History: Microstation, through version 7, allowed a reference file to be attached with a choice of no path or the full path being stored (or a configuration variable being used to define the path). FYI, during this time period, our office had a Microstation BASIC routine that would search one relative path for reference files. Microstation 8 added the option of storing the relative path of a reference file. At that time, the full path for a file became hidden and was only used as a last resort to find the file (ie, Microstation would look in the active folder, in folders defined by a configuration variable (MS_RFDIR), etc. and then if it could not find a file with the referenced file name, it would finally look at the full path.)
Competition: On line, I see that Autocad is able to set the saved path for a Xref to a "relative path" or to an "absolute path" (aka full path). Microstation 8 claimed that the Autocad format was a subset of the Microstation format, so anything that Autocad could do should also be able to be done in Microstation.
Feature Request: When you currently attach a reference file, you have three options--no path, relative path, or configuration variable. I would like to have this extended, so that a reference file may be attached by any one of the following options:
1) "Standard"--No path information is stored. Microstation searches the current folder and the applicable reference files folders as defined by the configuration variable MS_RFDIR.
2) "Relative Path"--The relative path is stored, and the full path is NOT stored. **
3) "Full Path"--The full path of the reference file is stored and displayed. The first location for Microstation to check for this file would be the full path.
4) "Configuration Variable"--Check the specified configuration variable defined path, but NOT the full path. **
** For consideration: Microstation has a configuration variable MS_DISALLOWFULLREFPATH. Currently the only way to store a full path is to have this variable turned off. If this is set to 1, then the full path is never stored. Perhaps this variable needs to be expanded into two variables--1) Never allow the full path to be stored--which does not allow the user to specify the "Full Path" option and 2) Never store the hidden/automatic full path--which would allow/disallow Microstation to store the hidden full path, but would allow the user to specify "Full path" when attaching a file.
Reason for the feature Request:
I want to use the full path for:
1) Referencing files from other projects, which have the same name as a file in the current folder.
2) Referencing files from my local computer, which have the same name as a file in the current folder.
3) Referencing multiple older copies of the same file from several folders. (IE I have a copy from March, April, and May and I want to reference them all together. I would have the older copies in a temporary folder, most likely on a different drive.)
4) We get Gigabytes of information from outside architects, which we reference into our drawings to update them. We need to keep these for several years, but then they need to be deleted. We store these files on an "other drive" from our main drawing drive. Anything on the "other drive" is open for deletion and anything on our main drawing drive does not get deleted. In other words, we have two folder on two separated drives for each project. On folder is permanent and the other folder eventually gets deleted, but we need to reference files from the "other folder" in our main drawings.
I want to TURN OFF the hidden full path when:
1) It is supposed to be a relative path. If I copy an old project to become a new project (modified reuse) and I delete files from the new project, I don't want the files from the old project reappearing in the new project due to the hidden saved full path.
2) It is supposed to be a configuration variable. I have had multiple cases that I get a detail sheet set up based on referencing with a configuration variable. I move my master folder, re-open my detail sheet and everything appears fine. Then the file gets printed from a difference computer and some of my details are missing. The problem was that the configuration variable was lost when re-attaching the details and was not caught--instead of reporting the reference file as not found, Microstation pulled the hidden full path and found the files on a computer-specific file path, which I did not want.
--Thank you,
--Robert Arnold