How to copy elements from one .dgn to another

Hi All:

How do you copy elements from one .dgn file to another and keep the elements at the same x, y.

In AutoCad I would copy and paste at 0,0...but can't find the command in Microstation.

Thanks!

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  • If you've ever tried to copy elements from an XREF in AutoCAD, you might think the process in MicroStation is fraught with peril, but MicroStation's Reference Files are far more flexible and friendly than AutoCAD.

    The idea of attaching a reference file to copy a few elements from another file seems very foreign to an AutoCAD user, but long before either of these packages supported the Windows Clipboard, that was the only way to do this. In AutoCAD, you would have to WBLOCK out the elements and INSERT and EXPLODE to accomplish the same thing. And that left the DWG sitting somewhere on your drive.

    With the MicroStation workflow, the preocess was simple and fast. And everyone used the XY, DX, DL keyins all of the time, so they were like second nature.

    This process also allowed you to fix global origin or datum shifts. You could use the move reference command to get the reference file into the proper datum and coordinates and then copy or merge the data into the active file. All you needed was one point of commonality in both files to line up and if the master units were identical, set a scale of 1:1 and even adjust for working units discrepancies.

    Charles (Chuck) Rheault
    CADD Manager

    MDOT State Highway Administration
    Maryland DOT - State Highway Administration User Communities Page

    • MicroStation user since IGDS, InRoads user since TDP.
    • AutoCAD, Land Desktop and Civil 3D, off and on since 1996
  • caddcop:

    The idea of attaching a reference file to copy a few elements from another file seems very foreign to an AutoCAD user, but long before either of these packages supported the Windows Clipboard, that was the only way to do this. In AutoCAD, you would have to WBLOCK out the elements and INSERT and EXPLODE to accomplish the same thing. And that left the DWG sitting somewhere on your drive..

    yes I remember when the windows clipboard command became available in AutoCAD, and it was just as you describe before the command was available

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  • caddcop:

    The idea of attaching a reference file to copy a few elements from another file seems very foreign to an AutoCAD user, but long before either of these packages supported the Windows Clipboard, that was the only way to do this. In AutoCAD, you would have to WBLOCK out the elements and INSERT and EXPLODE to accomplish the same thing. And that left the DWG sitting somewhere on your drive..

    yes I remember when the windows clipboard command became available in AutoCAD, and it was just as you describe before the command was available

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