I have one or two tools that I would like to make for my users, but I do not get to be part of the Developer's Network and do not have access to the SDK.
I am not looking to make money, I am not looking to be a full-time programmer. I would just like the opportunity to mess around with tools (available in the software) to make our lives just a little easier.
There is an entire MVBA help file which is very helpful for understanding how to write routines for vanilla MicroStation, however there is no information that I could find about what (if any) of the civil data structure is accessible through VBA. I'm sure there is something, however I see nothing that compares. The "plain" VBA Help is verbose, comprehensive and thorough. I haven't found anything like that for ORD.
Is this just a file I haven't found yet? Or is that kind of explanatory documentation reserved only for the professional programmers? Why?
The tool I want is very simple (or it should be very simple). A dialog box where the user can select a horizontal alignment with corresponding profile (by a list, graphically, just by active, not sure yet), enter a station, and get the profile elevation at that station. Yes, there are other tools in the software they can use to get that information, but this question comes up so often from everybody that I think it would be easier to just make them this one specific widget.
Thank you.
See this discussion https://communities.bentley.com/products/programming/civil_programming/f/civil_programming_forum/168896/vba-in-ord, Chris Pair from Bentley replied 'We do not support VBA access to the new OpenRoads Designer objects'.
I think this is a massive mistake, VBA and .Net/SDK fill different needs. Developing in VBA is much easier to learn and easier to debug than developing in .Net, especially for the designer/part time developer. To me developing in ,Net using the SDK is more aimed at 3rd party professional developers.
That being said there are examples in the SDK written in C# that are similar to what you describe. Which leads back to your question as to access to the SDK....
Yeah, that's terrible.VBA is much easier than .net, and it doesn't require any additional tools beyond what is available already in the software. That makes it perfect for people to learn and use easily. I can understand that some data structures may not lend themselves to VBA, but that doesn't mean that it should just be eliminated.
How do people find out they want to be third-party developers unless they have the opportunity to do some programming?And why should every program written be for commercial use? Why not give smaller companies the opportunity to develop some useful tools on their own?
Thank you for the link. As depressing as that conversation is, it's a definitive answer.
MaryB
Power GeoPak 08.11.09.918Power InRoads 08.11.09.918OpenRoads Designer 2021 R2
Total Agree
‘If you have to repeat a task 4 times in a day or more you should automate it’
I have found the more people/companies can customize software with macros to make their workflows more efficient, the more locked into using the software they are. VBA suits rapid development of macros that don’t require the grunt of .net applications.For Micostation and other applications I tend to do initial prototyping in VBA, then if I use it a lot I recode it into a .Net addin
Mark