From the beginning of MicroStation CAD Managers have built custom tools and menus that do nothing more that set the correct symbology and start that corresponding tool.
At first it was User Commands. Simple scripts that set correct level, color, weight, style for a feature and then started the place line tool to place it.
Then came Settings Manager that gave us a menu interface for doing the same thing.
In MicroStation V8 we got Element Templates for defining the feature symbology along with the option to create toolbox buttons and menu bar commands to set the template and start the corresponding tool.
Now in MicroStation CONNECT we have the ribbon. We've gone a few steps backwards. We can still create custom tool buttons, but setting the right template or symbology now requires a long, cumbersome command string.