Transparent shapes in MicroStation V8

Original Article Date: Oct 29, 2007

With thanks to Jason Johnson for providing this workflow that describes how to place transparent shapes in MicroStation V8 by utilizing the Raster Managers transparency option in conjunction with clipping references.

Step 1:
Using an image editing software application such as Microsoft Paint, create a new JPG image of any size. In this tutorial, the name blank.jpg is being used.

Step 2:
Create a new design file (or model) and attach blank.jpg interactively so that it covers a fairly large area. In this article, a model called BlankJPG was used.

In the Raster Manager, double-click the entry for blank.jpg and navigate to the Color tab. The settings found in this tab will control the colour and transparency of the output shape.

Set the Tint Color to the desired output color of the transparent shape. Enable the Transparent switch and select a desired transparency percentage for the All Colors option. At the bottom of the Raster Manager, ensure that the Transparent toggle is enabled.

Step 3
Open the design that references the aerial and a place a closed shape that will be used to clip the referenced raster.

Step 4:
Attach the model created in Step 2 above and position it over the shape created in Step 3.

Step 5:
From the Reference dialog, select Clip Reference and identify the shape placed in Step 3.

For additional colours, try attaching blank.jpg the multiple times and define a variety of tint colours. When attaching the design that references this jpg, simply move the desired colour over the shape and clip the reference as needed.

Using this method you'll be able to create complex presentation maps in no time at all.

AskInga Article #318