The following instructions are based on the MicroStation CONNECT readme:
Home > Installation > "Side-by-Side Installation" 

Side-by-Side Installation

From the release of MicroStation 2023 onwards, Side-by-Side installation will be supported for Major Releases. Minor Release updates will upgrade a Major Release and a Major release and Minor Release will not be able to sit Side by Side. Users will have the ability to run multiple major releases MicroStation on the same machine. Installation of MicroStation 2023 and onwards will by default occur alongside any previous installations. Removing previous versions of MicroStation will require a manual uninstall. The application version naming FAQ describing major and minor releases is located here. Bentley Lifecycle Policy | Bentley Systems | Infrastructure Engineering Software Company

With MicroStation 2023 available as a Side-by-Side install, its default installation directory & configuration is in a different location than previous application. In the default installation, you can work on two different configurations defined during MicroStation CONNECT Edition and MicroStation 2023 installation.

If you require MicroStation 2023 to work with the same configuration as MicroStation CONNECT Edition, then you must review and complete the following tasks during and after the installation process to share the configuration among two MicroStation versions.  

1. Set default Delivered Configuration directory during Installation
2. Set Custom Configuration directory during Installation
3. Copy Paste “prefs” folder after Installation

Each step is explained as follows,

Set default delivered configuration directory during Installation

During the installation of MicroStation 2023, you must define the same directory path as the Delivered Configuration directory of MicroStation CONNECT Edition. The default Delivered Configuration directory path is “C:\ProgramData\Bentley\MicroStation 2023\”. Change this directory path to “C:\ProgramData\Bentley\MicroStation CONNECT Edition\” as shown in the image below.

Note: If you installed the Delivered configuration to the custom directory (Other than “MicroStation CONNECT Edition” directory) then you must select the same custom directory in the above step.

Set Custom Configuration directory during Installation

During installation of MicroStation 2023, if you wish to share your existing Custom Configuration, then you must set the same directory path of Custom Configuration directory of MicroStation CONNECT Edition.

In the below image, MicroStation CONNECT Edition Custom Configuration directory is “D:\Bentley\WS”. You should browse the same directory during MicroStation 2023 installation. 

Note: MicroStation Configurations are not version dependent.  Bentley tries to minimize any disruptions to Configurations, however in some Open products there may be instances where some configuration changes take place. Please refer to the release documents of those products.

Copy Paste “prefs” folder after Installation

If you wish to use Preferences and User Configuration from the previous version, then after installation, launch MicroStation 2023 and close the session to set the default preferences at “C:\Users\<user.name>\AppData\Local\Bentley\MicroStation\23.0.0” directory.

Now copy “prefs” directory from “C:\Users\ASN\AppData\Local\Bentley\MicroStation\10.0.0” and paste at “C:\Users\ASN\AppData\Local\Bentley\MicroStation\23.0.0” to replace existing “prefs” directory.

MicroStation 2023 should work seamlessly with the existing configurations. This configuration will be shared between MicroStation CONNECT Edition and MicroStation 2023.

Important Note: You must follow step 3, every time if there is any change in preference settings in MicroStation CONNECT Edition which you wish to use in MicroStation 2023.

See also

MicroStation CONNECT Edition Readme
MicroStation CONNECT Edition System Requirements
MicroStation 2023 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
CONNECTION Client ReadMe

Other Language Sources

Deutsch

Español

Italiano

Français