Multiple workspaces - configuration

We do it by setting the Windows variable _USTN_WORKSPACEROOT to the networked workspace.

This is the only thing which is done on the client, the rest is configured on the server.

No need to do anything when a new Microstation is installed on the client either.

I mean i want each user to have the choice of workspace - choose between 4 or 5 diferent workspaces typically...

What do you mean by "Windows" variable anyway?

I got cha.

There probably is many ways to do it.

I could have a full standards file but right no only two lines

And all the users point to what I'd need.  If they needed a different dataset a single setting change and it would be done.

I am playing with this now as for years I've had just one standard file and nothing else.  then years before that only the msconfig file.

My big but slow process is to figure this into three groups.

Standards for all

User Config per project group or client, or maybe even year.

then Job set for very few items I don't want to use.

I've got the idea but it is slow growth.

Sure Eric, understand. However I find that in the end a lot better for me to have the entire Workspace per AECOSIM Building Designer Client - in outsourcing, our Clients send their own data (full Workspace inc. Building Dataset, Company Dataset Extensions etc) and it would really be way too complicated to try and accomodate all that in one Workspace - in fact probably impossible since they often have their own "includes" at site level - added .cfg etc etc etc

But I find now that a software shortcut per Client is not bad at all, I can then link that to my office management system based on job number and force a shortcut depending on job number... Reasonably user friendly - considering how user UN-friendly Bentley products generally are...

I'll try again.

Personally, don't edit any of the delivered cfg files installed with MicroStation. Instead, I would use a custom cfg file that you can copy into the config/appl directory of the apps/s your using. One easy way to do this is to use a batch file as a start-up instead of short-cuts. I've just written a blog on this at:

communities.bentley.com/.../batch-over-short-cut-part-1.aspx

You could easily have a cfg file for each client and set/lock the variables in the same cfg leaving ucf files for other user based requirements. I'll have some more on this over the next week.

Your main site is set by:

_USTN_SITE

More on how to do this on my other blogs:

communities.bentley.com/.../default.aspx

Your different datasets can be set in the pcf file by the variables mentioned in my post in your other thread of client cfg files you can build into your own custom build. This is how I do mine, no pcf files required.

Thanks Bear, appreciate that but honestly way way too complex for me.

Besides I do need to boot the application in a fully separate workspace for each client, a lot ''cleaner'' since there are just so many items that are specific to each.

So in the end multiple mslocals , multiple workspaces and multiple shortcuts do the job. Simple and pretty much bullet-proof.

To put it in perspective, I am talking say about half a dozen Clients max. outsourcing to us for BIM Bentley work on their projects. Above that number, might become cumbersome... Hopefully we will have that problem further down the track ;-)

As we can see there are many ways to set up client specific, company specific, dataset specific configurations.

A lot of what I see CAD/BIM managers doing is setting up shortcuts for each specific workspace, each shortcut points to a specfic configuration file, which defines the workspace location, thus using the client standards. Project configuration files can define the datasets, user configuration files can define user specific things like, for example, each user having their own function key menu.

Mslocal.cfg is not changed in this method. The users need the shortcuts added to their machines, that is all I need to do to "touch" their machines.

To do this the "-wc" command line argument is used. Here's an example of what a shortcut looks like in Configuration Explorer's Shortcut Creator tool:

Here is a list of command line arguments available for Bentley DGN based applications (from the Configuration Explorer help):

As we can see there are many ways to set up client specific, company specific, dataset specific configurations.

A lot of what I see CAD/BIM managers doing is setting up shortcuts for each specific workspace, each shortcut points to a specfic configuration file, which defines the workspace location, thus using the client standards. Project configuration files can define the datasets, user configuration files can define user specific things like, for example, each user having their own function key menu.

Mslocal.cfg is not changed in this method. The users need the shortcuts added to their machines, that is all I need to do to "touch" their machines.

To do this the "-wc" command line argument is used. Here's an example of what a shortcut looks like in Configuration Explorer's Shortcut Creator tool:

Here is a list of command line arguments available for Bentley DGN based applications (from the Configuration Explorer help):

Good stuff Paul, thanks for that.