CONNECT Edition - What does _USTN_USER_CONFIGURATION do?

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 the value of the variable _USTN_CUSTOM_CONFIGURATION listed in "C:\ProgramData\Bentley\MicroStation CONNECT Edition\Configuration\ConfigurationSetup.cfg" to the chosen Network Configuration path; e.g.: \\hal\CONFIGURATIONS\MCE.

We also have a related variable, _USTN_USER_CONFIGURATION.

In the majority of organizations the WorkSpaces configuration level will provide the necessary granularity to support departmental or other high level business structures so a single Custom Configuration should be sufficient to meet the organization's needs for production.

However from a support perspective it is useful if not essential (and now easier!) to have a work in progress or test copy of the operational Custom Configuration.

Simply define (and this is a manual CFG edit, which is fine in an administrative context) _USTN_CUSTOM_CONFIGURATION to specify the WiP Custom Configuration, e.g.:

_USTN_USER_CONFIGURATION=D:/_CONFIGURATIONS/MCE_U6_WiP/

in either:

• the administrators Personal.ucf
  (Please note that currently the UCF cannot be set to roam, this will be addressed in a future update, hopefully MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 12.) 
• add the -WR command line switch when running MicroStation, typically in a copied shortcut, e.g. :
  "C:\Program Files\Bentley\MicroStation CONNECT Edition\MicroStation\microstation.exe" -WRD:\_CONFIGURATIONS\MCE_U6_WiP\
• the ConfigurationSetup.cfg on the administrator's machine (although we discourage editing this file!)

Once that variable is added a third option, User Configuration, will appear when selecting a WorkSpace:

I strongly recommend that this is only used for the administrative purposes described above, it is unnecessary for production use.