I have a DGN and GSF project that has become bloated with numerous models and objects and performance is degraded when working with them. I would like to seperate the project into smaller pieces by exporting some of the graphics or DGN models to new files. I would need to keep the Modeler components and relationships intact, so importing objects from the parent GSF into a new GSF would not be a solution unless that can be done without compromising the relationships.
I don't have any related sewer, water or survey projects that I care about, but it would be good to know how to address those as well should I need to do this on other projects that do have those components.
Also, some of the objects will be interdependent and will need to be synchronzed between the resulting pieces. For example if I store the roads in one project and grading in another, how would I synchronize the site grading when the roads change and vice versa?
What would be a workflow to achieve my goal? Are there any documents that explain how to do this?
Power Civil 08.11.07.245
Hi Neil,
good question!
There are a couple of methods I could suggest you try. Which will be most successful - I really don't know.
1) You could copy and rename both the DGN and GSF. Open the renamed files - answer yes to the Modeler message to synch with the new DGN, and save. Then begin to delete the data you don't want.
2) Copy the DGN. Open the copied DGN and create a new GSF that contains no Objects. File>Import>Objects. Select the old GSF and copy the Objects you want in the new project. As you have the same graphical elements (because you copied the DGN), the Objects should synch with the elements to provide the same links as you had in the original project. There will be some lost links if you do not copy Objects that elements rely on...
I just tried this option - option #2 - on a relatively simple dataset, and it worked as described. I did NOT change the DGN name - I simply copied it to a new folder but, in theory, the name of the DGN should not be of concern in this method.
HTHs
I would be curious which method provides the best result based on your project.
Neil,
a little update.
Method #2, when the Objects are copied, the graphics are recreated.
Seems you could start with a blank DGN - though I would certainly suggest you have all the same DGN settings.
Here is an update after trying your suggestions Michael,
I first tried creating a new DGN and new GSF using a comparable seed file. When I tried to import objects from my orginal project I got several results:
1) An error message that objects with Comp Sections cannot be imported, then the process aborts.
2) The import process would complete but no objects or elements were imported.
3) Power Civil would crash.
4) If an object had no associated elements (i.e. a surface imported from a .TIN file), it would import properly.
Next I tried copying the project DGN to a new file with the same name in a seperate folder. I then created a new GSF for the copied DGN and attempted to import objects from the original GSF with the same results as above.
Lastly I made copies of my project DGN and GSF and attempted to delete the unwanted models and objects. At least with this workflow we get an intact project to work with, but during the process of deleting unwanted objects and models, Power Civil is very prone to crashing if the options to remove all elements or objects are included in the delete process, so it requires a lot of care and precaution to get the job done. It also requires deleting all unneeded models and elements from the DGN. This process will have to be repeated for every sub-project I want to create.
Another approach that seems to work well is to use the Export to DGN tool to export the models or elements from the parent DGN to new DGNs. Using this approach I first tried opening one of the exported DGN's and then the parent GSF with the intent of saving the GSF to a new file using the Project SaveAs command. When opening the parent GSF from one of the new DGN's I first chose the NO option to change the association to the new DGN, leaving the GSF in a Read Only state.. With that option the SaveAs command would not create a new GSF. If I opened the parent GSF with the YES option, Power Civil would save the GSF to a new file, but it crashed when I attempted to reopen the original DGN and GSF. However after the crash everything works upon reopening all the DGN and GSF files. From here I can then go through the sub projects removing unwanted models, objects and elements. This approach seems to be the most efficient as it is requires less effort to get the desired graphics into new DGNs. One downside to this manual approach is it can be difficult to determine which objects to delete from the new project without knowing whether there are elements or objects associated with them (i.e. Construction objects, driveways, ramps. etc).
If I could make a suggestion, it would be helpful to have a tool to facilitate this process (i.e. export selected Models, Objects and assciated Grapics) to a new DGN and GSF. If possible, the tool could ensure that all dependent objects and elements would be included in the export.
Neil Wilson (aka Neilw)
Power Civil v8i 08.11.07.245
AutoCAD Civil 3D 2018
On a related note to the topic,
As I mentioned, there will be a need to maintain relationships between the various GSF files associated with the project. Currently there is no way to create associations between GSF's, so the process will require manually synchronzing the data.
Would it be possible to provide a means to create associations to GSF's? For example, if we had a road network stored in a DGN and GSF, and site grading stored in another DGN and GSF, could we create references to the road DGN and GSF and use them to model the site grading so that when the Road project changes, the site grading project would update? This paradigm would better facilitate a multiuser project structure.