Background

MicroStation stores the user preferences settings in a file called "User Preferences File",  generally referred to as ".upf file". In some circumstances, such as reinstalling the same version of MicroStation after a OS refresh on your workstation,  it may be useful to be able to restore all your user preferences without having to reset them all manually.

Please bear in mind that the .upf file should never be carried over to a new version of MicroStation after an upgrade. After migrating or upgrading to a newer version of MicroStation the user preferences must be reset manually in the newly installed version. Failing to do so will result in unpredictable behaviour of the application and may result in data loss or corruption.

Steps to Accomplish

If you are reinstalling the same version of MicroStation or want to backup / restore your user preferences file, you can follow the steps here below:

To backup you User Preference File:

1. Open MicroStation with any file and open the Key-in panel (Utilities->key-in)

2. Type the following string in MicroStation’s key-in panel and press enter:

              $ % explorer  $(_USTN_HOMEPREFS)

             This will open your user preferences folder in windows explorer

3. Copy the required .upf file(s) - there will be one for each MicroStation User - file in your backup folder.

To restore your User Preference File:

1. Open MicroStation with any file and open the Key-in panel (Utilities->key-in)

2. Type the following string in MicroStation’s key-in panel and press enter:

              $ % explorer $(_USTN_HOMEPREFS)

              This will open your user preferences folder in windows explorer

3. Close MicroStation but keep the windows explorer window open

4. Copy the backed up .upf file in the above folder, overwriting the existing copy

NOTE: if you are restoring a .upf file for a custom MicroStation user (different from the "untitled" and "examples" that are delivered with the application) after a MicroStation reinstall, you will need to make sure that the corresponding user configuration file (.ucf file) is present in the correct "Users" folder.

See Also

The User Preference File [UPF]

Think you have a problem caused by a UPF? Not so fast...