• OpenRoads SignCAD 2023 Release

    We are pleased to announce that OpenRoads SignCAD 2023 (23.00.00.151) is now available.

    This is a significant release that includes a new look and feel while maintaining the long-established logic and functionality of past releases plus new native integration with the DGN format. This release is designed to be more efficient, provide functionality that was not previously available for all standards, and easier for users…

  • Importing Georeferenced data (DEMs, Point Clouds, ...) and computing TMs, STMs, 3SMs in Georeferenced DGNs - ISSUE and WORKAROUND

    There is an issue affecting referencing/importing georeferenced data (Point Clouds, Digital Elevation Models in any format).

    If the source data and the DGN file have a coordinate system (it may be the same) then elevations will be wrong.
    Depending on the data/use case, the offset may be large or less detectable.

    Affected datasources:

    • all DEMs (HGTs, ASCs, Raster TIff  (SRTM as an example)
    • all Point Clouds (LiDARs as an…
  • Kaffee-Ecken-Plausch: MicroStation in D-A-CH - Referenzen

    Wir möchten Sie gerne zu einem weiteren Kaffee-Ecken-Plausch, am 24. Juni 2022, um 11:00 Uhr Mitteleuropäische Sommerzeit einladen.

    Das Thema dieses Monats ist: Referenzen

    Es gibt mehr Formate als nur Vektordateien, die in MicroStation angehängt werden können. Rasterreferenzen, der Weediest für Map-Kacheln (WMTS), Punktwolken und Reality Meshes gehören ebenso dazu wie die iModel-Dateien. 

    Bentley…

  • Coffee Corner: OpenBuildings in DACH - Plotten und Plotkonventionen

    Wir möchten Sie gerne zu einer weiteren Coffee Corner am 17. Juni 2022 um 11:00 Uhr Mitteleuropäische Sommerzeit, einladen.

    In dieser Coffee Corner geht es um folgende Themen:

    Plotten und Plotkonventionen

    • Plotten von OBD Plänen
    • Plottkonventionen und Darstellungsregeln
    • Plott Organizer/Stapeldruck
    • Plottreiber einrichten
    • Fragen und Antworten

    Registrieren Sie sich jetzt!

  • Bentley is proud to announce the release of OpenRoads ConceptStation Update 15!

    Conceptual Road Network Design Software

    New edition to the product includes tools for:

    • Road Widening with Slope Matching
    • Milling and Overlay
    • Integration with iTwin Synchronizer allowing production of iTwin directly to Design Review

    Jump-start your projects by rapidly creating conceptual designs and improving the decision-making process. OpenRoads ConceptStation offers roadway and bridge design capabilities to help road…

  • New Release of OpenRoads ConceptStation Update 14!

    Bentley is proud to announce the release of OpenRoads ConceptStation Update 14!

    Conceptual Road Network Design Software

    New edition to the product includes tools for:

    • Custom Materials
    • CAD Modeling
    • Transparency for Base Terrain
    • Enhanced Reporting
    • Component Order/Direction
    • Modification for Pier Cap Dimension
    • Hide Unhide Intersection and Roundabout Islands
    • Draping of furniture on Mesh Objects
    • Integration Ribbon for OpenRoads…
  • Accelerate Conference (Jun 15-18) Registration is Now Open!

    Civil User Conference 2021 (Virtual)

    Tuesday, June 15, through Friday, June 18, 2021

    Free!

    https://www.bentley.com/en/learn/civil-virtual-conference

    Registration is now Open!

    The Bentley Civil User Conference offers informative live presentations to help you discover new techniques to stay current with the industry’s leading transportation solutions and be at the forefront of civil design technology. Attendees will gain…

  • LinkedIn Learning: Civil Geometry QuickStart

    Hi OpenRoadsers!

    LinkedIn Learning now has an OpenRoads Designer course:  Civil Geometry QuickStart 

    You must have a LinkedIn Learning subscription (or your company does) to access.

    If you do not have access to LinkedIn Learning, you can, of course, take the class from the LEARNserver.

    (I'm curious and looking for feedback:  who would NOT have access to our LEARNserver, but would have access to LinkedIn Learning?  please…

  • OpenRoads Cross Section Annotation Batch Processor

    When saving cross sections to multiple files with OpenRoads Designer, managing the annotations can become challenging. OpenRoads Cross Section Annotation Batch Processor semi-automates this process. It allows the user:

    1. To select a list of files to process.
    2. The option to remove existing annotations.
    3. The ability to select an Annotation Group for the new annotations.

    communities.bentley.com/.../OpenRoads-Cross-Section-Annotation…

  • "Placing Ditches" is now available on the Learn Server

    A new course, Placing Ditches, is available on the LEARNserver (learn.bentley.com) in the OpenRoads Drainage and Utilities Learning Path.

  • OpenRoads Level Display Batch Processor

    Let's say one has created plan and profile sheets or cross sections with OpenRoads Designer. There are dozens or, perhaps, hundreds of them. Now one needs to turn on or off a level or two in each model. OpenRoads Level Display Batch Processor to the rescue!

    Because OpenRoads Designer creates drawings and sheets in a very structured, programmatic way, OpenRoads Level Display Batch Processor can "copy" level display…

  • OpenRoads Cross Section and Profile Viewer

    Flipping through models created by OpenRoads Designer can be repetitive and error-prone. The OpenRoads Cross Section and Profile Viewer seeks to solve this problem. It may be used to quickly and easily navigate or step through drawing and sheet models of cross sections and plans and profiles.

