Why doesn't CE View allow you to 'Copy to Clipboard'?

I have noted that this was previously discussed by yourself a while ago which resulted in Defect # 354633. This defect has been looked at by our development team and deemed to be Working As Designed. Bentley View is a viewer and not something a user should expect to be performing a Copy&Paste within.

http://communities.bentley.com/products/microstation/f/273/t/114750

Hi Andrew,

Andrew Bell said:

Bentley View is a viewer and not something a user should expect to be performing a Copy&Paste within.

despite of I am not using clipboard copy/paste in Bentley products too often, I strongly disagree with the decision and such justification. To remove already implemented feature from a product, especially when it existed in the past, just makes the product worse and UX worse ... and user more dissapointed, which is something that unfortunately CONNECT Edition from its release is about.

I think clipboard support is not required for "certified for Windows" by Microsoft, but it's expected any Windows application supports it and as Mark noted, viewing software like Adobe Reader supports it ... and it's not only Reader, which makes the justification void.

I can imagine a lot of workflows and situations where to use "copy from View" makes sense. It's not about how Stuart use it, but e.g. when documents are created, to copy graphics inside them is big help. Do you recommend to use complete MicroStation to do it? To capture picture is not alwyas proper solution.

With regards,

  Jan

There are other viewers that give you the ability to copy to clipboard so this omission seems a bit surprising, and just a little bit annoying, especially as they would have consciously had to think about the reveal. 

Copy to clipboard was WAD in the SS4 version and not an oversight, so why the change?

Andrew - Perhaps you would like to answer this one?

Hi Stuart,

As a viewing application, we only allow viewing of the file and do not allow you to copy the elements to the clipboard and then paste them into a authoring application.  This would minimize any potential issues of something going incorrectly when copying to the clipboard outside of MicroStation and then back into the DGN, I suggest you reference the file into your DGN and then use the MicroStation Copy tools.

Thanks,

Daniel Eng

Dan,

You are missing the point! The SS4 version of View allowed Copy to Clipboard, so you have consciously though to remove this really useful tool for the CE version. Why do you only allowing viewing in CE View when SS4 view allowed it. Why the change?

Dan Eng said:

This would minimize any potential issues of something going incorrectly when copying to the clipboard outside of MicroStation and then back into the DGN,

Works fine with the SS4 version so see no issues with this.

Dan Eng said:

I suggest you reference the file into your DGN and then use the MicroStation Copy tools.

I don't want to reference. I just want to open View and transfer information from one program to another. I don't understand the problem with this. 

Dan,

You are missing the point! The SS4 version of View allowed Copy to Clipboard, so you have consciously though to remove this really useful tool for the CE version. Why do you only allowing viewing in CE View when SS4 view allowed it. Why the change?

Dan Eng said:

This would minimize any potential issues of something going incorrectly when copying to the clipboard outside of MicroStation and then back into the DGN,

Works fine with the SS4 version so see no issues with this.

Dan Eng said:

I suggest you reference the file into your DGN and then use the MicroStation Copy tools.

I don't want to reference. I just want to open View and transfer information from one program to another. I don't understand the problem with this. 

Hi Stuart,

Thank you for the feedback.  Please keep in mind this is the initial release of Bentley View CONNECT Edition and we will have regular updates.  So if this is functionality that you and others would like to see, then please create an Idea and we can evaluate it.

Thanks,

Daniel Eng

Dan Eng said:

Please keep in mind this is the initial release of Bentley View CONNECT Edition and we will have regular updates.

Is it? I'm sure that my version says Update 11, although I will check.

Dan Eng said:

So if this is functionality that you and others would like to see, then please create an Idea and we can evaluate it.

Sounds like a plan!

Hi Dan,

Dan Eng said:

then please create an Idea and we can evaluate it.

I like Ideas a lot, but unfortunately it has become universal solution for Bentley when original design of a feature and its implementation is not done properly.

I am aware I am hijacking the discussion a bit, but let's make a research how MicroStation Ideas looks today:

• Ideas are not reviewed by Bentley: Even a year old and older posts are still new, which means Bentley do not take care about it not too mcuh. I have not found any "rejected" or "implemented", only "under review" and "future consideration".
• There is close to zero feedback from Bentley: It seems the most of comments come from users, not Bentley. Looks weird, because when reading ideas, usually I thought further discussion and justification is needed.
• No information about a decision, progress...: When an idea is "under review", often Defect number (not sure if always) is mentioned. Except that when Defect number is created, the ideas cannot be "under review" anymore, I have not been able to find any information abou further progress, in what version it was implemented or what is life of the defect or the idea itself.

As one from my customer and my friend told me, when I recommended him to post an Idea: "I will wrote the ideas and my complains on papers and will throw them out of the windows. An effect and output will be the same, but it will be more fun."

My formulation is that it should be win-win, but it's win-lost. As stuartw wrote in other discussion about commenting blogs: When Bentley colleague creates a blog, he is obligued to answer consequent questions in forum. It's not usually happening. I would apply the same rule to Ideas: When Bentley asked users to invest their time to formulate Ideas, add images or videos and other users comment them, Bentley should be obligued to don't use Ideas as a trash, but to keep the Ideas living and to provide consistent feedback how Ideas are processed.

Because it's not happening, I understand that some users dislike Ideas and treat them as useless and lost time.

With regards,

  Jan

stuart,

this is deliberate it started with retiring  the Free old Redline in XM and replacing it bentley view, then steering us to navigator which is not free but has a lot of the old redline features including the copy paste and attach refs for comparison... nothing quite works as well as the old redline software as  viewer and markup tool it was great ( and free to clients and subcontractors looking at our drgs)....