How is this even possible. I am working on setting up tables for use on our projects. I have been experimenting with the various options to figure what works & what does not. Using CE 16.3 I was having an issue with the Import from File (Excel). In CE 16.3 I have a seed table created with the appropriate column headers and a title. Then I have several empty rows.
Using the Place Empty table the inserted table looks like this (seed table name is PointList). This seed table contains the correct formatting for the rows, columns & cells.
Placing another table and selecting From File I select the seed table. Then I select the Excel file, which only contains data that should populate the body of the table (no title or column headers).
When I place the table, the first row of data is inserted into the 3rd row of the table overwriting the Northing & Easting column headers.
There is no solution for this but, I did find a forum post describing this same issue.
Talking with a colleague earlier today, they mentioned that the table tool had some updates in CE 17 so I thought I would see if my table would work in there.
WOW! is about all I can say. Unless I am missing something, they broke this tool's limited functionality.
In CE 17 I selected the Place Table tool and selected From File once again. With this version you cannot even pick a table seed. You can only select a Table Style.
Table Style???? What's that? No surprise here, looking at the Help Documentation the only information provided is
The Ribbon tool group they reference does not contain this tool. You need to select a table that was already placed and formatted. Once you select an existing table in the file the Layout tab becomes visible and contains the Save Style tool.
So I placed my PointList tabled seed, selected it and used the Save Style tool. Going back to the Place Table tool & selecting From File the Style I saved (just named it Style1) is in the list of Table Styles. So I set that style, selected my Excel file and placed the table in my file. I had to chuckle in dismay when I saw the result
The table is placed on the correct level but, the color, weight & style are all 0. Notice there are no grid lines and the title row & column header rows are non-existent as well. Ok, select the the new table and check the properties dialog. Looking at the General section the Color Style & weight of the table are not set bylevel, even though the original table was set that way. Attempting to change those settings, only the color attribute changed.
For the Text Styles section the Default Text Color & Weight were set to From Table, even though the original table was set to use Color 0 & Weight 3. Trying to change those settings failed as well. Going to the Layout tab and trying to turn the Borders on fails as well.
Anyone else noticing these issues with Place Tables in CE 17?
mwlong said:Table Style???? What's that? No surprise here, looking at the Help Documentation the only information provided is
Be advised, Bug 969374 has been filed to improve the documentation related to Table Styles. There are other outstanding bug fixes and enhancements that will improve the Place Table tool moving forward as well.
Jayson Perry said:There are other outstanding bug fixes and enhancements that will improve the Place Table tool
Great! Here's a screenshot of my post from November 2020. It shows how a Table Seed fails to inform correctly the layout of a new Table...
Bug 659892
Regards, Jon Summers LA Solutions
OMG you may as well just use copy from excel paste special and use embedded excel spread sheet option in microstation a lot quicker and easy ...
Lorys
Started msnt work 1990 - Retired Nov 2022 ( oh boy am I old )
But was long time user V8iss10 (8.11.09.919) dabbler CE update 16 (10.16.00.80)
MicroStation user since 1990 Melbourne Australia.click link to PM me
Lorys said:OMG you may as well just use copy from excel paste special and use embedded excel spread sheet option in microstation a lot quicker and easy ...
Actually, the Place Table tool in Microstation does function quite well. You need to spend time working with it and placing tables with a variety of options to realize the best way to use the tool.
There are a couple of issues that need sorted out.
1. When importing an Excel document that contains merged cells, Microstation does not interpret the sizes correctly.
An example file was supplied to us from a staff member in our structures dept. It had rows 2 & 3 merged (although the rows did not need to be merged. But, there were 2 other rows further down the document that required merging). When I used Import from File and used From Excel as the table seed the row heights of those merged cells was huge. This is a known defect.
2. Excel is not able to produce stacked fractions.
While Microstation does allow stacked fractions (I have the config variables enabled to automatically create stacked fractions), importing an Excel document with regular fractions, the fractions do not stack. The only way, currently, is to edit each piece of text by using the Edit Text tool and manually adding a space between the whole number & the fraction. The produces the stacked fraction. The big issue is that you cannot use the Find/Replace text tool to add that required space. You need to use the text editor. Although Jon Summers has developed a vba tool to create stacked fractions it does not find fractions & replaced them with stacked fractions. I am looking at creating a vba that will Find/Replace fractions. I am not a programmer. I can stumble around enough to do a few rudimentary things so it will take some picking of brains as I make the attempt.
There are other things that need worked out but, they are just small details that are not necessary for proper functioning.
I have been developing training materials for our staff so they can start to use the Place Table tool in Microstation. I am finding the best method for importing Excel files is to not use the From Excel option for the table seed. If you use No Seed you can modify the table table formatting in Microstation but, still maintain a link back to Excel to update the data. If you modify the the data in Microstation the Excel file will override the Microstation table data.
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mwlong said:Actually, the Place Table tool in Microstation does function quite well.
ok you caught me out, I was being a little sarcastic in responding to to the posting but thanks for pointing out that its got some advantages that work.. and your right we need better training materials .. but if the help was better you wouldnt need to write your own training material.. a decent wiki from bentley should already cover it.. but if you eventually get it written any chance of publishing a copy here or blogg...? or in the user groups ?
Lorys said:and your right we need better training materials .. but if the help was better you wouldnt need to write your own training material.
Totally agree. One of the biggest issues with the delivered training materials is that Bentley uses small datasets. They are not based on real world scenarios. The Place Table tool is an exception to that fact. The issue with the Place Table tool training material is that it does not cover all aspects of the options available.
Lorys said:but if you eventually get it written any chance of publishing a copy here or blogg...? or in the user groups ?
I would need to check with my company as this is being done on their time.