Not sure where to start - Editing Access database linked to model

Need some direction here...

I inherited a Microstation 2D model at work. It is littered with pipelines (in the form of lines), all on the appropriate levels (gas, oil, sewer, drain, etc).

There is some intelligence to the lines, with the use of an .mdb Access database.

Once I connect to the .mdb, (and using Review Database Attributes) I click on the line and it tells me what project the pipeline is associated with.

However, most of the lines have no such intelligence. That's fine.

The issue is no one (and I mean NO ONE) here knows how to add intelligence to those lines by editing the database.

I can draw the line on the correct level, but I don't know how to associate the line to the database, to add the project #, line service, line size, etc.

I honestly don't even know where the database is or how to find it.

Can anyone help me get started? How do I locate the database? How do I associate new lines I draw to the database?

Thanks.

Edit: I'm using Microstation Connect Update 14, Ver. 10.314.02.01

  • I am curious why the previous owner of this database chose to go with a database at all, and not Item Types

    Item Types were introduced with MicroStation CONNECT.  If your project using Access was developed with MicroStation V8 or earlier (i.e. before 2015), then Item Types were not available.

    It's still valid in MicroStation CONNECT to use a database to store attribute data.  However, you are clearly at a loss in knowing how to proceed along that route with Access.  And Item Types are cool.

     
    Regards, Jon Summers
    LA Solutions

  • Thanks Jon. Item Types seems to be the way to go. It does seem simpler to use. I am curious why the previous owner of this database chose to go with a database at all, and not Item Types.

    If I reference in the dgn that has the item types, am I still able to see those Item Types in Properties? We reference the dgn with the database for our drawings, and can Connect to the database in the new drawing just fine. It would be a shame to lose that  functionality.

  • Thank you so much. I think this might be the best way to move forward with this.

    I played around with Item Types and it seems straight forward and easy to attach properties to lines. There are hundreds of line segments, and maybe 50 categories and a few subcategories those lines belong to.

    I'm not yet sure what the differences are between Item Type Library, Item Type, and Property Type, and the settings within, but I'll give it a try.

    If I reference in the dgn that has the item types, am I still able to see those Item Types in Properties? We reference the dgn with the database for our drawings, and can Connect to the database in the new drawing just fine.

  • the tool itself did not appear to be available before now, i have previously looked and searched using the same tool name. there was/is something similar but does not allow editing the field and then clicking update to save it in the database.

  • This [VSQL] seems to be a new feature in 2023

    The database tools, VSQL included, have been part of MicroStation for decades.  You can connect to most relational databases using the built-in connectors, OLE-DB or ODBC.

    I'm rusty with Access, and there seem to be a lot of tables linked to one another that I'm not familiar with yet
    It would probably be a lot easier to create and use Item Types and forget databases all together

    I agree with Lorys.  If your knowledge of databases is imprecise and the structure of the existing Access database is a mystery, then a move to something simpler may be to your advantage.  If you have to learn something new, then focus on one product.  Item Types are part of MicroStation: you don't need to maintain an external database.  MicroStation Reports let you export DGN data, including Item instance data, for external analysis.

     
    Regards, Jon Summers
    LA Solutions