Document Information

Document Type: TechNote 

Legacy Document Number:  8336

Overview

When opening a DWG file there are a few options that can be selected to control how the file will appear in MicroStation. You can access the DWG options by either opening a file from the MicroStation Manager or by doing file>open. To make the DWG Options button available, you must select a DWG file type or a DXF file type.

With the 2004 Edition there are some changes to the DWG Options dialog box. There are three main areas:

• Basic
• Advanced
• Line Weights

Basic

Architectural or Engineering Units - The units can be set for DWG files with Architectural or Engineering units. For example, if a DWG file is drawn using Architectural units then this would need to be set to inches to get the proper scale for the file. Some of the unit options are:

• Seed File Master Units and Seed File Subunits - The DGN seed file is specified at the bottom of the General tab dialog.
• Design Center Units -Specifies the units used in a DWG file. If this setting is available and accurately set in the DWG file, you can set both Units options to Design Center Units.

  MicroStation can then automatically use this value to interpret the DWG units. This setting is not available in AutoCAD files prior to AutoCAD 2000.

Decimal, Scientific or Fractional Units - The units can be set for DWG files with Decimal, Scientific, or Fractional units.

For DWG files with these units, the actual units are not implied, but they are typically one of the metric units.

Line Weight Scale (MM/Pixel) -This value controls the relationship between line weights in MicroStation and AutoCAD. MicroStation line weights are defined in pixels, whereas AutoCAD defines them by width in millimeters.

Preserve MicroStation Settings -If on, preserves MicroStation-specific settings in the DWG file. Use this setting if the DWG output file will be edited with MicroStation, and you want to preserve the settings and element data between editing sessions

DGN Seed File - Sets the path and the filename of the seed DGN file. To browse for this file, click the adjacent magnifying glass icon. When a DWG file is open, MicroStation extracts most of the settings directly from the DWG file. However, MicroStation settings that are not present in the DWG are extracted from the DGN seed file. You can set the units to either Master Units or Sub Units of the seed file.

Create 2D Models for Model Space - If this is selected then a 2D model is created to represent model space. If 3D geometry is present it is flattened to the X-Y plane.

Create 2D Models for Paper Space - If this is selected then 2D sheet models are created to represent paper space sheets. If 3D geometry is present it is flattened to the X-Y plane. You can have 3D models in a 2D sheets.

Colors - This is the only place that the color of the background for the Sheet Model and the Design Model can be changed in a DWG file. DWG files do not store a background color for either of the models.

Advanced

Use Seed File Global Origin - When on, uses the global origin values from the DGN seed file. Use this option if the DWG file originated from a DGN file, and you plan to save the file as a DGN.

Set Axis Lock if OrthoMode=l - When on, turns on Axis Lock if the AutoCAD ORTHOMODE system variable is set to 1 in the DWG file.

Assign Logical Names to Xref Block Names - When on, the XRef block names are used by reference logicalnames in MicroStation. In AutoCAD, each Xref is assigned a block name. This name is typically, but not necessarily, the name of the Xref file.

Display Units Alert

• Unspecified Design Center Units - If on, the units alert box is displayed--if Design Center Units are selected in the Basic DWG Open Options, but the file being opened has Design Center Units set to Unspecified.
• Decimal, Fractional, or Engineering Units - If on, the units alert box is displayed--if the file being opened has Decimal, Fractional, or Scientific units. These unit settings do not imply any particular units, although meters are typically assumed.
• Mismatched Engineering or Architectural Units - If on, the units alert box is, displayed if the file being opened has Engineering or Architectural units, but the unit setting is not set to Inches. Since these file types strongly imply that inches are used, any other setting is likely to be an error.

LineWeights

Used to map DGN line weights to DWG lineweights. The same line weight mapping is used for both opening and saving to DWG files.

• DGN Weight - Lists the line weights used in DGN files.
• DWG Weight - Sets the DWG lineweight value that maps to a DGN line weight. Click on the DWG Weight column header to toggle between units of millimeters and inches.

See also

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