and reorganized.

Fixed: Fixed the “Convert tags or block attributes to text” in Post-processing so it places the text on the level of the block or shared cell instance when the tag was defined on layer 0 in AutoCAD or the “Default” level in MicroStation.

Fixed: Fixed the drop/explode tools in the Pre and Post-processing dialogs so that dropped or exploded shared cells and blocks now put the component elements that were on layer 0 or the “Default” level on the same level as the shared cell instance or block.

2.0a — 21 October 2011

New: Added an option to put translated files in same folders they came from, not a “translated files” folder.

New: Added the ability to process files without translating them to a new format, to make use of Translation Manager’s remapping features.

New: Added the ability to translate V8 DGN files into V7 DGN files.

New: Added the ability to translate AutoCAD files (DWG/DXF) to V7 DGN files.

New: Added ability to run a MicroStation VBA macro before the translation, as part of the Pre-processing step.

New: Created Pre-processing and Post-processing log files to record what is done to each file.

New: Added option to change the attached color table in DGN files during Post-processing.

New: Added “Save Settings on Exit” toggle to the Project menu.

New: Added ability to convert referenced CIT raster files to georeferenced TIFF files as AutoCAD does not support CIT Xrefs.

Fixed: Made various minor bug fixes.

Changed: Made various user interface improvements.

Changed: Made various improvements to the installer.

1.1b — 19 May 2011

New: Added the ability run Translation Manager with a demonstration license. With a demonstration license, only one file at a time can be processed and graphic elements in the output files are all turned blue.

Changed: Improved the text in various error messages.

Fixed: Fixed a problem with font name extraction from DWG multiline text entities.

Fixed: Fixed a minor problem in the symbology remapping templates.

1.1a — 14 April 2011

Initial release!