| | Product(s): | MicroStation | |
| | Version(s): | N\A | |
| | Environment: | N\A | |
| | Area: | Interchange | |
| | Subarea: | Publishing .imodel | |
The following article is an overview to help explain what an i-model is and the various types of files created when publishing them from designs using MicroStation.
Background
During the design process information needs to be reviewed with various parties who may not have access to application in which the design material was generated. Whilst a design could be printed to paper or captured in a PDF for distribution some of the design information may be lost.
An i-model is a read only container file used to capture multi-discipline information including business information and graphics at a certain point in time. It can be distributed and viewed without needing the application in which it was created.
An i-model file is recognized by its file extension ‘.i.dgn’ (For Example filename.dwg.i.dgn for a published DWG or filename.dgn.i.dgn for a DGN) and whilst an i-model can be published using other applications this article will look at MicroStation.
Publishing a packaged i-model (.i.dgn) allows the publisher to embed all required documents into one file and optionally protecting the data with a password or certificate.
The recipient of the i-models can view the data within the i-model using both desktop and mobile applications such as Bentley Navigator or Navigator Mobile. Note in the case of mobile applications a packaged i-model ‘.imodel’ is required.
Publishing an i-model from MicroStation
The process of publishing an i-model (.i.dgn) starts with opening the design file to be published ( This could be a DWG or DGN ) and selecting the menu item File > Publish i-model to open the ‘Publish i-model(s) dialog.
Once the required publishing settings above are set and ‘Publish‘ is selected the i-model (*.i.dgn) file will be created in the same location as the opened design file using the same file name but with the .i.dgn extension.
If the opened design file contains references when punished it will create i-models (*.i.dgn ) for each reference again in the same location but with the .i.dgn extension.
For example : The following diagram illustrates the links between the master and reference published files. The UnitedStates.dgn is the master file which references the states files which are dgn files. When you publish the master file it creates a published master which is linked to all the published reference files.
Packaging an i-model
It’s possible to create a single i-model (.i.dgn ) package by checking the ‘Create a single package’ option in the publishing dialog.
Once selected the Package Settings above become available allowing the user define the package name and location, as well as specifying other documents to embed and setting protection for the published i-model (.i.dgn ).
The following diagram shows that a package is a single entity that encapsulates all the published files.
Publishing an i-model for mobile applications
Mobile applications such as Navigator Mobile can open i-models ( .imodel ) files. To publish these the option ‘Create an i-model ( .imodel ) file‘ under the Package settings of the Publish i-model(s) dialog should be used.
The name and location of published mobile i-model can be set using the ‘Package:’ setting. The file extension of the mobile i-model will be .imodel
In later versions ( MicroStation CONNECT Update 7 ) its possible to choose the version of the .imodel to be published.
Publishing an i-model to the CONNECTION Center Personal Share
i-models can also be published to your ‘Personal Share’ on the ‘CONNECTION Center‘ https://connect.bentley.com/ which can then be accessed on any of your devices as well as sharing them with others using the ‘Publish .imodel to Personal Share‘ option.
To enable this option, the user must be signed into the CONNECTION Client.
See Also
Other language sources
| | Original Author: | Carl Myhill | |