So far in our blog series on the Explorer, found within the MicroStation CONNECT Edition, we have done an overview of the Explorer. We also talked about the capabilities of the File tab, which allows you to display the content of the file such as models, saved views, references, etc. We then talked about the Items tab, which lists business items contained in a DGN file. Business data is the real-world information associated with the items represented by the graphics in the model. Here, in Part Four of the Explorer blog series, we will take a closer look at the Explorer dialog’s Resources tab.The Explorer dialog Resources tab displays common resources being used by a DGN file. Common resources include DGN library files and the active file. Most of the content in the Explorer dialog Resources tab is read-only.
Right Clicking CategoriesExpanding each category within the Resources tab, such as Dimension Styles, Element Templates, Item Type Libraries, Report Definitions, and so on, lists items within that category or further sub-categories. Here you will discover that there are numerous capabilities when right-clicking on items. For instance, you can view, manage, and utilize content displayed in the Explorer Resources tab in the following ways:
In addition, you can Open Library or Open Library in New Session. By selecting either of these options, it will open the specific Design Library (dgnlib) that hosts those definitions. So, if you’re someone who keeps the standards for your organization, this provides a direct link to those files to make your updates to the standards when they arise.
Double-Clicking Options
Performing Searches
In the Resources tab – just like we saw in the File tab and Items tab of the Explorer dialog, you can search for objects within the tree. Based on the requirements, you can either perform a Simple search, Criteria search, or an Advanced search. In short:
Finally, it is worth taking a second to mention some familiar icons shown here:
So, the Resources tab provides a great way to display common resources being used by a DGN file as well what is available to utilize from the DGN library files.Next in Part Five of the Explorer blog series, we will take a look at the Sheet Index tab. The Sheet Index tab allows you to manage sheet indexing. A sheet index is an organized and named collection of sheet models from one or more design files.