[Connect] - GroupeHoles

You need to create multiple elements to define the outer element and the holes. Once you use the 'Group Hole' tool, you are left with one element.

I am not exactly sure what you are trying to do - get the circle and hole in my image in one step?

Shapes are contiguous - everything is connected and there are no gaps or breaks. As far as I am aware, that is how it has always been and will always be. How would you define the Hole without using a separate shape? Never mind the software - what logic would you use to create a shape within a shape without using two shapes?

Hi Salvio,

as others, I would ask to provide more details what you want to achieve, because it's not very clear.

Moreover, several different terms are used and mixed in your text.

salvatore montella said:

In Microstation Connect it's possible create a plane figure

What MicroStation offers is based on topology rules and elements provided by DGN V8 format. It's important (but maybe confusing sometimes) to distinguish between "MicroStation elements" presented in GUI and "DGN V8 elements" how data is stored ;-)

• Shape: simple element, it's closed linear polygon topologically where side are always lines. Because it's simple (primitive) element, there are no gaps between sides.
• Complex shape: complex element, topologically linear closed polygon, where sides can be open elements like line, line string, arc etc. Because it's complex element, it's stored as more elements, grouped together to the final element when presented to a user). As MaryB mentioned, because complex shape (and complex chain too) consists from other linear elements, gaps can exists between consecutive elements, but they have to be "at a file resolution scale". It means the complex shape has always be "visually closed" one linear polygon.
• Grouped Holes: it's not DGN element (nothing like "grouped holes element" exists in DGN V8 specification), but MicroStation element. It's implemented as special type of cell, where one element defines outer boundaries and all others are holes. The cell is used because it's the only graphical element in MicroStation that allows to group more elements together.

salvatore montella said:

the resulting plane figure is presented with a "hole" inside it, but without using multiple elements (eg shape with another shape inside)

Sorry, but it's nonsense, because when there is a boundary and a hole, they are always two elements. How this situation can be modeled using one element only?

What you are talking about is close to a concept of "a collection of elements", which is exactly what cell is in MicroStation, and consequently what GroupedHoles tool does: It encapsulate the elements (closed elements defining boundary and holes) into a collection (cell).

salvatore montella said:

so that Microstation sees it as the unique Shape or ComplexShape element?

No, because Shape and Complex shape elements defined as closed elements, defined by one topology only.

With regards,

  Jan

No not possible as it it needs to be complex element. In Bentley Map products it is called polygon collection. In other GIS software hole is defined by polygon direction so vertices of rings defining holes in polygons are in a counterclockwise direction but this concept is not used in Bentley products. If creating grouped holes then outer shape has area type solid and interior elements have solid type hole so when calculating areas the interior element area is substracted. You can expect interesting results if manually change area type in grouped holes and try to measure area.