If using a V8i (08.11.xx.xx) version of the software, see the Customizing the Interface - V8i article.
This article explains how the user interface in Bentley Substation CONNECT Edition can be customized.
To demonstrate the techniques, this document describes how to create custom buttons for grid spacing. These techniques can be extended to create other tools and customize other tool boxes and tasks, see the Other Customizations section below.
The changes made to the ribbon interface using the procedure above are stored in the file specified by the MS_PERSONALDGNLIB configuration variable. This file is typically:
C:\Users\[user]\AppData\Local\Bentley\Substation\10.0.0\prefs\Personal.Substation.dgnlib
Select File > Settings > Configuration > Configuration Variables and Edit the MS_PERSONALDGNLIB variable (make no changes) to confirm the path and name of the file to which the customizations have been added.
This file could be copied to other users' workstations, replacing their Personal.Substation.dgnlib, as a means of distributing the customizations.
The techniques described in this document can be extended to create other customizations as well.
Tools can be created that perform multiple commands by stringing commands together in the Key-In field of the tool. Commands are separated with semicolons. For example, a tool can be created to select a certain Wire Use and then invoke a "draw wire" type of command. Wire Uses are also known as Wire Layers. The Key-In for such a tool would be:
ECAD COMBOWIRELAYERS combosetinx <Wire Use>; ECAD EXEC DRAWWIRE
Substitute the desired wire use, such as 3Phase for <Wire Use>. Be aware that the wire use name is case-sensitive. Substitute the desired wire command, such as ECAD EXEC THREEPHASELINE, for ECAD EXE DRAWWIRE. Use Workspace > Customize to look at the tools in the Wiring toolbox in the .DGNLIB file supplied with the software to see their Key-in commands.
A tool could be created to turn on or off a level or group of levels. For example, show or hide the display of device IDs by turning on and off the ECT_DGRM_TAGS level. To turn off the level the key-in would be:
level set display off ECT_DGRM_TAGS
To turn the level on:
level set display on ECT_DGRM_TAGS
To toggle the level:
level set display toggle ECT_DGRM_TAGS
A tool could be created to set certain active element properties and then initiate a drawing tool. An example of this would be a tool that sets the active color to 2 (green), sets the active line style to 3 (dashed), sets the active line weight to 5, then initiates the Draw Wire tool. The key-in for this tool would be:
active color 2; active style 3;active weight 5; ECAD EXEC DRAWWIRE
A tool to complement the custom Draw Wire tool in the previous example would be one that sets the active element properties back to "normal". The following Key-in sets the active color to ByLevel, and the line style and weight to 0. Your "normal" may differ.
active color bylevel; active style 0;active weight 0
DGNLIB files are cumulative. To remove an item from the interface it must be removed from all DGNLIB files the software is using. In other words, to remove an unwanted interface item supplied with the software, remove it from the DGNLIB file supplied with the software. Merely leaving the unwanted item out of a custom.dgnlib file does not remove it from the interface. Backup the supplied DGNLIB file before modifying it.
A tool to hide elements not in the current selection set can be handy, especially for 3D design work. The key-in for this is
displayset set selection
Another tool could be created to re-display the hidden elements. The key-in for this is
displayset clear
Customizing the Interface - V8i
Creating Tool Icons
AskInga - Export MicroStations icons from the open DGN library
AskInga - What command was that?
AskInga - Combine your keyins
AskInga - How to extract keyins for the tool settings in MicroStation V8i
YouTube - How to Customize the Ribbon