Bentley Communities
Bentley Communities
  • Site
  • User
  • Site
  • Search
  • User
MicroStation
  • Product Communities
MicroStation
[Archived] AskInga Wiki What is a workspace?
    • Sign In

    • -AskInga
      • +3D MicroStation
      • +AccuDraw Secrets
      • +Animation - Rendering
      • +Behind The Scenes
      • +Cells
      • +Colours
      • +Conversion - Translation
      • +Coordinate Input
      • +Design Settings
      • +Dimensions
      • +DWG
      • +EDG
      • +Element Manipulation
      • +Element Properties
      • +Element Selection
      • +Freeware - Shareware
      • +Interface Look And Feel
      • +Internet - E-Links - Links
      • +Keyins
      • +Levels
      • +Line Styles
      • +Models
      • +MSM Archive
      • +Other
      • +Presentations
      • +Printing - Plotting
      • +Programming - Automation
      • +Rasters - Images
      • +References
      • +Tags - Data Fields - Fields
      • +Text - Fonts - Annotation
      • +Views
      • +Windows - Interacting With
      • -Workspaces - Configuration
        • All about saving DWG files
        • Auto-open a file to a specific model
        • Change the MicroStation Manager workspace options
        • Complete list of MicroStation V8's configuration variables
        • Compress your UPF file
        • Configuration variable operators
        • Configuration variable processing
        • Configure your compress options
        • Control the output location of MicroStation Packages
        • Convert MDF files to DGNLIB
        • Create new UPF every time you start MicroStation
        • Creating a configuration file
        • Current working directory
        • Customized Standards Checker Reports
        • Degeek MS DESIGN HISTORY REVISION NUMBER FORMAT
        • Deleting your UPF while retaining most settings
        • Digging into your workspace
        • Disable stuff MicroStation can or can't do
        • Do you really need to restart MicroStation when editing variables?
        • Edit Project variables via workspace configuration
        • Get rid of MicroStation Text Window
        • Have only one UPF regardless of the workspace you are using
        • How to figure out what the command line switches are
        • How to set WORKDIR DGNDIR after starting MicroStation
        • Learning about workspaces
        • List the configuration variables
        • Lock down your variables
        • Managing MicroStation backup directories
        • MicroStation J and V8 workspaces on the same computer
        • MicroStation J enhanced workspace functionality
        • MicroStation J Workspaces
        • Monitor your UPF file
        • Move your custom interface from one machine to another
        • MS_RFDIR limitations
        • Open V7 files without reconfiguring V8
        • Open Windows Explorer to location of workspace files
        • Preprocessor directives for processing configuration files
        • Quickly restore the defaults with a command line switch
        • Referencing other configuration variables
        • Regarding the last line in a configuration file
        • Report your variables with Expand Echo keyin
        • Return to the MicroStation Manager
        • Run Debug from a modified icon
        • Run debug from the command prompt DOS window
        • Set temporary variables with the Expand Set keyin
        • Set up a seed file for your UPF file
        • Setting the MS_OPENV7 variable
        • Sharing your workspace
        • Shawn Foster's BE 2005 presentations
        • Show all configuration variables not just some
        • Show full path of active file in title bar
        • Specify sub-folders when making a new project
        • Specify the folder for msdebug.txt
        • Temporary files
        • The types of configuration variables
        • The User Preference File [UPF]
        • Total length of file paths
        • Transcending the workspace and time continuum
        • Understanding configuration variables
        • Understanding MicroStation BASIC configuration variables
        • Use a library legend to help manage your library definitions
        • User interface hierarchy
        • Viewing and determining the configuration variables
        • What happens when you launch MicroStation?
        • What is a workspace?
        • Working with V7 files in V8
        • Workspace root
        • You're the CAD Manager, now what?
    • graffiti

     
     Questions about this article, topic, or product? Click here. 

    What is a workspace?

    AskInga logo

    Original Article Date: March 25, 2004

    While rooting around the other day, I found this old document that I wrote a few years back. It's simply a primer for workspaces and explains the role that they play in the configuration of MicroStation. Nothing fancy, but may be a good read for the newer CAD administrator.

    A workspace is simply a custom MicroStation environment or configuration. By selecting a workspace, you customize MicroStation for a specific job, discipline, project, or task. There is always a workspace operating when you run MicroStation.

    The role of the workspace is to:

    Tell MicroStation where things are:

    • Cell libraries
    • Reference files
    • Seed files
    • MDL’s and macros
    • Design files



    Define the user interface:

    • What tools are available
    • What tools aren’t



    Tell MicroStation about your preferences:

    • Window layout
    • Button assignments
    • Memory allocations for pre-V8
    • Tool settings
    • User Preferences



    Define functionality:

    • Resources files for fonts and linestyles
    • Settings groups
    • Function key menus





    A workspace is therefore made up of:
    What you see - The user interface, and the environment - what MicroStation defines at startup.



