This is the latest in a series of MicroStation CONNECT bugs regarding large binary tag values. MicroStation V8i SS4 handles these tags perfectly, but MicroStation CONNECT does not.
BackgroundMicroStation CONNECT Update 4 fixed one aspect of a binary tag bug introduced in MicroStation CONNECT. But it turns out that that problem with binary tag values was not completely fixed in MicroStation CONNECT Update 4. Here I describe the symptoms we discovered during testing.
The previous problem in this series (not fully fixed in MicroStation CONNECT Update 4) was:
The Current BugMicroStation CONNECT Update 10 (10.10.00.23). Probably exists in earlier CONNECT versions as well.
Steps to Reproduce1. Open the attached design file in MicroStation CONNECT Update 10. Observe two cells, each containing lines and text. These have tags associated with them.2. Key-in "edit tags" and choose the leftmost cell. Observe all tags properly displayed. (Note: MicroStation CONNECT Update 3 was UNable to display all the tags. Bentley staff can refer to SR 7000498972 for details on this. This is the aspect that was fixed in MicroStation CONNECT Update 4.)3. When done, press {Cancel} to close the Edit Tags box. Up to this step, things are working okay.
The Problem4. Now key-in "edit tags" and pick the rightmost cell. Observe "Attached Sets" dialog with an empty list. That is an error. It should display two (2) tags: column_index and column_height.
Expected (Correct) Behavior5. Repeat step (4) but in MicroStation V8i SS4. You will see that V8i SS4 does not have this bug. Only MicroStation CONNECT has this bug.
MDL CodeExecute the code below on the first (left) cell. Observe that some tags are not extracted properly by mdlTag_extract routine. If you watch tagSpec.set.setName and tagSpec.tagName variables in debugger you can see that they contain garbage symbols. Also, tagValue contains garbage. A strange thing though is that "edit tags" key-in against first (left) cell displays all names and values properly.
void readTags (MSElement *elP){ int n_tag; TagValue tagValue; TagSpec tagSpec; MSElementDescr *edP, *currP;
mdlTag_getElementTags (&edP, &n_tag, &elP, MASTERFILE, 0); if (n_tag == 0) return; currP = edP;
while (currP != NULL) { mdlTag_extract (NULL, NULL, &tagSpec, NULL, &tagValue, NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, &currP->el, MASTERFILE);
currP = currP->h.next; }}
old_tags_test.dgn
I don't even see the tag elements in CONNECT U9. Where are they? I confirm that I can see their values in your left cell but see a blank dialog when I select the right cell.
Regards, Jon Summers LA Solutions
Hi, Jon.
Isn't that the problem I'm describing? Are you doing "edit tags" when you see the blank list?
Have you tried the same in V8i SS4? The tags list is not empty in that case.
Eiren Smith said:Isn't that the problem I'm describing?
I'm differentiating between tag elements, which I can't see, and tag values, which I can see (for your left cell only) in the tags dialog.
Your tag set definitions tell me that several tag elements should be visible, yet I don't see any instance of displayable tag elements. I see only your cell lines and text. Here what the Element Information tool shows me...
Thanks, Jon.
All these tags are defined non-displayable. They are designed to store some settings, not to display them. The problem is that we cannot read some tags in MicroStation CONNECT — but those tags are readable in V8i.
Eiren Smith said:All these tags are defined non-displayable
Are you sure?
Jon Summers said:Your tag set definitions tell me that several tag elements should be visible
Oh, shoot. Sorry about that "3e2" tag, Jon. It was created manually here during testing. Shouldn't have been in that tag set as it is unrelated to the current problem.
Hi Eiren,
I was able to reproduce the issue using the DGN file you provided.Although the binary tag is not even attached to the (right) cell, if I remove it from the tagset, "review tags" works fine then. So there is most likely a direct relation between the issue and the binary tag definition.I have also tested to read the tags using a VBA routine and found the TagSetName and TagDefintionName were not available.
I have filed the Defect # 931911 to address this issue.
Best regards,
Artur
Thank you, Artur! I see you also wrote SR # 7000813514 for it.
I really appreciate your speedy work on this and your reply here in the forum.
Dear Artur,
Do you know if there has been any progress on this MicroStation CONNECT defect? I haven't seen any motion on it in the SR and no one has replied to my requests in there for status updates in the year since I wrote the SR and the corresponding defect report was written by yourself.
We tested this in MicroStation CONNECT Update 12 in July of this year (2019) and the bug was still present.
Thanks again for your help.
Hi Eiren Smith,
Defect 931911 is currently in the MSCE U14 backlog and not available in a current release at this time. Although we cannot say if other priorities may override and prevent it from making the next release it is certainly in the scope of the current product iteration to be addressed.
HTH,Bob
FYI. Artur Goldsweer
Thank you very much for that update, Mr. Hook!
I hope it makes it into Update 14 — I guess we'll see.