Loading Hydraulics and Hydrology products into a custom MicroStation workspace

Applies To 
Product(s): WaterGEMS, WaterCAD, HAMMER, SewerCAD, StormCAD, SewerGEMS, CivilStorm, PondPack
Version(s): CONNECT Edition, V8i
Area:  Installation
Original Author: Jesse Dringoli, Bentley Technical Support Group

Problem

Is it possible to load one of the above OpenFlows products (such as StormCAD) in a custom MicroStation workspace?

Solution

It is possible to include OpenFlows product functionality into a custom workspace by making some adjustments to some of the files associated with the workspace. The general steps are similar whether you are using MicroStation CONNECT Edition or MicroStation V8i, with the differences being mainly related to the terminology used. Below are the steps for both versions of MicroStation.

MicroStation CONNECT Edition 

When using an OpenFlows product with MicroStation CONNECT Edition, a specific Workspace related to the Product will be need to be used in order to apply the product functionality. For example, for SewerGEMS for MicroStation CONNECT Edition, the Workspace will be OpenFlows and the Workset will be SewerGEMS. If you change these in SewerGEMS for MicroStation, the SewerGEMS functionality will not be available. 

However, it is possible to edit your custom workspace's CFG file to include the information necessary to load the OpenFlows product Workspace. Open the CFG file corresponding to your product name (such as SewerGEMS.cfg) from the following folder: C:\ProgramData\Bentley\MicroStation CONNECT Edition\Configuration\WorkSpaces\OpenFlows\Worksets. Copy the lines of code from this file and paste into your custom workspace CFG file. Background: this CFG file loads the file <productname>Connect.cfg (ex: SewerGEMSConnect.cfg) which then loads the dgnlib files from the OpenFlows product x64 subfolder that are necessary for the product integration to function.

When you do this and switch to the custom workspace, the OpenFlows functionality will still be included:

Note: MicroStation CONNECT Edition integration is available starting with 10.03.04.53 release of the Storm and Sewer products and starting with 10.03.05.03 of the Water products.

MicroStation V8i

When using an OpenFlows product with MicroStation, a specific User and Project with settings related to the product is used in order to include the product functionality. For example, if you are using StormCAD for MicroStation V8i, you will see the User and Project default to "stormcad". If you were to change to a custom workspace, the StormCAD functionality would no longer be available. However, it is possible to load an OpenFlows product in a custom MicroStation workspace.

First, you will need to copy the lines of code from the OpenFlows product's Project Configuration File and paste into your configuration file/workspace.

For details, read the below Troubleshooting MicroStation Integration wiki, with special attention to "2) PCF file". Open the PCF file in a text editor and copy the lines near the top that look similar to this:

%if !exists ($(MS_STORMCAD_ROOTDIR)config/appl/stormcad.cfg)
%error Unable to locate required $(MS_STORMCAD_ROOTDIR)config/appl/stormcad.cfg file, exiting...
%endif
%include $(MS_STORMCAD_ROOTDIR)config/appl/stormcad.cfg

These lines can be placed on your specific user UCF file or Project PCF file, or incorporated into your custom workspace.

Note: This workflow will also work if you want your program to work inside some Bentley products that work inside of MicroStation, such as OpenUtilities.

See Also

Troubleshooting MicroStation Integration

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