    Workspaces allow you to:

    • Create standard data files for the office that don’t have to be repeated on each individual workstation.
    • Organize data outside of the MicroStation's directory structure on a per project basis.
    • Protect files from deletion and modification by storing them on a safe, backed-up network server.




    Workspaces are complex!

    • MicroStation is robust, complex engineering software with hundreds of configuration variables - some exposed and some hidden.
    • Installing any EC, third party application, etc. will give you additional configuration variables.
    • KISS principle - only modify what you need. The simplier the better!





    The components of a workspace:
    MicroStation sets up the workspace by it’s definition of the following components:

    • System data - configuration settings
    • Application data - software configuration settings
    • Site data - office standard configuration settings



    MicroStation sets up the workspace by your definition of the following components as selected from the MicroStation Manager:

    • Workspace name
    • Project
    • User Interface
    • Style (Pre-V8 only)

    Three basic parts to Workspaces:

    • Configuration variables - tells MicroStation where files reside so it can find them. For example: MS_RFDIR=c:\dgn\
    • Interface - The graphical user interface which can be customized by the user.

    Preferences - the infamous UPF file that stores user settings such as what toolboxes are docked, the window background colour, and so forth.

    The Active Workspace:

    User Configuration File:
    The name of the User Configuration File is used as the name of the workspace. The file has a suffix of UCF and is found in the .../Workspace/Users/ folder. There is one UCF file for each available workspace name as listed in the MicroStation Manager. This file has two basic functions:

    • It contains values for any configuration variables set by the user to control MicroStation's behavior.

    It can specify the three active workspace components.Selecting a workspace from the MicroStation Manager reconfigures MicroStation to use that workspace’s components. The information stored in the User Configuration File may also contain a user’s overrides of settings in other configuration files (Project, System, Application and Site).

    Project Configuration File:
    A project is one component that can be associated with any workspace. It is used to set the location and names of data files associated with a specific design project. Examples would be the names and locations of cell libraries, font resources files, and line style resource files.

    Settings within the PCF file can be over-ridden by those found in the User Configuration File.

    Data files for sample projects are provided with MicroStation and are located as modules or subdirectories under ...Workspace/Projects/Examples/ directory.

    The sample files are a great place to learn from so it's recommended that you do not delete them. When customizing your own project, copy, rename and edit the delivered .../Workspace/Projects/Untitled.pcf file. This file provides an excellent starting point for creating your own projects and meeting the needs of your organization.


    User Interface:
    The Interface option menu allows you to select a specific look and feel of MicroStation's tools and general on-screen appearence. When a specific user interface is being used, MicroStation will read the information contained within the modification resource file(s) stored in the .../Workspace/Interface/ directory.


    User Preference Files:
    The UPF file has two primary functions:

    • Storing the settings found in Workspace > Preferences
    • Storing the layout of the GUI (locations of tool boxes, which windows are open, last settings used etc). This file is dynamic and is written to when exiting MicroStation or when changes have been made to Workspace > Preferences. Due to this, it can become corrupt during an unexpected exit or when multiple sessions of MicroStation are open and are using the same workspace. In the event that it’s corrupt, the UPF file can safely be deleted and MicroStation will create a new one when it’s re-started.


      Style:
      The Style option menu allows you to select whether to use the older Command Window method of communicating with MicroStation or the Status bar. This setting is remembered from session to session and is only available in pre-V8 MicroStation.

    AskInga Article #194

    • Askinga
    • Article
    • WorkSpacesConfiguration
    • Share
    • History
    • More
    • Cancel
    • Danielle Schutz Created by Bentley Colleague Danielle Schutz
    • When: Thu, May 22 2008 10:48 AM
    • Inga Morozoff Last revision by Bentley Colleague Inga Morozoff
    • When: Tue, Jun 8 2010 2:39 PM
    • Revisions: 5
    • Comments: 0
    Recommended
    Related
    Communities
    • Home
    • Getting Started
    • Community Central
    • Products
    • Support
    • Secure File Upload
    • Feedback
    Support and Services
    • Home
    • Product Support
    • Downloads
    • Subscription Services Portal
    Training and Learning
    • Home
    • About Bentley Institute
    • My Learning History
    • Reference Books
    Social Media
    •    LinkedIn
    •    Facebook
    •    Twitter
    •    YouTube
    •    RSS Feed
    •    Email

    © 2023 Bentley Systems, Incorporated  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy |  Terms of Use  |  Cookies