[CE] Task Menus - What does Bentley Consider to be the Connect Replacement

Basically you're stuck with the ribbons unless you start working on other interface options like screen menus, vb apps etc. I have a similar issue with an extensive build I just can't deliver as effectively using the ribbon interface. an interface I have issues with in the first place. One option I have looked at which we will use to some extent is to use named expressions to control turning on and off different ribbons. It's an easy way to deliver discipline ribbons like we used to do with tasks, but it's far from being as neat. 

Hi Chuck,

I agree a move to new interface can easily be the most complex and painfuil part of the migration, especially when a former customization is complex.

I do not know ORD well enough to evaluate how and why tasks break its GUI, but to use tasks during the migration is not bad idea. But at the same time you should be aware tasks were added during beta testing as "temporary solution" and as far as I know there is no public plan how they will be supported and when they will be removed from MicroStation. So to think about and to be prepared for ribbon should be planned even when tasks are enough for the first migration step.

I agree with Bear that there are more options in MicroStation CONNECT Edition GUI and it's not about ribbon only. As Bear wrote, you can customize and combine:

• ribbon
• ribbon popups (displayed using a spacebar)
• screen menu
• applications dialog (VBA, C++, NET)

I see several "GUI migration problems":

• People hate ribbon: Despite of there are some disadvantages of ribbon, very often the dislike is based on personal opinion only, without any serious facts. It's hard to argue in such situation.
• Ribbon is different, so when the migration is done mechanically (e.g. task > workflow), the results are not good sometimes, because you can see tasks at once, but you have to switch between workflows).
• People are not aware of other options like screen menus and ribbon popups, so they try to add to ribbon features that should be implemented in a different way.
• Named Expressions can help to make much better/flexible/responsive ribbon than you can imagine, but even admins are often not aware what Named Expressions are and how they can be used.
• Not all ribbon features are accessible using normal customization tools, especially context sensitive tabs: They are typically displayed when a specific event is raised (e.g. when table is selected, table-specific tabs are displayed), so they can simplify ribbon rapidly. But this feature can add to the ribbon using XML definition, which is more developers' task, not admins (and the description is part of API documentation).

Personally I know users who are happy with ribbon, but they often invested substantial time to understand how new GUI works and to customize it. But I am also aware of some workflows and requirements, where best practice or commonly accepted solution has not investigated yet.

With regards,

  Jan

Took me a bit to give them a go, but these days I use Named Expressions extensively. Well worth putting the effort in to have a play and see how they work. These might help as well:

https://communities.bentley.com/other/old_site_member_blogs/peer_blogs/b/bear_blog/posts/microstation-connect-control-workflows-via-named-expressions

https://communities.bentley.com/other/old_site_member_blogs/peer_blogs/b/bear_blog/posts/the-build-part-6-named-expressions

What do you show and hide based upon Named Expressions?

I have looked at these, but ran into an issue. In our barmenu based workspace, we allow users to manually swap to another barmenu after the default one opens for a particular file type. I could not determine if you could provide users with a way to show or hide ribbon tabs on demand.

Hi Chuck,

caddcop said:

What do you show and hide based upon Named Expressions?

well ... anything :-)

You can use from top to down, from workflows to individual icons / tools.

I remember customizations where e.g. tabs and its content were hidden based on loaded application(s) and/or defined configuration variables.

caddcop said:

In our barmenu based workspace, we allow users to manually swap to another barmenu after the default one opens for a particular file type. I could not determine if you could provide users with a way to show or hide ribbon tabs on demand.

I am not quite sure whether I understand fully your workflow (and what barmenu is), but a few comments:

• Sometimes it's dangerous to think in terms how a workflow was implemented in V8i GUI, because it was designed based on V8i GUI (or even older) features/behaviour/limites. CONNECT Edition is different in some areas, so whereas some customization makes sense to migrate 1:1, some is better to rethink from scratch.
• For me a biggest limitation is where ribbon is updated, because at this time Named Expressions are re-evaluated. To use "ribbon rebuild" key-in is not very fast, but well ... it works.
• I always think "should it really be displayed / available to user"? When properly designed, one ribbon workflow can contain a huge amount of tools (some using small icons, some in drop down menus), but to design it properly to allow quick and logical navigation is a long term task.

With regards,

  Jan