Hello,
I am a new Microstation user so excuse my ignorance, I am used to an ESRI envrionment. In ArcMap when creating simple vector data you can use their 'Trace' tool to simply create a new feature based on an existing feature. There does not seem to be a similar tool in Microstation. I can accomplish the task, but through the use of several tools and I find it inefficient. Can anyone suggest a process or tool for accomplishing this simple task? Thanks in advance!
mweller
mweller,
Sadly, there is nothing native in MicroStation that really compares to the Trace tool in ArcMap.For the most part I find editing graphics in ArcMap to be frustrating and inefficient and MicroStation to be far more productive.However... There are a few gems in ArcMap that are exceptional and not found in MicroStation; Trace is one of those tools!
For MicroStation users, the ESRI Trace tool allows you to trace along the edges of other elements without having to place individual data points.There are some similarities to the Place Stream Line String but with a bunch more advantages. If Place Stream would honor AccuSnap / Multi-Snap with Keypoint and Nearest, only place vertices where they exist in items being traced or where you explicitly clicked nearest, had the option to jump gaps, snap lock to layers or selection sets, allow for a defined offset, etc.
This is one tool I would LOVE to have in MicroStation and miss it dearly. There are other ways to accomplish most things in MicroStation so that it doesn't quite justify converting to ESRI, Trace, and convert back. But for some tasks I do think about it.
I have heard rumors that such a tool exists in one or more of the verticals, but I cannot remember which and I haven't seen it.There are somewhat similar tools that do exist in Bentley Descartes but are for Raster tracing and still not the same.
To give an idea of what the poster is describing, I created a video of a mock up workflow in MicroStation and how it might look in MicroStation.
-G-