Powerdraft = a Microstation drop-in replacement ?

Hello, I'm a system administrator (responsible for printing and graphical applications) for a water-distribution company in Belgium. We use a mixture of Bentley Microstation, AECOsim, AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT and other design software in our line of work. Why we have so many different ones has historical causes, I'm not going into that. But I am convinced that we should go all-Bentley, certainly for all the big projects.

Currently we have 32 concurrent-use licenses of Microstation. But my reports indicate me that we are constantly brushing the limits of our license file and we have no room for more users or usage. A consultant pointed out that we could just as well use Powerdraft instead of Microstation V8i, as we don't use the advanced features that differentiate MiSt. from PoDr. anyway. If that were so, I could replace installations of MiSt. with PoDr., and have more usage licenses, so that I could push the usage of Bentley products more. (at an exchange rate of 8 PdDr. to 5 MiSt.) 

But do have a some questions.

- is Powerdraft 100% compatible with Microstation?

- Does Powerdraft accept the startup settings, used by and for Microstation, and reacts in the same way?

- Are user-interface configurations, made for Microstation, taken over by Powerdraft?

Only if all 3 questions can be answered as YES, can I continue to opt for a migration from one to the other.

Regards,

Jan

  • PowerDraft provides a sub-set of MicroStation functionality.  For the sort of 2D network mapping in your business, the absence of advanced 3D tools and visualisation is unlikely to cause you any problems.  You can of course retain one or two licenses for full MicroStation if you do have an occasional need for visualisation.

    It's always tricky to answer questions about configuration, which are by definition site-specific.  Under the terms of your SELECT agreement, I believe that you should be able to obtain a license of PowerDraft for evaluation.  That evaluation would give you an opportunity to test your start-up settings and custom user interface.

     
    Regards, Jon Summers
    LA Solutions

  • Hi Jan,

    Unknown said:
    is Powerdraft 100% compatible with Microstation?

    My answer is both YES and NO:

    • No, because they are different products, so they don't provide the same tools and some data create in MicroStation should not necesarilly be accessible in PowerDraft.
    • Yes, because they both work with the same format, so at in terms of graphic you should receive the same result.

    Both products are built using the same source code, so they are very similar. The main concept how to differentiate the products is in PowerDraft limitations, as noted by Jon. But there are some more: PowerDraft supporte MicroStation VBA macros, but it's locked for 3rd party MDL and NET applications. If you need to extend PowerDraft functionality using own more complex application, you can ask Bentley for unlocking password (requires to be a member of BDN program). Also e.g. batch processing is not available PowerDraft.

    Unknown said:
    Does Powerdraft accept the startup settings, used by and for Microstation, and reacts in the same way?

    I guess yes, at least as long as it uses modules / featuers / settings available in PowerDraft. But in general the whole concept of workspaces and configuration files are completely the same.

    Unknown said:
    Are user-interface configurations, made for Microstation, taken over by Powerdraft?

    Again yes, if PowerDraft available tools are used in GUI customization.

    I agree with an idea to leave a few MicroStation licenses available for 3D or batch processing.

    I have also another question: Because you mentioned you are water distribution company, have you thought about Bentley Map or Bentley Map PowerView? Especially BMPV is very popular here in Czech Republic in companies belonging to "technical maps and GIS" area, because it's like "PowerDraft for GIS" and it provides good drafting tools and it's entrance to XFM functionality (some enhanced GIS features are not available). And contrary to PowerDraft, there are no limitations in terms of developing own applications on top of BMPV.

    With regards,

      Jan

  • Thanks for the replies.

    I have launched such a question for an evaluation license/period for PD, to our account manager. As soon as I have an agreement on how I have te do this, I will start testing configuartion and adaptation compatibility from Microstation to Powerdraft.

    I will take into account your suggestion of keeping a few Microstation licenses. I will re-calculate the cost of doing so. Problem will be: identifying the people who need to keep MS on their PC, and where to replace it with PD.
  • I have the OK of our account mgr. Now I have to round up some people for testing who know their way around Microstation.

    In the meanwhile, I have also downloaded "MicroStation PowerDraft V8i (English) x86, v08.11.09.459". Though it's release date is 27/06/2013, it looks like the most recent one. What surprised me is the description:

    "MicroStation PowerDraft is a professional-level application used for the production of 2D/3D drafting and detailing. It provides an intuitive interface for creating, editing, and manipulating drawings and models in DGN or DWG format."

    Now, I thought that PoDr. could be seen as Microstation without external program interaction, without batch-processing, and without 3D-possibilities. Apparently, PoDr HAS 3D-possibilities. What kind, and in how far are they inferior - or equal - to the ones in Microstation ?

    Can anybody answer that, or does anyone know a place with a comparative table of functions and possibilities, pitching MiSt. and PoDr. side-by-side ?

    Regards,
    Jan Vanden Bossche
  • For a comparison document visit
    www.bentley.com/.../microstation+product+line
    On the right hand side you will see a link to MicroStation/AutoCAD Feature Comparison which also covers PowerDraft. For a direct link ftp2.bentley.com/.../MicroStationAndPowerDraftVsAutoCad.pdf


    Regards

    Carl Myhill

    Technical Support Engineer

    Bentley Systems