This Client Server article is republished in its entirety from 2006 for reference purposes.

By the Bentley Technical Support Group
27 March 2006 Modified: 05 April 2006

Batch Process Utility

The Batch Process Utility was incorporated into MicroStation V8 2004 Edition so you can create and run a script that can be used to change elements, delete levels, etc., within a file or directory of files. This utility can also have MicroStation Basic Macros, MDL applications, and VBA macros incorporated into the command file.

To run the Batch utility go to the Utilities dropdown menu and select Batch Process. In the batch process dialog box, select new command file This article assumes you are using the utility for the first time. The command line file is where you will basically tell MicroStation what to do in the batch process on the DGN file or files. You can use basic key-ins or, if you are a programmer, you can use MDL or VBA.

Here is the basic layout of a command file to delete a certain level and change the color and weight of another level:

#----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# Command file for batchprocess utility
#
# This command file was originally copied from $(MS_DATA)cmdfiletemplate.txt.
# Command file information:
# - Lines that start with the '#' character are treated as comments and ignored.
#
#----------------------------------------------------------------------

level delete samplelevel #<-----This is the level you want to delete replace samplelevel with your level # name.

active level samplelevel2 #<------Change samplefile2 with the file name you want to
# change the weight and color of.
active weight 3
active color 1

filedesign #<-----This will save settings when batch has finished.

Here are screen shots before and after running the batch process.

Before:

After:

These illustrations show just a few processes that can be run with the batch processor. You can also incorporate a macro or MDL using the key-in browser. To find the proper syntax for doing this, type "batch process" in the index field of the Help dropdown menu. In the list shown, double-click "batch process" and in the topics found dialog window select "Batch Process dialog box." You will find some commands for BASIC macros, VBA macros, and MDL applications. 

See Also

Client Server Archive

MicroStation Desktop TechNotes and FAQs

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