MicroStation Champions A Tips & Tricks Special Feature

Transcription

1 MicroStation Champions A Tips & Tricks Special Feature Contributions from Patrice Rhodes BE 2007 Conference Session MW1BP101 P.H. Rhodes, Inc. Training, Consulting and Support Services

2 2 Copyright Copyright 2007 P.H. Rhodes, Inc. All rights reserved. Produced in the United States of America. This document or any part thereof may not be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any media, in any form, including but not limited to electronic, photocopying, mechanical copying, electrostatic copying, recording or any other means without the express written permission of P.H. Rhodes, Inc. P.H. Rhodes believes this information is accurate as of its publication date, however no warranty or fitness is implied. Trademarks MicroStation is a registered trademark of Bentley Systems, Inc. AutoCAD is a registered trademark of AutoDesk, Inc. Windows is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation. About the Presenter Patrice Rhodes of P.H. Rhodes, Inc. is an independent consultant specializing in on-site customized software training, support and CAD management services. Patrice has provided CAD management services and extensive MicroStation training for clients in a variety of disciplines including civil, municipal, transportation, architectural, mechanical, electrical, environmental remediation and cartography, with a strong focus on incorporating client data and procedures into her training programs. Patrice has also designed custom training programs in areas related to document management, engineering safety procedures and insurance rate quoting software. She also conducts seminars on training and course development for her clients. Patrice has been creating and implementing successful training, support and CAD management programs for eighteen years, and is celebrating her thirteenth anniversary as President of P.H. Rhodes, Inc. in Patrice is a member of Mensa, Intertel and the NTA.. P.H. Rhodes, Inc. Training, Consulting and Support Services E8185 Hogsback Road Reedsburg, WI (608) patrice@phrhodesinc.com

3 1. Display Older Custom Tools and Menus along with the MicroStation XM Interface Custom additions to the V8.5 user interface can be displayed and used in XM by simply copying the necessary user interface modification files into the current interface directory in XM. This procedure will allow for a quick method of accessing older custom tools when upgrading to XM, but does not take full advantage of the new interface capabilities in XM. 2. Edit Older Custom Tools and Menus while in the MicroStation XM Interface Tools and menus from older user interface modification files can still be modified with the old Customize utility, accessible via the following keying in: mdl load customiz When editing older user interface modification files while in XM, it may be necessary to close and reopen the old Customize utility, or to exit and restart MicroStation to see menu changes.

4 3. Upgrade custom tools and menus from v8.5 to XM: Older custom tools and menus can be fully upgraded to become part of the XM interface by copying them from the older interface modification files into a new GUI dgnlib design file via the procedures described below. After interface features are incorporated into a new GUI dgnlib file, they can take advantage of all of the flexibility and capabilities in the new XM interface. A. Open a GUI dgnlib design file with access to the older custom tool boxes and menus. 1. Copy the necessary older user interface modification files into the current active interface directory in XM. This allows the older tools and menus to display. 2. Create or open a GUI dgnlib design file in XM. 3. Set the MS_GUIDGNLIBLIST variable to point to the GUI dgnlib file. 4. Run MicroStation and open the GUI dgnlib design file. 5. From the Workspace menu, select Customize. The new Customize settings box opens. (This is different from the V8.5 Customize box.) The custom tools and menus from the older user interface modification file(s) will be accessible in this box.

5 B. Copy older custom tool boxes into the open dgnlib design file. 1. Select the Tools tab above the left side of the Customize box. 2. Expand Application Tools and MicroStation to list the available tools and tool boxes, including those from older user interface modification files. 3. Select each custom tool box to upgrade. (You may hold down the <Ctrl> key while selecting multiple tool boxes.) 4. Click the Copy button above the list. 5. Expand User Tools at the top of the same list and select the open dgnlib file. 6. Click the Paste button above the list to paste the tool boxes into the open GUI dgnlib.

6 C. Copy older custom menus into the open dgnlib design file. 1. Select Menu from the drop-down list above the right side of the Customize box. Custom menus from older user interface modification files will appear in italic text. 2. Select each menu to upgrade. (You may hold down the <Ctrl> key while selecting multiple tool boxes.) 3. Click the Copy button above the list. 4. Select the Main Menu at the top of the same list. 5. Click the Paste button above the list to paste the custom menus into the open GUI dgnlib. A second copy of each menu name will appear in green text with (1) appended to its name.

7 D. Remove the older interface files and test the new custom tool boxes and menus in the new GUI dgnlib design file. 1. Exit MicroStation. 2. Move, rename or delete the older user interface modification file(s in the current user interface directory so that MicroStation will no longer read them. 3. Restart MicroStation and reopen the GUI dgnlib file. The new custom menus should appear in the menu bar, and the new custom tools should appear in the Tool Boxes dialog box (in the Tools menu). 4. Open the Customize box. 5. Move, rename or otherwise edit your newly added tools and menus as needed in the new XM Customize box. Custom menu items that opened custom tool boxes from previous versions will need their key-ins edited. The newly converted tool boxes are identified by their new names rather than by their old resource ID numbers. To cause a menu item to open a tool box, assign the following key-in: customize open toolbox <tool box name> Because tool boxes in the new interface are identified by names rather than numbers, older tool boxes with conflicting resource ID numbers can now be added to the same interface under different names.

