Only want to display Default level?

Hey guys! We have a few hundred different levels spread across separate dgnlibs (civil, architectural, drainage, etc), all stored in the same directory. It's become quite cumbersome, and so my CAD Manager wants to change the configuration variables so we can have only the default level load when we start a new DGN file and then import our dgnlibs as we see fit. What variables do I need to set or delete so we can achieve this workflow? Currently all of our level libraries are stored in one folder on a network drive that MS points to.

  • so if I follow this correctly...you have existing DGNLIB files which contain levels that you would like to use, yet when a file is opened , you do not want to see them ?

    Timothy Hickman

    CADD Manager | CADD Department

    timothy.hickman@colliersengineering.com

    Main: 877 627 3772| 

    1000 Waterview Drive Suite 201 | Hamilton, New Jersey 08691

  • Yes, that's correct. When I create a new DGN file, all I want to see is Default - and then I want to import my dgnlibs individually as needed.
  • Nevermind, figured it out myself. Had to edit a MS_DGNLIBLIST variable in our .ucf.

    Answer Verified By: DavidFradley 

  • David,

    I don't want to disturb you, but that's the worst solution you could have choosen. Doing so means, that you have to edit each change, that is neccessary to the MS_DGNLIBLIST variable, in all of the userconfigs in your company. Normally the way would be to change your site configuration. What you've done is to overwrite the addition that was made via site configuration with the user configuration. That is meant to be used as a solution for a single user, where no admin is available and commonly no company(site) config is used.
    If you have no experience with MicroStation configuration, it is a useable way, but be prepared that you might run into problems with different configurations for different users. There are more elegant ways to influence this with a single change over the whole company.
    Even importing the dgnlibs is not the suggested way. Dgnlibs are proposed to reflect changes (i.e. added/changed levels) immediately to the users and prevent you from having more than the used levels inside your dgn files. With an import you always store all of the levels that are previously in the dgnlib inside your file, no matter if they are used or not and changes are not reflected. Even you have to teach your users which dgnlibs should be imported. The better way would be to present them only those levels, that are neccessary for a specific task by using either filters (best in my opinion) or project/interface configurations.

    Just think about !

    Michael



  • Michael, we use one .ucf hosted on our server as a company-wide set of configurations. We wanted to make the change standardized and apply to everyone in the office. While your solution is certainly more intricate, it's not necessarily needed for the way we work right now. Everyone uses the same toolboxes and key commands. We have all of our DGNlibs appropriately organized and tailored towards specific workflows as well, with easy naming conventions like "Civil," "Annotation", "Survey," etc. As far as all the levels being added when we import a dgnlib, we can always use "REMOVE UNUSED LEVELS ALL" key-in. (I believe that's it) Previously users were seeing thousands of levels whenever they'd create a new drawing, regardless of whether or not they were just drawing a boundary survey or an entire water/sewer plan. You can see why this might be cumbersome for us.

    I know it may not seem like the most intricate or in-depth solution, but we've never used the user level other than to maintain our company standards. Perhaps this isn't the way Bentley would've wanted us to do it, but it works for us.

    We are a small company with maybe a grand total of 10 draftsmen so having everyone using the same set of configuration variables makes training and assistance much easier. If you have any ideas as to how I can further improve our productivity with levels and users, I'd love to hear it. We're always looking to speed up the way we work. :)