    It has a Zoom feature that scales view windows for greater clarity.

    Once the settings are established to one's satisfaction, the…

  • Digital Twins Learning Path

    Digital Twins Learning Path!

    Right now, there is a single course, with nine 1-minute videos, but I expect this to be a primary source for Twin info.

    Introduction to Digital Twins videos

  • May the 4th Be with You! And Accelerate Civil Virtual Conference!

    https://www.bentley.com/en/global-events/accelerate/2020/civil-virtual-conference

    Starting Tuesday, May 5..

    Links to Registration are in the link above.

    ACCELERATE CIVIL VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

      ACCELERATE Civil virtual conference offers informative live presentations, on-demand breakout sessions, practical hands-on workshops via the LEARNserver, and a live user story series to help you discover new techniques to stay…

    • Digital Twins: It can start with you (and your cell phone)

      What do we want?

          Time Travel!

      When do we want it?

        It doesn't matter!

      I just got back from 50 years in the future and everything has a Digital Twin.  Of course, I want to monetize my trip to the future, so getting ahead of the Digital Twin tsunami is my ticket (Oh, and a big early bet on the Gators winning the 16-team college football playoff in 2027).  

      How do I get going?

      The overall strategy is to identify your…

    • ACCELERATE Civil Virtual Conference: Registration Open!

      Registration for the ACCELERATE Civil Virtual Conference live sessions is now open. The conference us complimentary and available to everyone, not just those that were registered for the Orlando conference. Remember to check back with the registration page as registration for the guest user presentations and recorded on demand presentations will be added over the next several weeks.

       

      The attached PDF has all the details…

    • Digital Twins: they're coming, but when to us?

      I want my Digital Twins!  But I ain't getting them soon, it looks like...

      In my 30 years in the industry, the move from our older products to OpenRoads Designer was the biggest transformation I had seen.  Common Data Environment, automatic smart updates, BIM-ready...  Big!

      I've been wrong before (I thought Digital Signatures and The Magic Pen would be staples years ago), but Digital Twins looks like it will not only…

    • Working from home with Bentley OpenSite/OpenRoads/OpenRail Designer

      In these challenging times when COVID-19 is imposing significant disruptions to day-to-day activities and affecting normal business flow, we at Bentley are committed to helping you transition from an office environment to working remotely or at home.

       

      The following articles contain information to help you be successful with using OpenSite/OpenRoads/OpenRail Designer while working remotely or from home:

       

    • In-person Training: What's the Point?

      I’m in a philosophical battle with my 13-year old, whose study habits are, well, he’s going to transform if he’s going to do well next year when he starts high school.

      What prompted our arguments is a terribly-designed project in Science: design a mission for a telescope to visit all the planets.  There are three fundamental incompatibilities in the title alone and scores of impracticalities, but that…

    • You can have your HUD back when you pry it from my cold dead fingers

      I’m a bit cynical in general.  I’m also entering my fourth decade of banging hard on civil software.  When the development team was internally previewing OpenRoads to us five or six years ago, they were making a big deal about the Heads Up Display (HUD). 

      Then: I thought it was a bit gimmicky.  “How much time is that actually going to save me?”

      Now:  “You can take it from me when you pry it from my…

    • Civil Engineers: Masters of Relationships!?

      Engineers get a lot of grief for being not good with relationships.  I say: No More! 

      We were always relationship-focused, but we didn’t necessarily know how to manage them.  We didn’t quite have the tools.  But that was then.

      Ask any Hollywood Celebrity or Gossip Reporter: “Do you care about the relationship between this Profile Grade Line and that Edge of Pavement?”  They’d surely respond, “Of course…

    • The Reverse Engineering Stops Here?

      I used to have this in my email signature:

      gnireenignE

      As a developer of training, it was my duty – my calling – to save software users from having to reverse engineer how the software worked.  Reverse engineering is hard, it’s really time-consuming and it’s error prone.  Reverse Engineering the software is supposed to stop with me.

      I’ve recently dipped my toe back into migration services for the…

    • Confessions of an Ex-InRoads Trainer - Part 1: One format

      I just finished teaching a couple of InRoads v8i SELECTseries 2 training classes.  I hope they’re my last.

      There are a hundred reasons to upgrade to OpenRoads as quickly as you can.  My personally favorite reason is that OpenRoads is just more fun to work with.  I’d argue that that’s probably the most important reason, but I save that argument for another post.

      As a trainer and developer of training, there…

    • Why OpenRoads is Transformative - in two minutes.

      This is my favorite thing to show new users.

      I can show you why OpenRoads is Revolutionary in two minutes.  And it’s not it’s super high-end capabilities (Corridors are largely the same as the old Roadway Designer without the clunky interface).  OpenRoads has a great Head-Up Interface, amazingly streamlined and powerful Geometry (I can’t believe I was actually happy with the old InRoads Geometry).

      The…

    • OpenRoads/OpenRail Courses for Everybody

      Traditionally, our core training has been written for our "core" Learner: the Roadway Designer.  That's okay - if you're a roadway designer.

      We now have a series of courses that are designed to gently - and a little more coherently - introduce the OpenRoads and OpenRail Designer platform. 

      There's a clear Learning Outcome:  Learners with a little prior CAD experience will, in a couple hours, master Civil…