Civil Projects should be set up properly to maximize integration, collaboration, flexibility and resilience (the ability to automatically adjust to project changes and new and changing data).
Civil Project consists of a number of important aspects:
Standards conformance is achieved by selection of a proper workspace. With ProjectWise Managed Workspaces, projects can be set up so that opening or creating a design file automatically calls and adheres to the project workspace. Without ProjectWise the user selects a Workspace and Workset to adhere to proper standards.
Workspaces are developed and made available by agencies. Bentley provides immersive robust workspaces with the software. Companies can develop their own from scratch or, more commonly, deriving them from Bentley or client workspaces.
Please refer to Project Administration training for details.
File Setup
Bentley recommends a federated file setup: breaking the project into a hierarchy of design files segregated by function, phase and other logic to facilitate intuitive project management. In legacy systems there was a significant loss of functionality if data was in reference file versus being in the active file. CONNECT architecture eliminates that loss; manage your project data at file level, logically.
Technology such as Live Reference Nesting and techniques such as project container files allow live propagation of new and updated data throughout a project automatically.
Many Civil Training courses have an opening chapter setting up a project's files (although, there is not yet a short course on these Best Practices).
Design Files outside the "Traditional" Roadway Footprint
Bentley's CONNECTed Data Environment (CDE) is built on the DGN. Any dgn file with a GCS assigned to it should reference in seamlessly, be it geotechnical, bridge, building, etc. Files without a GCS will need to be manually located.
DWG files can be referenced.
Non-DGN Files
Some non-dgn files are spatially-aware and reference in directly. ContextCapture .3mx files can be attached as references natively.