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This FAQ provides answers to frequently asked questions relating to upgrading to MicroStation V8 XM Edition from previous versions of MicroStation.
The requirements for MicroStation V8 XM Edition have changed slightly from the requirements for MicroStation V8 2004 Edition. MicroStation V8 XM Edition requires a minimum of 256MB of RAM, although 512MB is recommended. More memory will almost always improve performance, particularly when working with larger models. It is also recommended that you have a graphics card and driver that supports DirectX 9.0 in order to best take advantage of MicroStation V8 XM Edition's new graphics capabilities. For more on MicroStation V8 XM Edition installation requirements please see the MicroStation V8 XM Edition Requirements. You can also test your workstation to see if it is optimized for MicroStation V8 XM Edition by using the free MicroStation V8 XM Graphics Benchmark application.
MicroStation V8 XM Edition supports the following Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 2000 (SP3), Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 x64, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows XP Home Edition.
MicroStation V8 XM Edition will not run on older versions of Windows, including Windows 98 or Windows NT.
The MicroStation V8 XM Edition Software Prerequisite Pack is a series of Microsoft packages that must be installed on your workstation prior to the installation of MicroStation V8 XM Edition.
A complete listing of the components of the MicroStation v8 XM Edition Software Prerequisite Pack can be found in the Installation Requirements.
If you are not sure that your workstation has all of these prerequisites, or if they are up to date, it is strongly recommended that you install the software prerequisite pack prior to the installation of MicroStation V8 XM Edition. The MicroStation V8 XM Edition Software Prerequisite Pack needs to be installed on your system once, and only needs to be reinstalled if you are installing a later version of MicroStation that requires an updated prerequisite pack. The MicroStation V8 XM Software Prerequisite Pack is available as a separate download from the Web downloads and MySELECT CD areas of SELECTservices.com.
No. MicroStation V8 XM Edition will require Bentley SELECT Server XM Edition and will not run with Bentley SELECT Server 2004 Edition (V8.5.2 and earlier). Bentley SELECT Server XM Edition can be obtained from the Downloads/MySELECT CD area of SELECTservices Online. Please note that you will need to obtain a new license file for Bentley SELECT Server XM Edition. Contact the Bentley Administration Center that services your area for information on upgrading your current Bentley SELECT Server 2004 Edition license file.
For reference, a copy of the End User License Agreement named "EULA.pdf" is included in the "MicroStation" folder of the product installation. By default, this location is C:\ProgramFiles\Bentley\MicroStation.
Yes. The only restriction is that you do not install both versions into the same directory.
The MicroStation V8 file format is extended by MicroStation V8 XM Edition in a backwards compatible way. That means that while there is some new information that is written to the file by MicroStation XM, that information is ignored by earlier editions of MicroStation V8, and files created and edited with MicroStation XM can still be used in earlier versions. For example, MicroStation XM allows gradient fills and transparencies. Those will not be displayed by earlier versions, but they will not be damaged either.
Data that was previously stored in the \Home directory, is now created dynamically upon MicroStation start-up in a folder created in CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA\Bentley\MicroStation\8.9\ (Typically C:\Documents and Settings\*user name*\Local Settings\Application Data\Bentley\MicroStation\8.9\) instead of being installed to C:\Program Files\Bentley\Home\. You can identify the corresponding folder for a particular MicroStation installation by consulting the DirectoryExplanation.txt file that is included in each folder. The DirectoryExplanation.txt file is parallel with the \prefs folder for that particular MicroStation installation. Please note that these files will not be removed with the MicroStation V8 XM Edition uninstall process. MicroStation V8 XM Edition also has a new command line switch that tells it to delete the user preferences file and all other "state" files. To do so, start MicroStation with the command line switch -RestoreDefaults.
Most pure MDL applications that run on MicroStation V8 2004 Edition should run in MicroStation V8 XM Edition without modification. If the application contains portions that are written in native code (compiled with the Microsoft Visual C++ compiler), then those applications should be recompiled using Visual Studio Version 7.1. Generally, recompiling will be straightforward, although some changes might be required if use certain MicroStation API's such as the ability to set a hook function to be called as each element is drawn to the screen.
MicroStation BASIC is supported in MicroStation V8 XM Edition. However, MicroStation BASIC has not been enhanced and is likely to be unsupported in future versions. Bentley recommends migrating existing MicroStation BASIC code to Visual Basic or Visual Basic for Applications.
All the tools that were previously listed under "Drafting tools" in versions prior MicroStation V8 XM Edition, were either moved to another toolbox or were incorporated with other tools.
Place callout Leader, Place Leader, Place Callout Bubble is incorporated as options in the Placed Note tool. Place Section Marker, Place Title Text, Place Arrow Marker, Place Detail Maker is in the toolbox "Detailing Symbols" (Tools > Annotation > Detailing Symbols).
Place Section Marker, Place Title Text, Place Arrow Marker, Place Detail Maker is in the toolbox "Detailing Symbols" (Tools > Annotation > Detailing Symbols).
MicroStation V8 XM supported databases