Set your tentative snap point readout mode

Original Article Date: Feb 2, 2001 

Ever wonder how to change your tentative (snap) readouts? If so, then keep reading. This article is for you.
2004-03-16 Edited for clarity.
2007-11-13 Added information regarding MicroStation V8 XM Edition (Thank you Artur!)

MicroStation has several kinds of readouts which are commonly referred to as the tpmode readout. The examples below refer to a variety of tpmode keyins that change the way MicroStation displays tentative point location information. Once the keyin has been entered, the selected tpmode is saved with the design file until such a time that it is changed. Of course - that's dependent upon you saving the settings upon leaving the file.

To display the design plane coordinates of the tentative point:
Keyin: set tpmode locate
When you snap to a particular location on an element, the relative XY coordinates will be displayed in the status bar. This is a simple and effective way of confirming location information of the element.

Note: For displaying the coordinates of a tentative point in MicroStion V8 2004 Edition and later, consider turning ON Update Statusbar Coordinates in the AcucSnap Settings dialog. When this setting is on, MicroStation will display the coordinates of AccuSnap's yellow "x" in the status bar.

To display the relative distance of a tentative point from a previous input point (data or tentative):
Keyin: set tpmode vdelta
Snapping to two different locations will display the resulting distance as measured along each view axis. Note: Rotating your view will affect the way the distance is being measured! If you are utilizing rotated views in your workflow use the keyin set tpmode delta instead.

To show the distance and angle between two tentative points:
Keyin: set tpmode distance
In this case, the angle is measured from the design plane X-axis while the previous input point serves as the vertex of the angle being measured. To use this mode, select Element Selection, snap and accept the first location followed by snapping/accepting the second location. The distance and angle will be displayed in the status bar as shown.

When using Auxiliary Coordinate Systems:
The keyin: set tpmpde asclocate will display the auxiliary coordinates of each tentative point, while set tpmode acsdelta displays the distance between each tentative point and the previous input point in auxiliary coordinates.

AskInga Article #41