View Groups - Saved Views on steroids

Original Article Date: Jan 23, 2003

MicroStation V8's View Groups are closely related to Saved Views but in this case you are dealing with a group of up to eight views rather than just a single view. Kind of like V7's Saved Views on steroids!

A View Group is simply a named collection of eight views and includes the following information about each view: it’s open/closed status, size, location, view attributes and level display. View Groups are closely related to Saved Views but in this case you are dealing with a group of up to 8 views rather than just a single view. I like to think of them as Saved Views on steroids!

Explore Some View Groups:
To help illustrate this, download this sample file and notice the View Groups dialog in the lower left corner of the status bar.

Poking on the pick-list on the left side reveals that there are three named View Groups: Floor Plan, Space and Stairs and all three of these are associated with the Default model. (By the way, this file only has the one model in it.) If you select the one called Space, MicroStation opens three additional views, tiles them and adjusts the contents of each view to show different areas of the drawing. Similarily, if you select the Stairs view group, you'll end up with views 1 and 2 and finally going back to Floor Plan will reset your drawing to have only view 1 open and the graphics fitted. Gotta love it!!

Now that you've got an idea of what a View Group is, let's explore some technical stuff. As you've already learned, each design file must have at least one model and the pre-configured standard is a design model called Default which can't be deleted.

Similarly, each design file has one View Group that can’t be deleted. This pre-configured standard is also called Default and is for the Default model. To verify this, create a new design file and check out the View Groups dialog. By the way, if the dialog is not showing in your interface, you can access it by one of these methods:

• Windows > Views > Dialog
• Keyin: dialog toolbox viewgoups

Creating View Groups:
MicroStation V8 has two kinds of view groups: Persistent which is permenant and Temporary which is, well, temporary. Let's take a closer look at a persistent view group.

A peristant view group can be created several ways:

• By enabling the Create a View Group switch when a new model is created.
  
• From the Create View Group icon in the Manage View Groups dialog.
• Or by using a direct keyin: viewgroup create [name]
  
  It’s important to note that when a persistent view group is created via the Manage View Groups dialog or with the keyin, MicroStation makes a copy of the current view layout. Although this is the default, you can designate a different view group to be the template by using a configuration variable:
  
  MS_VIEWGROUPSEEDNAME is used to specify the name of an existing view group that will be used as the template. The named view group must exist in the active file.
  
  MS_VIEWGROUPSEED is used to define the file that contains the view group that will be used as the template.

  Exercise: Create a view group when creating a model:
  
  Using the sample file you downloaded on page 1, open the Models dialog and create a new 2d design model called Test_1. Ensure that the Create a View Group switch is ON and click OK. Notice the addition of a new view group titled Test_1 Views and that's it's associated with the newly created model.
  
  Cool Hint: As you can see from this exercise, when you create a view group at the same time as creating a model, the models view group is entered into the View Groups pick list. This feature will allow you to quickly and easily call up a model without having to use the Models dialog!

  Temporary View Groups:
  A Temporary view group is automatically created any time a model is made and the Create View Group button is OFF. (Remember that in order to see your design elements, there must be some kind of view group at all times.)
  
  Exercisee: Create a Temporary View Group:
  From the Models dialog, create a new design model called Test_2, but this time turn off the Create a View Group button. Notice the addition of a Test_2 Temp Views entry in the View Groups dialog and that it's pointing to model you just created.

  Now, from the Manage View Groups dialog, select and delete Test_2 Temp Views and notice that two things happen: 1. The view group is deleted, which is as expected, and 2. Your active model changes. It's also worthy to point out that this action does not delete the model itself, only the temporary view group associated to that particular model.
  
  From the Models dialog, set Test_2 as the active model and notice the creation of another Test_2 Temp Views view group...again...there must always be some sort of view group available for each model in order for you to see the graphics contained within that model.
  
  That about wraps it up - and as you can see View Groups are a powerful new addition in MicroStation V8. By understanding how they work with your models, you'll be incorporating them into your designs and be increasing your productivity in no time.

AskInga Article #128