RE: Placing table from Excel

The place table tool is for creating a new table.

If you just want to insert (cut-and-paste) a table from excel (embedded or linked) you open it with EXCEL, mark the area that you want to insert and copy (eg. CTRL-C). 

Then in microStation do insert (eg. rightclick>Paste)  In the following dialog you decide how to insert that "OLE-Object" 

Works well for me. Is available since many years.

The place table tool is rather a challenge. (I also got stuck there)

Richard Tarntino said:

What I wanted was to just insert my relatively straight forward excel table on to my design plane and have it look like the one in my spreadsheet.

Yes, and one option lets you place a table using the data in an Excel workbook or .csv file...

Key-in: PLACE TABLE FILE [ file ] [ worksheet ] [ range ]

launches the Place Table tool in the From file mode. If the file that includes the file path is invalid, the tool starts in From file mode with file set to None. If file is a CSV file, then worksheet and Range are ignored. If file is an Excel file and worksheet is missing or invalid, the default worksheet is selected. If file is an Excel file and range is missing or invalid, populated range is used. Named ranges are supported. Standard range format like A1:D5 is also supported.

Table Seed

It's important to adjust the Seed choice.

If you select to place a table from a Microsoft Excel file, you get an option "From Excel" in this drop-down list. If you select it, MicroStation attempts to preserve the formatting such as colors, borders, text direction, text justification, fonts, font styles, font sizes, row/column/cell sizes, and cell margins.

When you choose Seed from Excel, does MicroStation create a table with the appearance you want?  If not, please post an example Excel file for someone to try.

The given seeds did not work with my files (?) I have not yet digged in and tried to create my own seeds.

With Seed: none sometimes it seems to not come to an end. 

A smaller xls work fine.

Retried everything this morning. Same results. Here is the "look" of the excel table.

Here is the "look" of the inserted table in ORD.

Note the extra lines at the top of the table.

I did the exact step-by-step, as shown in "To Place a Table from an Excel Workbook" (MicroStation Help). Also, I did apply the "...select From Excel in the Seed drop-down list.", in step #8. I did this both yesterday and today. Same results.

I see Gerd's information. I have used the same "old copy and paste" processes for years. However, I always want to use new tools and workflows, as the software is modernized. My frustration is that I feel like an unpaid Bentley Software Tester.

Also, I am not interested in "building" seeds at this point. Maybe later, as I develop standard workflows, for my company. I just want to insert a simple Excel table and have it look like the spreadsheet.

Richard Tarntino said:

I am not interested in "building" seeds at this point

You shouldn't have to:  MicroStation help tells us that the table formatting is derived from the Excel worksheet.  That isn't happening: file a service request (SR) with Bentley Systems, supplying your Excel file and screenshots as evidence.

mlm said:

The given seeds did not work with my files

FWIW I've had problems using a table seed, where rows or columns become garbled.  Bentley Systems didn't respond helpfully.

Jon,

It is my plan to SR with Bentley in the near term. (There is so much on my plate, to get done.) Thank you for connecting with my here; it is much appreciated.

Jon,

It is my plan to SR with Bentley in the near term. (There is so much on my plate, to get done.) Thank you for connecting with my here; it is much appreciated.