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Using It! - 2023.2 - Change Fill Attributes
Marc Thomas
One of the nice touches in MicroStation 2023.2 is the addition of Fill Colour to the attributes that can be modified by the Change Element attributes tool: Existing 2023.2
Tue, Jan 30 2024
Configuration Tips: Use of Windows Environment variables
Marc Thomas
[Update Nov 2023: Windows PowerToys has a new module for Windows Environment Variable management, see below.] It is possible to set Configuration variables as Windows Environment Variables. This can be useful in some cases. They should generally be set…
Fri, Jan 5 2024
Theme Links
Marc Thomas
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
Configuration Tips
Setting Up in the Real World
OpenBuildings Designer
Using it…
Tue, Nov 14 2023
Configuration Tips - DGNLIBs
Marc Thomas
This is an updated version of an earlier V8i
101
article. Paths have been changes to MicroStation 2023. (In previous versions installed paths follow the pattern C:\Program Files\Bentley\MicroStation CONNECT Edition\MicroStation\. Previous paths are shown…
Tue, Nov 14 2023
Configuration Tips : Should I edit ConfigurationSetup.cfg?
Marc Thomas
[Update November 2023] From MicroStation 2023 and OpenX 2023 products onwards, we have introduced the
Manage Configuration Utility
that creates connections to one or more configurations, please follow the link for full details. This results in ConfigurationSetup…
Mon, Nov 13 2023
Using it! - 2023, CONNECT and V8i Tips Documents
Marc Thomas
I have been updating an informal training document written during my pre-Bentley consultancy days to current CONNECT Edition versions. The object of the document is to highlight some of the fundamental operational features of MicroStation and related applications…
Fri, Nov 10 2023
Configuration Tips : Move User Preferences to Non-default Locations
Marc Thomas
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…
Wed, Oct 25 2023
Using It! - Bump Tool Settings
Marc Thomas
We provide an AccuDraw shortcut to 'bump' the first tool setting shown in the Tool Setting dialog from its initial value to the next available. For example, in the SmartLine tool you can place lines and arcs: The key varies by region, it is tilde in…
Mon, Oct 9 2023
Configuration Tips - Manage Configuration Utility
Marc Thomas
From MicroStation Update 17 we include the new Manage Configuration utility. Further updates to the utility were made from Update 17.2, see below. This enables MicroStation to switch between multiple configurations allowing further control and separation…
Thu, Sep 14 2023
Configuration Tips - Adding information to the MicroStation Title Bar
Marc Thomas
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…
Wed, Sep 6 2023
Configuration Tips - Cell Libraries
Marc Thomas
Four variables will be covered here: MS_CELL MS_CELLLIST MS_CELLOUT MS_CELLSELECTORDIR The delivered standards.cfg includes the lines: MS_CELL > $(_USTN_ORGANIZATION)cell/ # Cell librariesMS_CELLOUT &n...
Tue, Aug 15 2023
Supporting Techniques - Microsoft PowerToys
Marc Thomas
Microsoft PowerToys brings a bundle of utilities to Windows, some of which are finding their way into Windows 11; the app appears to be a testing ground for new UX ideas. It can be downloaded from the
Microsoft Store
, updates are automatic and frequent…
Thu, Mar 9 2023
Site Standards - Site Resource Files and Data Files
Marc Thomas
This article was written for V8i several years ago and has now been updated to align with current versions. MicroStation's default data folder is located here: CONNECT Edition: C:\Program Files\Bentley\MicroStation CONNECT Edition\MicroStation\Default…
Sun, Sep 11 2022
Configuration Tips - Using Command Line Arguments
Marc Thomas
For administrators or others working with multiple configurations, or perhaps needed to launch MicroStation from another application, Command Line Arguments can be used to specify a number of starting criteria. These arguments, often referred to as switches…
Wed, May 25 2022
Using It! - Admin reports, AKA listing your stuff!
Marc Thomas
My colleague Shawn McGaffick wrote these four blogs on some of the useful reports that administrators or project leads can run on their data.
Reporting for CAD Administrators: Cell Count Reports
Reporting for CAD Administrators: Working Units, Scales…
Thu, Mar 17 2022
Supporting Techniques - Listing files and folders
Marc Thomas
It is often useful to obtain a list of the files in a folder to do this. The TREE or DIR commands can do this. Shift + Right-click on a folder (to save keying-in the path); pick: This opens PowerShell in that folder, type CMD and paste in the following…
Thu, Mar 10 2022
Ribbon Customisation - Commands (Custom)
Marc Thomas
Have you ever wondered what goes here? Yes, me too! This is a route to creating custom buttons containing key-in sequences that can be used in your ribbon customisation. Any key-in that you can compile and test in the key-in dialog can be added to a…
Tue, Mar 1 2022
Using It! - Adding Custom Icons to your tools
Marc Thomas
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…
Tue, Sep 14 2021
VBA - A general purpose autorun macro
Marc Thomas
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…
Wed, Sep 8 2021
Item Types - Using Item Types and Text Fields in Title Blocks - Part 1
Marc Thomas
[Update: Some of the the techniques shown here have been superseded by Excel lookups, please refer to later posts coming soon from Nov 2023] The following example shows how these two features can be used to provide some degree of automation without resorting…
Thu, Jul 15 2021
Supporting Techniques - Making Configuration Files Legible in Notepad++
Marc Thomas
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…
Wed, Jun 30 2021
Using It! - Add Frequent Tools or Places to the Quick Access Toolbar
Marc Thomas
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…
Wed, May 5 2021
Item Types - Pick Lists and Lookups
Marc Thomas
[Update: Some of the the techniques shown here have been superseded by Excel lookups, please refer to later posts coming soon from Nov 2023] I've never liked the idea of duplicate data sources and the inevitability of them becoming out of sync, never…
Fri, Apr 30 2021
Item Types - Pick List Template
Marc Thomas
[Update: Some of the the techniques shown here have been superseded by Excel lookups, please refer to later posts coming soon from Nov 2023] Pick Lists are useful when working with Items Types, they save repetitive input and aid data consistency. When…
Thu, Apr 29 2021
Using It! - Show Command Prompts at the Cursor
Marc Thomas
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…
Wed, Apr 21 2021
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