Hello. I was wondering if there was anyone out there that would have a good example of the configuration setup for ABD? My goal is to give my users the ability to create new projects on the network from the Microstation Manager dialog. Then have those projects available in the Project drop down of the Microstation manager. I do have quite a bit of experience working with vanilla Microstation configuration files and I have also taken the BIM Managers course. It was very helpful and informative but I am still having trouble getting started with this. Slow learner, I guess. Some questions that I have are...
1. Do I need to redirect the Microstation Workspace to the network to accomplish this?
2. What is the best practice for setting up for different clients, should they be set up as different "Users"?
3. What is the best way to also have a company wide common dataset(s) repository?
John K.
John, of course you will find there are various ways to configure your workspace. Here's a quick answer to the questions you pose.
Yes, if your workspace is not redirected the projects will be created on the local hard drive. Take a look at the What's New help in SS4 "
Creating a New Project in AECOsim Building Designer".
Can be done in various ways. The way I have done it in the past and have seen it done more often than not is to use different shortcuts for different clients. The shortcuts have the command line switch that redirects the workspace to the client configuration. So my users would have ABD shorctuts for Client A, Client B, etc.
To me the direction you want to take here is to have a "corporate" workspace on the network where users can access (and possibly edit and add) the common dataset. Project specific datasets can be located in the project folders themselves. The "corporate" wide repository would be your main dataset.
There is always the US Army Corps of Engineers workspace to take a look at. It has some complexity to it, buit it is set up as a "client specific" workspace (they being the client) with desktop shortcuts to redirect the workspace and project specific datasets that the user can create data in.
Paul
Thank you Paul this is very useful information. One concern that I do have about using a corporate workspace is properly updating it when Bentley releases a new version of ABD. I suppose the best way would be to use some sort of "Beyond Compare" utility.
At a minimal level, it's usually best to add custom data vs. changing what's there, leaving the delivered files as-is. That way you can simply add your custom files to an updated core dataset.
John,
If you're interested in reading a bit more on customised workspaces then have a read at the blogs I have here:
communities.bentley.com/.../default.aspx
Happy to help more if there is anything you're interested in.
Thanks,
Unknown said: One concern that I do have about using a corporate workspace is properly updating it when Bentley releases a new version of ABD.
One concern that I do have about using a corporate workspace is properly updating it when Bentley releases a new version of ABD.
Hi John,
Check out the PDF notes in each dataset, they provide guidance on the changes in each dataset upgrade and how to incorporate them.
Regards
Marc