Looking under the bonnet...

For convenience here are links to search results for several of the themes on this blog: SMB - lists articles particularly relevant to smaller users in the SMB/SME sectors OpenBuildings Designer Setting Up in the Real World Using it! CONNECT Edition -…

It is possible to set Configuration variables as Windows Environment Variables. This can be useful in some cases. They should generally be set at the User level, not System level. Use of this method is usually applicable to administrators, but may also…

When you create custom tool buttons to add to the Ribbon or Quick Access Toolbar existing icons from the application may be appropriate or you may wish to create your own. Sometimes there may be an existing icon whose pattern is appropriate to follow…

In Adding information to the MicroStation Title Bar an autorun macro adds useful information to the application window title bar on file open or model close. This macro can also be used to run any other actions appropriate to file open or model close eve…

Background While working in practice and as a freelance consultant, one of my first questions in response to a user's problem, typically "why are all my references missing and showing up red", would be which project (now WorkSet) are you in (perhaps more…

The following example shows how these two features can be used to provide some degree of automation without resorting to programming. Text Fields have been a feature of MicroStation for many years, they can dynamically display a wide variety of data…

Updated June 2021 Revised XML files are linked below that contain current keyword lists for MicroStation and OpenBuildings Designer. Notepad++ is one of the best text editors around and the one I always use for editing configuration files. However out…

Like most Ribbon UI applications the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) can be customized, before stating to explore this consider where any customizations will be stored. The default is in personal.dgnlib and will only be available to the person who adds the…

I've never liked the idea of duplicate data sources and the inevitability of them becoming out of sync, never mind the tedium of double entry. Excel functions can be used to link between worksheets to allow one list of values to used in different places…

Pick Lists are useful when working with Items Types, they save repetitive input and aid data consistency. When creating pick lists of any length or when you have existing lists in some text format, it is far quicker to use Excel to create sources from…

We frequently suggest that people watch the command prompts in the status bar when learning new MicroStation based applications or techniques: You can see these prompts at your cursor during any graphic operation by adding the following configuration…

Updated version of this article, which was originally posted on 18 Aug 2017 In CONNECT Edition - Custom Configuration - Part 1 : Initial Creation Steps I described how the installer can be used to specify the location of your Custom Configuration by setting…

This is an updated version of an earlier V8i 101 article. A DGNLIB is a DGN file used for the storage and distribution of shared resources. Its internal structure is identical, only the file extension is different. Files with the .dgnlib extension are treated…

Many users have over the years set the variable MS_DEFCTBL = Company_ColourTable.tbl and then wondered why any other colour table ever shows up. The assumption being that once you set a variable for a default colour table that is what you will get. However…

Drawing Scale is a tool box I have permanently docked. In any MicroStation based application press Ctrl + T to open the Toolboxes dialog. To open Drawing Scale scroll down and tick the box, click OK: I turn off Sub Unit and ACS Scale as I rarely use…

Bentley's CONNECTION Client will, unless told not to by installation options or user preferences, offer to update enabled CONNECT Edition applications. Like most other software update features, the update offered will always be the latest release. This…

Once the ProjectWise Explorer client application is installed on a PC, integration between it and most other Bentley applications will be enabled by default. Obviously in many situations ProjectWise is used all of the time and integration is essential…

Originally published 4 Feb 2015 We have had a few questions about rounding dimensions to the nearest 5mm. This is not currently available via the Dimension Styles dialog but there are now methods available for both CONNECT Edition and V8i. CONNECT Edition…

Here are a few points on using the CONNECTION Client. As this utility is updated more frequently than our primary desktop products always go to the CONNECTION Client wiki for the latest and more extensive information. Right-click on the Tray Icon in your…

While much of the discussion about GenerativeComponents (GC) has focused on model generation, GC has always been capable of working with elements from other DGN files. In current versions the most appropriate way to make existing DGN data available to…

From Update 4 of CONNECT Edition we added new functionality to the existing Catalog URL Property. Previously this was only capable of presenting the text of a hyperlink. We now offer live links, subsequently enhanced in OpenBuildings Designer to export…

I recently updated an informal V8i training document written during my pre-Bentley consultancy days to CONNECT Edition. The object of these documents is to highlight some of the fundamental operational features of MicroStation and related applications…

Background For decades canny administrators have been locating MicroStation's user preferences on a server share for ease of management and, most importantly, to enable user profiles to roam with each user in situations where IT does not roam user profiles…

Previous articles have described how to use ConfigurationSetup.cfg to redirect your applications to a networked configuration. Another common question asks how to use our applications when out of the office or working at home (obviously pertinent to the…

We have been asked how setting out coordinates for building components can be provided using real world coordinates, when we recommend modelling close to the Design File Origin. Recent enhancements to our Reports feature combined with knowledge from our…