How to control Level Display in MicroStation?

                "Level Display" dialog in MicroStation is used to turn on and turn off levels in a model. This dialog contains the display control options (on/off switches): View Display, Global Display and Global Freeze as shown in below image. There is one more option: Viewport Freeze, accessible through keyin.

                Turning on or off View Display, Global Display, Global Freeze (for DGN files), or Viewport Freeze (for DWG files) is the same as thawing or freezing levels, with one difference. These settings determine whether any element(s) or reference(s) placed on that level will be or will not be displayed.

 

               

                For attached references created prior to MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries 1) - If View Display is off, or if Global Freeze or Viewport Freeze is on for the level on which the reference is placed, elements in the reference are not displayed.

                For attached references created in MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries 1) or later - If View Display or Global Display is off, or if Global Freeze or Viewport Freeze is on for the level on which the reference is placed, elements in the reference are not displayed.

View Display

                If you are in "View Display" mode, changes in the level display affect the chosen (selected) view in the active model or the level set by CAPABILITY_LEVELS_VIEWDISPLAY.

This means that when you select/deselect a level in the level display dialog, it will turn on/off that level in the selected view only. It doesn't affect other views. Thus it has a local effect.

Global Display

                If you are in "Global Display" mode, changes in the level display affect all views in all models in the open file. This means that when you select/deselect a level in the level display dialog, it will turn on/off that level in all the open views. Thus it has a global effect. If Global Display is ON and the level is not frozen, the level displays on the screen.
You can set the state of the Display flag for the specified level(s) in the specified file(s) through key-in:
LEVEL SET DISPLAY [file:file-spec]

Global Freeze

                This option is applicable to DGN files only. It indicates whether the level is frozen or not. If frozen, elements on the level are not displayed and cannot be printed. AutoCAD XREFs and layout viewports are always assigned a level, but references to DGNs can also be assigned to a level set by CAPABILITY_REFERENCE_ATTACHLEVEL.
In this mode, when you select/deselect a level in the level display dialog, it will turn off/on that level in all the open views. The changes affect all views in all models in the open file. Thus it has a global effect. If Global Freeze is ON (i.e. the level is frozen), the level will not display on the screen irrespective of whether Global Display is ON/OFF.
You can set the state of the Freeze flag for the specified level(s) in the specified file(s) through key-in:

Key-in: LEVEL SET FROZEN [file:file-spec]

Refer below video to understand the above three display modes.

Note 1: Double-click to view Full Screen Note
2: To run this video in Fire fox Click Here to download plug in.

 

Global Display vs. Global Freeze

                When the Global Freeze is turned ON, the level display is always OFF in the views irrespective of whether the Global Display is ON/OFF. However, if the "Global Freeze" is OFF, level display is ON/OFF depending on whether the Global Display is ON/OFF. Thus you can say that Global Freeze is superior to Global Display.


Refer below video to understand this difference.

Note 1: Double-click to view Full Screen
Note 2: To run this video in Fire fox Click Here to download plug in.

 

Viewport Freeze 

                This option is very similar to "Global Freeze". The difference is that this is applicable to DWG files only. In this mode, changes in the level display affect all views in only the open sheet model (DWG layout viewport). When Viewport Freeze is ON, elements on the frozen levels are not displayed and cannot be printed. CAPABILITY_LEVELS_VPFREEZE sets the viewport freeze.

                You can set the state of the viewport Freeze flag for the specified level(s) in the specified file(s) through key-in:

LEVEL SET VPFROZEN [file:file-spec]

More blogs are coming up so be there.

  • Hi everyone, Happy New Year to you all. The help pages and this thread make multiple references to 'turning on/off' the VIEW DISPLAY, GLOBAL DISPLAY & GLOBAL FREEZE. How does one know whether they are on or off? 

  • Help says:

    "If a level appears in gray text on the Model or File tab, its effective level display is off and the Follow Active View check box in the Level Display Settings dialog is off."

    I my Level option is grey, but:

    1. Level display Settings: ON

    2. (not sure what this is) effective level display - what is this?

    Thanks.

  • Is there any way of making Microstation V8i look and feel like the old Integraph system? I used Integraph for many years and also Microstation up until 1992 and was blazingly fast on it. It would run rings around Autocad. Unfortunately I had a long hiatus from Microstation but now I am faced with using V8i. I have been toiling with this ugly system now for 2 weeks and nothing seemed to either work intuitively or in a user friendly manner. For heavens sake, I can't even turn the levels on and off easily! What ever have they done to make this soooo unweildy? It used to be very simple. Are Bentley considering committing product suicide with Ustation? If not, they are going the best way about it. I would even have considered purchasing my own system if it behaved instinctively the way it used to. Now I wouldn't even give it to someone I didn't like. Please tell me there is a way to re-configure this monster into something I can use.

  • Thanks for all the informations. It's usefull.