When I came on board at Bentley Systems it was the mid-90’s. The internet had just started its glory days. I was asked to monitor a news group that was on then still new World Wide Web and answer questions posted by our users. That news group was a public forum in which MicroStation users and programmers alike posted questions and answers and exchanged ideas. At that time all of these news groups were text only…
MicroStation's arbitrary dimension is comparable to AutoCAD's oblique dimension. They both allow extension lines to be rotated. A major difference, however, is that they measure different distances: MicroStation measures parallel distance between the two extension lines whereas AutoCAD measures the distance between the two definition points. An example is shown in below picture:
When you initially place an arbitrary…
DWG format does not really have a linear unit concept and it really is a unitless system. There is no reliable way to determine what units are used in a DWG file. There are two system variables that suggest units: unit format and design center units.
Unit Format:
Decimal, Architectural, Engineering, Fractional, Scientific
Design Center Units:
Unitless, Inches, Feet, ......, Millimeters, Meters, ......
The…