Explode symbol without losing symbol attributes?

Hi Yi. What format are you delivering the drawings? What is the end goal? Is it to allow your client to change symbol text, for example, without having promis.e?

I just opened a DGN file for a project page in plain MicroStation and was able to change symbol text and title block text by double-clicking it, which opened the text or tag editor as the case may be. I had to unlock title block related levels first. Note that this should not be done with the intent of using a marked up DGN file as a project page again - there would be discrepancies between the DGN file and the project database.

If the intent is to protect your symbols from being "stolen" and re-used by the client, I don't know if exploding the symbols (if that were possible) would make them much harder to steal. I guess it depends what the destination software is.

Hi Matt

Thank you for you reply. What my supervisor want to achieve is that, every symbol is exploded into single lines instead of a smart symbol in promis.e. That's the way we usually do to issue our drawings in autocad. So we want to do it in the same way in promis.e, but when I explode my symbols, the text of the symbols will disappear. That's my concern, is there anyway we can explode it without losing the text?
Thank you

Hi Matt

Thank you for you reply. What my supervisor want to achieve is that, every symbol is exploded into single lines instead of a smart symbol in promis.e. That's the way we usually do to issue our drawings in autocad. So we want to do it in the same way in promis.e, but when I explode my symbols, the text of the symbols will disappear. That's my concern, is there anyway we can explode it without losing the text?
Thank you

I'm not sure this is what you are looking for, but here is a possible procedure:

1. Copy the project using Project Manager to preserve the original project as a functioning promis.e project. Might not be a bad idea to backup the project too.
2. Open a project page in the copy of the project.
3. Use the display toggles to hide symbol text you do not want to see, such as connection points, terminal connection point text, part numbers, etc.
4. Select All (CTRL+A).
5. Press Enter or select Utilities > Key-in and enter CHANGE TAGS DROPTEXT to convert symbol text, which are tags, to plain text. Text such as device IDs and connection points can now be selected and edited.
6. Click the drawing area to accept the drop.
7. Select All (CTRL+A).
8. Press Enter or select Utilities > Key-in and enter DROP COMPLEX.
9. Click the drawing area to accept the drop. Symbol geometry should now be individual elements.
10. Repeat steps 2 through 9 for the remaining pages.

Again, this is a one-way trip.

Wouldn't this be easier using express tools? There is a function called 'explode attributes' which explodes while changing attribute names to the text that was in those fields.

The answer was for promis.e Standalone, which has an integrated MicroStation based platform (it does not run on AutoCAD).