Original Article Date: Jan 30, 2006
With many thanks to David Allen for contributing this article that discusses how to establish networked workspaces when running both MicroStation J and MicroStation V8 on the same machine.
For years I have utilized System Environmental Variables to define the “paths” to the networked MicroStation J workspace files located on the local file server. I defined these paths as system variables as opposed to user variables so they will work for any/all users that log onto that computer. Using local administrator rights, here is how to set these variables: Right-click on My Computer and select Properties Select the Advanced tab and choose Environment Variables The User Variables are in the top pane while System Variables are in the bottom pane.
In the System Variables pane, select New and add the following three (3) variables. Note, these variables must be entered one at a time: _USTN_PROJECT : G:/WRKSPACE/CONFIG/PROJECT/ _USTN_SITE : G:/WRKSPACE/CONFIG/SITE/ _USTN_USERINT : G:/WRKSPACE/WSUI/ Note: G:\WRKSPACE would be replaced with the drive/directory on your local file server where your networked MicroStation J workspace files are located.
As you may or may not know, most of the workspace files used for MicroStation V8 are very different than the workspace files used for MicroStation J and therefore cannot be “shared” between the different versions of MicroStation. I wanted to use the same, relatively simple method of setting Environmental Variables for establishing the paths to the networked MicroStation V8 workspaces on the local file server and still have networked MicroStation J workspaces on the local file server remain functional. After researching the MicroStation V8 Administrator’s Training Guide, documentation included with MicroStation V8, Bentley’s website, Bentley’s Help Desk support, the discussion groups and and AskInga, I concluded that MicroStation V8 uses the exact same variables as MicroStation J for defining the path(s) to workspace files. This realization was important step in finding a solution to this issue. The initial part of the solution was to remove the paths to the MicroStation J workspaces from the System Variables. If this is not done, both MicroStation J and MicroStation V8 would point to the same MicroStation J workspace files on the local file server and ultimately MicroStation V8 would convert/corrupt the MicroStation J workspace files thus making them unusable with MicroStation J. The next step was to create a new (different) location on the local file server to store all of the MicroStation V8 workspace files. Some CADD System folks even recommend storing the MicroStation V8 workspace files on a different server or at least a different share to avoid any accidental confusion between the different MicroStation workspace files. The next step is to edit the MicroStation mslocal.cfg file to set the MicroStation workspace variables for MicroStation J and MicroStation V8. (Remember to always make a backup copy of any of these configuration files before editing.) There is a separate mslocal.cfg file for each version of MicroStation. The default location of each MicroStation configuration file is as follows: MicroStation J: C:\Bentley\Program\MicroStation\config\mslocal.cfg MicroStation V8: C:\Program Files\Bentley\Program\MicroStation\config\mslocal.cfg Essentially all I did was add the same workspace path information that was previously set in the System Variables to this mslocal.cfg file – once for MicroStation J and once for MicroStation V8. Here is an example on how the modified mslocal.cfg file would look for MicroStation J.
Note: As with the System Variables, G:\WORKSPACE should be replaced with the drive/directory on your local file server where your networked MicroStation J workspace files are located. Here is an example on how the modified mslocal.cfg file would look for MicroStation V8:
Note: As with the System Variables,“G:\MSV8-WORKSPACE sould be replaced with the drive/directory on your local file server where your networked MicroStation V8 workspace files are located. Notice the same drive/different directory for the location of the MicroStation J workspace files and MicroStation V8 workspace files on the local file server. I am certain there are numerous other ways to “set” MicroStation configuration data for networked MicroStation workspaces. The method I described is what worked for us in our office based on how MicroStation J workspaces were previously defined.
AskInga Article #278