Bentley Communities
Bentley Communities
  • Site
  • User
  • Site
  • Search
  • User
  • Welcome
  • Products
  • Support
  • About
  • More
  • Cancel
MicroStation
  • Product Communities
  • More
MicroStation
MicroStation Wiki Creating Zoom-Independent Symbols
    • Sign in

    • +MicroStation Wiki
    • +Administration Wiki
    • -Annotations Wiki
      • Annotation Scale in DWG Mode
      • Cannot display or place cells
      • Creating Custom Linestyles [VID]
      • Creating Zoom-Independent Symbols
      • Degree symbol does not appear in angular dimension
      • Detail symbols do not display when placed
      • Dimensions scaled when placed
      • Dimstyle using a terminator with a symbol cell
      • Drawing Boundary
      • Dynamic View Patterns hatched
      • Edit font RSC - Font Utilities
      • Editing text in a DGN drawing MicroStation crashes and closes.
      • Fonts In MicroStation
      • Greyed out Word Processor text editor dialog
      • How to turn off fractions in the text editor
      • Is there an equivalent MDL to "chngtxt" from v7 to v8i?
      • Linear dimension placing stacked
      • Manipulating and Modifying Cell Contents
      • MicroStation Dimensions
      • MicroStation Font Configuration File
      • MicroStation V8 Cell
      • Named Boundaries
      • Obtaining Displayable Corners With Custom Linestyles
      • Parametric Cells - Feature Cells
      • Place dimensions between parallel curves
      • Setting Linestyle Scale In MicroStation
      • Spaces appear as fractions in word processor
      • Sticky Z - Sticking to the elevation
      • Text Data Types
      • Text Editor is not visible
      • The Power Of CSV
      • The Power Of OLE In MicroStation V8
      • Use Named Boundary to place a static attachment
      • Using Chinese Fonts In MicroStation
      • Using foreign characters in written text on English MicroStation V8i on English OS
      • Using MicroStation Tags
      • Using The 400 Grad Angle System In MicroStation V8
      • Using The Replace Cells Tool
      • Why aren't my fonts available in the font pick list?
      • Working With Dimension Styles In DWG Workmode
    • +Bentley View Wiki
    • +MicroStation PowerDraft
    • +Programming Wiki
    • +Visualization Wiki

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

    Creating Zoom-Independent Symbols

       
      Applies To 
       
      Product(s): MicroStation
      Version(s): N/A
      Environment:  N/A
      Area:  N/A
      Subarea:  N/A
      Original Author: Bentley Technical Support Group
       

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    "How can I create a zoom-independent symbol in MicroStation?"

    This question is frequently asked of Bentley's technical support group. The user requires a symbol in a design file that will stay the same size on the screen whether one zooms out or zooms in on the drawing, such as symbols on a map (used in hotels, hospitals, service stations).

     

    While this is not possible using any default MicroStation tool, there is a method that can be used to create these view-independent cells.

    Follow these steps using only the custom linestyle editor to produce the required result:

    The first step is to get the required symbol into your linestyle resource file, so from the Linestyle Editor (Element > Line Styles > Edit) open an existing resource file or create a new one.

    Next, draw the elements that will comprise your symbol, select them, and run the keyin: create symbol . Select an origin for your new symbol (the center of the elements is generally a good idea). In the message center you should get the message that the symbol is successfully added to the library.

     

    Figure 2

     


    Figure 3

    Normally, when creating any linestyle, a point or symbol must be based on a stroke pattern. However, as this is a "special" case, the linestyle only needs to be made up of a point component. The first step is to create that point component (Edit > Create > Point), and give it a name so that you will recognize it later. Next, click on the Origin toggle, then click the Select button on the bottom of the dialog. Choose the symbol we added in the first steps.

     


    Figure 4

    Doing this ensures that a symbol will be placed at the first point (the origin), when using the place line commands later.


    Figure 5

    Finally we need to give our new linestyle a name and link it to the point component we just created. To create the name (which users will see when choosing the active linestyle), choose Edit > Create > Name and give the new linestyle a valid name. Next, simply select the name from the Styles list and the Point component from the Components list and choose Edit > Link.

     

    But how will this symbol become zoom independent?
    Most linestyles are displayed on screen based on the master units of the DGN file, however, it is possible create a linestyle that is displayed based on the screen resolution. When this is the case, no matter how far the user has zoomed in or out, the linestyle will always appear the same (think about how MicroStation's internal linestyles act when you zoom out). To make our linestyle "zoom independent," double click the name in the Linestyle Editor and choose Units to be device - as well as a value.

     


    Figure 7

    Confirm these changes and save the resource file.
    To test, simply select the new linestyle as your active style, choose place line and place a symbol. Zoom out to see the results.

     

    See Also

    Product TechNotes and FAQs

    External Links

    Bentley Technical Support KnowledgeBase

    Bentley LEARN Server

    Comments or Corrections?

    Bentley's Technical Support Group requests that you please confine any comments you have on this Wiki entry to this "Comments or Corrections?" section. THANK YOU!

    • linestyle
    • Share
    • History
    • More
    • Cancel
    • Elisa McGraw Created by Elisa McGraw
    • When: Tue, Jul 21 2009 11:05 AM
    • Andrew Bell Last revision by Bentley Colleague Andrew Bell
    • When: Mon, Oct 8 2018 8:47 PM
    • Revisions: 16
    • 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

    © 2021 Bentley Systems, Incorporated  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy |  Terms of Use  |  Cookies