turn on/off layers on sheet file, then exchange to master file the level is on/off again

I don't follow your workflow.

Where are you making the change to the level being on or off ? in the sheet or in the master reference ? I don't want to know what you are expecting to happen, only what you are specifically doing.

Are you turning on/off global display or view display ?

Do you want changes in the level on/off to reflect thru to every sheet or only the one you have open ?

I'm controlling the level on/off display through the Master file, view display. I want changes in the level on/off to reflect thru to every sheet

New Level display ONLY affects the display of brand new levels when they first show up from the reference file. That is not a factor in what's going on here.

Are you saving settings when you close the Master file the first time?

Yes, it's automatically save settings on Exit.

Once again, I'm confused.

You have these sheets. They are all the same "type" of sheet, so you want all the levels to be displayed (on/off) the same in all the sheets, so you are trying to control that from the Master file. Am I right so far?

Because you talk about the "levels in the different sheets" - I don't know what those are or where they are coming from if they all have the same display. I literally have no idea what you mean.

Also, you may start out controlling level display from a master file, but if anyone at any time changes a level attribute in the sheet, that cuts the control from the master and changes it to the sheet. There's no real way to get it back after that.

Maybe to simplify. Level display is controlled independently in each model, whether a sheet, design or drawing. So you can't simply adjust the master file and have it show up in the sheets that way. You can use Global Display or Freeze to accomplish that. Also, save settings on exit and save changes are 2 different settings.

 I open a sheet file the levels are correct, but when I exchange, to the master file, levels that are in the different sheets are back on.

This is confusing to me. If you exchange into the master file - how can you see that the levels are incorrect in the other sheet files ?

 I open a sheet file the levels are correct, but when I exchange, to the master file, levels that are in the different sheets are back on.

This is confusing to me. If you exchange into the master file - how can you see that the levels are incorrect in the other sheet files ?

This project is 2 miles road, and the master file is in model space with all attached files I need (basemap, proposed design file, bridges files, etc.), and it is 16 cut sheets files. In the master file there are some levels in the bridge file I don't want to print, so I turned it off. But when I open a sheet file that doesn't have the bridge in, and then exchange to master file (that is in model space), the levels on the bridge file are back on.  

And what happens if you open a sheet that has the bridge in it - does that sheet still look fine?

If you are looking at controlling your sheet levels by it's source design model , you can try adding the variable:

MS_LEVEL_DO_NOT_OVERRIDE_DESIGN_LEVELS_IN_SHEET = 1

This is what MicroStation Help says it does:

Controls the overriding of design model level properties in sheet and drawing models. If set to 1, the level properties of a design model and its reference attachments cannot be overridden in a sheet or drawing model. They will be the same as when the design model is opened directly.

MaryB said:

"Always" and "Never" are settings for New Level Display, and they have no bearing on the display settings of existing levels.

I suspect she meant that Display Overrides are set to Always, not New Level Display.

@Lucilia: I've done exactly what you are doing with a single master file being used to control the level display of attached files and then display that composition on multiple sheets (albeit for Rail Electrification projects not Highways). I use the same drawing composition & reference file attachment routine on every project I work on (even just simple architectural drawings) and it always gives me consistent expected behaviour. There is 1 key aspect necessary which has not been mentioned once in any of the comments so I don't know if you are using it or not: Saved Views.

Here is what I do...

In the Master File:

1. Attach all your Reference Files
2. Turn on/off the required levels for each reference file
3. Apply any require Level Overrides (symbology)
4. Create a saved view of the entire route fitted to your view (you can make multiple i.e.1 per sheet if for some reason you need different level displays per sheet but if not, its not necessary as you can just slide the Reference File (attached using Saved View) and adjust the boundary to show only what you want to see in each sheet)

In each sheet File:

1. Open your Sheet Model
2. Attach the Master File using the following settings:
   1. Orientation = Your Saved View Name
   2. Scale = Whatever you need it to be
   3. Nested Attachments = Live Nesting (Depth set to 2)
   4. Display Overrides = Never
   5. Synchronize View = All

After which I typically draw a shape assigned to a non-plotting level and use that as the clipping boundary for the master file's saved view reference attachment, then add any necessary annotation and finally edit the title block. Its easy to move to the next sheet in the series by doing a Save As and sliding the Saved View as required.

If you are wondering why I have covered all of the above then keep reading. One of the great things about this method is that it doesn't matter if someone else opens you Master File and makes changes to the level display of View 1 etc... The display of current levels when you open the file (either directly by file manager or by exchange) is irrelevant!. All you need to do is open the master file and apply the saved view and you will get the same appearance as what is visible on your drawing. Same principle if you are asked to change the display of levels across all your sheets: Open the Master File, apply the saved view, adjust your levels as required and update the saved view (Do Not Tick Update Camera Position!!! or your reference file will move on your sheet). Only when you update the saved view will the changes propagate through to your sheets. Users cannot make changes from the Sheet, the Master File is the single source of truth!

Using this method also means I have no need for fannying about with Global Display/Freeze or configuration variables either (I personally only ever use View Display anyway)

in the sheet file you mention you start in, how does is not have the bridge file attached ? if you have the master file attached to the sheet, and the master file has the bridge attached, how do you not have the bridge file in the sheet ? the bridge file should be a nested reference in the sheet file from what you describe (bridge file being attached to the master file).

From what you describe, the master file is basically a container file for the other references and there is not really any data in this file. A question I have is, why are you exchanging into the master file from your sheet ?

I am just trying to understand the workflow.