Let me get one thing straight, this isn’t meant as an attack on any one group and I’m not trying to single any group out. This is just my opinion on where I think the effort and skills should come from after almost 20 years in the industry.
I’ve always had a strong opinion when it comes to CAD Administration and Management, having been in this area now for the past 10 to 15 years, that CAD Administration…
It’s a subject that has fascinated me for most of my working life. Why are companies so against training staff to get the experience they are after? I don’t mean training in how to do the job, but why overlook a very good candidate purely because they don’t have experience in one program or another? A good candidate will have experience in a number of different packages and should be able to get up to speed in a short…
A little while ago I wrote about the lack of training on offer for positions. Well lately it looks as though employers are looking for Superman with the list of requirements being asked for.
Let’s face it, how many Lead Designers do you know who can also administrate both AutoCAD and MicroStation with experience in VB, basic macros and LISP? More to the point, just how many people will actually apply for these positions…
It’s a feeling I’ve had from time to time while trying to justify my existence to different people and companies. The reality is that many firms have tried to go down this path, in one way or another, only to end up with the wrong person and approach and be sworn off employing the right person for the job.
So, what should you be looking for when it comes to a CAD Administrator and why are they necessary?
I hope you're going well during these hard times. It's certainly left me penty of time to ponder the future of the industry as well as mine. Lets add to this time to go over software updates and builds and there's some interesting times ahead.
So, let's get to it.
set construct toggle; selview all; update all
This is a really easy way to turn off construction elements and refresh views all in one go. I…
Well, if you'r a regular reader I hope I haven't fried your brain with how my builds work. In the end, the build is about making it easier to deliver packages across the company no matter where the designers are and it can be managed from a single location. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a message and I'll help where I can.
So, back to a few of the basics.
If you use a similar process to your…
As a CAD Admin and Manager we can easily forget the little things that make day to day use of packages easier. Lately, I've been working with some mates from way back and while they love the new toys I've been working on, it's still the little things that make things easier.
With AECOsim (OBD) and MicroStation, keyins via function keys or even custom menus can be very handy.
For instance, we occasionally need…
So, while we've had changes to the configs between V8i and Connect, the key to have all of this work using the same app is that we haven't had to change the code to the base CADmanage app. All of the work for Connect is happening at the config end in the application.
We had our first look at this in our last article. For Connect we've had to move to a new std_appl.cfg file. This had been more around working with…
It's been a while since I've had time to sit down and put some updates together. I've been wanting to share some updates for while, but rather than bombard you all at once I'll split down what I've done to date into OBD and OPM.
If you've missed things to date, you can have a quick read here:
The basics are still the…
We're all wired differently. Me, I like to have things simplified when it comes to my tools. Like our first article on 'Work Smarter, Not Harder', this is where the VB Forms continue to make it easier to deliver a more cohesive interface.
This time we're going to have a look more at View tools:
As someone who likes to use full screen view for modelling and 2D, the key to making…
It's the little things that can make the difference when it comes to different CAD packages and the versions changes that can create confusion and slow people down.
One way I work around this is to create custom GUI tools that are portable from version to version. That way, no matter what versions users face, the Company tools remain the same.
For the jump from AECOSIM to Open Building Designer this was a big advantage…
So, what does STD_APP have to do with anything?
Well, while worrying about how to sort out everything else, I forgot one thing. Up until now I’ve been able to keep applications separated from each other, but with Workspace\Workset, most of the application files are stored at the Workset level and what became really apparent is that there’s no consistent approach across all of the products on how directories are installed…
I tried. I really did try.
We had a win with MicroStation, No workspace and no workset. Only to have it taken away again by the developers of the other applications.
The reality is Bentley developers have decided to change the way applications, and their configurations, run and load.
In the past we’ve had the freedom to chop and change how we pleased. For some of us it’s meant a complete customization of the front…
One of the first issues raised during the beta process was the changes to the location of user files. During beta and the initial release of Connect, user preference files were locked to be stored as part of the user windows location. This caused quite a stir:
https://communities.bentley.com/administrators/archived-communities/microstation_early_access_program/f/microstation-connect-edition-eap---forum/106332/eap3-…
This next series of blogs have been more than a few years in the coming. Any of you who have been around Bentley products since the days of version 4 and 5 know just some of the frustration many of us have with Connect. Right or wrong, these are just my opinions and my journey to get me to where I am today. I hope that there are at least some lessons in here that can't be learnt by all parties. So, I hope you get at…
It disappoints me when I see suggestions like those in https://communities.bentley.com/products/plant/w/plant_design_and_engineering__wiki/28289/how-to-configure-openplant-modeler-to-use-workspace-from-shared-location when options exist to avoid editing local cfg files.
I was lucky enough to come across this one from one of the Bentley Developers. You CAN use a custom cfg file in the appl directory.
The key here is to…
Been meaning to add this for a while. It's the base cut-out for your keyboard so you can list what you have on your function keys. I find this great for new users especially. Easy enough to customise for different keyboard styles.
With so many changes between V8i and Connect it’s been a lot of work to go through how we can have the same control over custom interfaces, especially when we want these customisations to be dynamic. One way in which we can create a dynamic Workflow is with the help of Named Expressions. If you’ve not used these before, then check out one of my earlier blogs:
http://communities.bentley.com/other/old_site_member_blogs…
It’s something, to me at least, that’s just stating the obvious, but so many firms seem to fail the test on many levels. This isn’t just about how standards are implemented, but having them in the first place. I find it hard to believe that in this day and age firms and senior staff are incapable of implementing even the most rudimentary of standards for a design office.…
So, what should you be looking for when it comes to a CAD Administrator and why are they necessary…
It’s probably the most asked question for any new starter when it comes to playing with cfg files and setting up your own build. As far as many of us are concerned, the golden rule of cfg editing is:
‘ Don’t edit any of the delivered cfg files.’
There is no negotiation in this one as you’re only opening yourself up to issues with versioning and much more.
OK, with that rule burned…
In last nights tech tip:
http://communities.bentley.com/other/old_site_member_blogs/peer_blogs/b/bear_blog/archive/2013/12/11/tech-tip-easy-method-of-locking-variables.aspx
I mentioned that the lock cfg files will only effectively work if we bypass the need for pcf files. The reality for many of us is that the fixed approach Bentley takes to cfg load order just isn't adequate. To be honest, the beauty of Bentley products…
Not long to go now to Christmas so I've got a bit of catching up to do. I hope to have a few more blogs out to keep you all going until after the Chrissie break.
Tonight I was to go through a really easy way of locking your variables from a single cfg file.
You may remember the Config Loading tech tip I put up:
http://communities.bentley.com/other/old_site_member_blogs/peer_blogs/b/bear_blog/archive/2012/10/09…
I've always tried to share what I can as it's hard enough to find admin docs on many of the applications Bentley now own, and my recent dive into ProSteel on MicroStation (PS) was no different. In fact, it's probably been one of the harder applications I've played with in recent times. More on that throughout this blog.
As with all of the applications I work with, my main aim was to be able to deliver…