Original Article Date: March 26, 2004
There are five levels of configuration that determine how MicroStation will behave when started, as well as when it's opened. These variables are defined in a variety of configuration files and are processed in a very specific order. Learn more about these cascading files in this article! A must read for the new CAD Administrator.
There are five levels of configuration that determine how MicroStation will behave when started, as well as when it's opened. These variables are defined in a variety of configuration files and are processed in a very specific order. Level #0 - System (Processed First) These are the very first variables to be processed by when MicroStation is started, and are set by MicroStation itself rather than the user. The variables at this level can be found in configuration files located in the ...\program\microstation\config\system\*.cfg folder and can be overridden by variables at any higher level.
Level #1 - Application (Processed Second) Application level variables are the second to be processed by MicroStation when it is started. They are usually set by MicroStation related application programs that you may be running and the configuration files are typically found in the ...\Program\MicroStation\config\appl\ folder. Settings made at this level can be overridden by settings at any higher level. Level #2 - Site (Processed Third) These are the third set of variables to be processed and are often set by a system or site manager to facilitate using MicroStation in workgroups. This means that the variables defined here would control or define things such as corporate wide standards to be used by all MicroStation users. The configuration file for the site level is ...\Workspace\Standards\standards.cfg and any setting made at this level can be overridden by settings at any higher level.
Level #3 - Project (Processed Fifth) Project configuration variables are the fifth (the last) to be processed by MicroStation when it is started. They are usually set by a site or project manager to facilitate using project-related standards. Settings for the project level are normally located in ...\Workspace\Projects\...\*.PCF files. Settings made at this level can be overridden by settings at the User level.
Level #4 - User (Processed Forth) User level variables are the fourth to be processed by MicroStation. Found in ...\Workspace\Users\*.UCF files, these files determine which project configuration file (PCF) is processed. User-level configuration variable settings take precedence over all other level settings. Since the user configuration variables are highest in precedence, there is no need for a user to modify configuration variable definitions at any other level. The first four levels (System, Application, Site and Project) are meant to be set by the CAD Administrator using a text editor while the user-level variables may be changed by each user via Workspace > Configuration without the fear of disturbing any other user's configuration. The order of processing: So, to sum that up, there are five levels of configuation that are defined as having a Level Number of 0 - 4. When MicroStation is started, it processes or reads these files in this order: Level # 0 - System ...\Program\MicroStation\config\system\*.cfg Level # 1 - Application ..\Program\MicroStation\config\appl\*.cfg Level # 2 - Site ...\Workspace\Standards\*.cfg Level # 4 - User ...\Workspace\Users\*.ucf Level # 3 - Project ...\Workspace\Projects\...\*.pcf The following illustrates what happens when you fire up MicroStation:
However, when MicroStation is determining or resolving variables it does so in this order: Level # 4 - User Level # 3 - Project Level # 2 - Site Level # 1 - Application Level # 0 - System Final Notes: If a variable is not set at any level, MicroStation looks for an operating system environment variable of the same name. MicroStation uses the value of the configuration variable at the highest level it is set...that is...the first place it finds it. If you compare the order in which the files are processed to the hierarchy of the level settings (or numbers), you see that the later the level is processed, the higher it's priority, with one exception: In order of priority, the project level configuration variables are on a lower level than the user level configuration variables, but MicroStation processes the user level configuration variables first. This is done since the UCF file (user configuration file) determines which PCF (project configuration file) is to be processed. Although the project configuration file is the last in line to be processed, the user configuration file has the last word. AskInga Article #199