Ch.8: Annotating Designs


MicroStation Basics for Civil Designers - Chapter 8: Annotating Designs

Annotation, such as text, dimensions, labels, patterns and hatching, helps design features stand out. It is critical to a design by providing the means to communicate pertinent information and design intent.

This video series contains exercises that utilize methods to embellish a set of site plans. You will utilize tried and true annotation tools found from previous generations of MicroStation that have remained through the latest generation, the MicroStation CONNECT Edition. With the MicroStation CONNECT Edition, it continues to build upon an already broad and extensive portfolio of annotation tools.

This video is an overview of this video series. In this video series, you will discover how to embellish a design with a wide variety of annotation tools found in the MicroStation CONNECT Edition.

https://youtu.be/Gr-zGeOFoP8

In this video series, use annotation scale with a variety of tools to place text, dimensions and cells. You will utilize features such Text Styles, Fields, and Favorites. Place Notes, Callouts and Tables. As well as, place Hatching and Patterning.

Part 1: Annotation Scale

In this video, you will learn about the applications of Annotation Scale and how it can influence MicroStation elements such as text, dimensions, and cells.

https://youtu.be/w2vlrTb4KVQ

https://youtu.be/tpSaCjZLkEk

Part 2: Placing Text with Different Text Styles

The easiest way to define the appearance of text is by using predefined text styles. Text elements placed with a text style are automatically updated if the text style is modified. In this video, you will place text quickly and correctly to label existing and proposed features.

Part 3: Place Text

In this video you will label the proposed building along with supporting information about the building.

https://youtu.be/OSFGKq8bdi4

https://youtu.be/XPMQcpDhk5c

Part 4: Edit Text

Once text is placed into a design, often is the case that you will need to come back and make some sort of edits to that existing text. This can range anywhere from adding or removing text, fixing misspellings as well as changing the properties of text. In this video, you will use the Find/Replace utility to quickly fix a text error in a detail.

Part 5: Changing Text

When a text string is selected for editing, it appears in the text editor. In addition to changing the text content, you can also change the text style and a variety of text attributes. Once the changes have been made, enter a data point in the view to update the text in the design. In this video, you will fix a note on a detail that was placed incorrectly.

https://youtu.be/XE--wLcwCEI

https://youtu.be/J0mz37wSXls

Part 6: Place Table

You can place tables in MicroStation using the Place Table tool. Once placed, you can perform formatting operations on a table. If you ever have worked with Microsoft Excel, then your experience will be very similar with tables in MicroStation CONNECT. In this video, you will bring in an existing table from Excel.

Part 7: Place Note

When using the Place Note tool you can place lines of text with a leader line and arrow, or a callout without a leader. In this video you will use the place note method to label the site features such as curbing, property lines, amongst others.

https://youtu.be/1_QQzEva6fg

https://youtu.be/GB0EUjdbMjQ

Part 8: Labeling Drainage Components

In this video, you will utilize the Place Label tool by placing label cells that are used to describe elements. If the label cell definition contains text fields, the fields will be updated based on the individual element being labeled, including any attached item data.

Part 9: Place Callout

When using the Place Note tool you can place lines of text with a leader line and arrow, or a callout without a leader. In this video you will use the callout method to label the amount of parking stalls per parking bay.

https://youtu.be/ierma3tv6Vs

https://youtu.be/fAfz0ITESdw

Part 10: Place Linear Dimensions

MicroStation has many dimensioning tools. Additionally, a variety of dimension attributes defines the appearance of dimensions. The easiest way to set these dimension attributes is by using predefined dimension styles. Dimension elements placed with a dimension style are automatically updated if the dimension style is changed.

Which tools the Dimension Element tool offers depends on the type of element you select. As you saw, if you select a linear element, the tool presents itself with linear options. However, if you select a radial element such as an arc or circle, the tool will present itself with radial options within the tool settings window.

Part 11: Radial Dimensioning

In this video, you will learn how to dimension the curb radial.

https://youtu.be/EjwPgo_sWcQ

https://youtu.be/TyGP6vlvbY8

Part 12: Create a Custom Dimension via Text Favorites

In this video, you will create a custom radial dimension by creating at text favorite that contains a text field. In the tool settings you will enable the setting to create element associations. That way, the dimension text will always be relative to the element properties that you are identifying.

Part 13: Multi-Leadered Notes

When placing notes, it is possible to draw multiple leaders from the same text by holding the Ctrl key while placing data points. In this section, you will callout the radii for the concrete dumpster pad.

https://youtu.be/cKDjhw9zqnk

When placing dimensions, you may need to come back and modify or edit the dimension in one way or another to further embellish the design.

https://youtu.be/rpmsXLt8uA8

Part 14: Change Dimensions

It is possible to edit the dimension text of existing dimensions, or to change its appearance by applying another dimension style. You can even modify the geometry of a dimension element, by moving the dimension line or text, or by adding, moving, or removing extension lines.

Part 15: Pattern Area

Patterning can be a great way to embellish a design. In this video, you will use the Pattern Area tool to create a concrete stippling pattern for the concrete dumpster pad as well as the sidewalk encompassing the proposed building.

https://youtu.be/u1Baezlwkiw

In this video, you will embellish the proposed building by creating a hatch pattern. Since the proposed building is a reference, you will need to place the pattern in that file.

https://youtu.be/kpy2sBKd3xc

Part 16: Hatching

There are a variety of ways to place the pattern there; open the DGN file the tradition way, perform a file exchange on the reference like you did in an earlier exercise or, in this case, perform an in-place edit. You do this by “Activating” the reference so that you can work directly within that file while never really leaving the current DGN.

Parent topic: Civil Designers