Connect Layout Configuration for Laptop

When setting up Connect (in this case MicroStation and/or OpenRoads Designer), what's the most effective way to have multiple screen layouts for a laptop. When at the office, the user has three screens (the laptop's and two desktop monitors) but when they're mobile they just have the laptop screen. They'd like to have an easy way to switch between the two scenarios so that their CAD screen layouts are correct in either case.

  • As each new version comes in we need more screen space. I've used 2 screens from day1 (Intergraph/MS Computing), Connect could use 3.

    Unless there is a real specific reason, I would not use the same interface set-up on your laptop that you use with the desktop.

    For space saving, things I've done (to keep from buying another monitor). Common commands/key-ins on function keys. Hide the Ribbon. Use the right click for simple tasks. Dock often used items to the left and right edge of the screen. Avoid the temptation to make the text real small, even if you can read it, your eye muscles pull, and you'll pay for this in years to come, keep stuff large enough to be easily readable.

    Connect r17 10.17.2.61 self-employed-Unpaid Beta tester for Bentley

  • Since they are using 1 machine you would need to know when they are in the two different states on that machine. They would need to switch between two upf files based on that state. The only way I can think to do this is with a system variable. They could use a batch file to help them set/switch the variable.

    Something like this;

    @echo off
    color 8E
    echo.
    set /p docked="Are you docked, Yes or No? "
    echo.
    echo Docked set to %docked%
    echo.
    pause

    Then you could set your user preference variable to be based on this variable.

    MS_USERPREF                             = $(_USTN_PREFNAMEBASE).%(docked).upf

    ~HTH

    John.

    yep

    Answer Verified By: Darren Waschow 

  • Thanks, John!

    Your solution is similar to what I have done in the past. I thought there might be a more integrated solution with Connect. It seems to me Bentley could have worked something into the new configurations that would handle multiple layouts more gracefully, as opposed to having us continue with hacky solutions like batch scripting.

  • Thanks for responding, Bob, but you missed the point of my question.