8 4. Set up a User Preference Seed File MicroStation XM has a number of new and different looking preference options, making it a good idea to consider how users preferences are set up by default when XM is first installed. A set of preferences can be created and MicroStation configured so that each user starts with a controlled and predictable set of preferences. To assign a user preference seed file, set the following configuration variable: MS_USERPREFSEED = <filename>.spf 5. Set New Workspace Preferences a. Set Reset Button Preferences In Workspace Preferences, under the Input category, the Reset Pop-up Menu setting determines when your mouse or cursor reset button opens the Reset Pop-up menu. The following options are available: Reset Pop-up Menu Click The Reset pop-up menu opens when you click or hold the reset mouse button. The pre-xm reset function is eliminated from that button. Press and Hold The Reset pop-up menu opens when you hold the reset mouse button. (Clicking the reset button resets a command as it did in previous versions.) Hold Delay Sets the delay, in 60ths of a second, before the Reset pop-up menu opens when the Reset button is held down. When Preferences are set to Defaults and a user presses the Reset button for the first time, a dialog box opens and asks the user to choose one of the options listed above. The Reset function can be assigned to function key via the key-in buttonaction reset Press and Hold is the default MicroStation setting for the Reset Pop-up Menu. The Default Hold Delay setting is 1/6 second.

9 b. Locate Elements by Interiors In Workspace Preferences, under the Input category, the Locate Interiors setting determines where users can place data points to identify closed, surface or solid elements. The following choices are available: Locate Interiors Never (Same as V7) Elements cannot be located by their interiors. Rendered or Filled (Default Setting) Elements in rendered views and filled elements can be located by their interiors. Rendered Views Elements in rendered views can be located by their interiors. Filled Shapes Elements that are filled can be located by their interiors. Always Elements can always be located by their interiors. Note that Rendered or Filled is the default setting, which may be a surprise to users! c. Set Tool Sizes In Workspace Preferences, under the Look and Feel category, the Tool Size and View Tool Size settings determine the sizes of tools. Tool Size Small (16x16) Medium (24x24) (Default Setting) Large (32x32) View Tool Size Small (16x16) (Default Setting) Medium (24x24) Large (32x32) By default, the View tool +box is docked along the top of each view window. The View tool box can be turned off by turning off View Tool Box in the Window menu. The View tool box is replaced by the Task Navigation toolbox if Task Navigation in Views is turned on in the Window menu. Tool Size is set to Medium by default. View Tool Size is set to Small by default.

10 d. Set Dialog Box Fonts In Workspace Preferences, under the Look and Feel category, the Dialog Font setting determines the font for dialog boxes. Click the Font button to open the Font dialog box and select the font, font style, size and script to display in MicroStation dialog boxes. The default setting is Microsoft Sans Serif, Regular, 9 pt, Western. e. Increase Contrast in Tool Icons In Workspace Preferences, under the Look and Feel category, the Increase Contrast of Icon Edges setting displays tool icons with increased contrast for clarity. The Increase Contrast of Icon Edges setting is OFF by default.

11 f. Use Windows File Open Dialogs In Workspace Preferences, under the Look and Feel category, the Use Windows File Open Dialogs setting causes the MicroStation Manager and other file open dialog boxes to appear in Windows style with useful navigational and file management features. The Windows-style dialog boxes have the following characteristics: The dialog boxes can be resized by dragging the lower-right corner. The Look in menu allows quick navigation to other directory locations. The Go to Last Folder Visited icon navigates to the last directory opened. The Up One Level icon navigates to the parent directory. The Create New Folder icon creates a new directory. The View Menu icon allows selection of Windows-style options for display of files and folders, including Thumbnails, Tiles, Icons, List and Details. The New File icon opens the New dialog box for creating a new design file. The (Bentley) Tools/File History icon opens a menu of traditional MicroStation file functions, including Compress, Upgrade to V8, Set Default Seed File and the file history. The Directory History icon opens a menu of traditional MicroStation directory functions, including Select Configuration Variable and the directory history. Right-clicking on a file or directory opens a Windows-style pop-up menu containing traditional file management functions found by right-clicking a file or folder in Windows Explorer. The Use Windows File Open Dialogs setting is ON by default in the XM edition.

12 g. Control MicroStation Manager Workspace Options In both the Windows-style MicroStation Manager and the older style MicroStation Manager, the Workspace menus can be displayed and unlocked, displayed and locked, or not displayed at all. Use one of the following configuration variable settings to control the Workspace menus: MS_WORKSPACEOPTS = 0 MS_WORKSPACEOPTS = 1 MS_WORKSPACEOPTS = 2 - Displays and enables options - Displays but disables options - Hides options The default setting for Workspace Options is 0. h. Set Transparency Options for Settings Boxes Transparency can be set in a modeless dialog box by right-clicking on its title bar and selecting Transparency. The Window Transparency dialog box opens, allowing transparency to be set to any value from 0 to 100%. In Workspace Preferences, under the Look and Feel category, the following settings allow further control of transparency: The Transparent dialogs become opaque when receiving focus setting causes a dialog box to lose its transparency or become opaque when it receives focus The All modeless dialogs use same transparency setting allows the transparency for all modeless dialog boxes to be set to the same transparency via the slider provided. The Transparent dialogs become opaque when receiving focus setting is OFF by default. The All modeless dialogs use same transparency setting is OFF by default.

13 i. Show or Hide Position Mapping Aids In Workspace Preferences, under the Position Mapping category, the Show Position Mapping Aids setting displays position mapping aids on all applicable tools. ( This preference is turned ON by default.) The Show Position Mapping Aids setting is turned ON by default. j. Set Task Navigation Preferences In Workspace Preferences, under the Task Navigation category, the following settings appear: Presentation Tool Box Dialog In Views Icon Size Small (16x16) Medium (24x24) Large (32x32) The default setting for Presentation is Tool Box. The default setting for Icon Size is Medium.

14 k. Set View Tool Box Location In Workspace Preferences, under the View Options category, the Show View ToolBox setting causes the View tool box to display in view borders and also determines its location. Show View ToolBox Left Right Top Bottom The Show View ToolBox setting is turned ON by default and set to appear at the Top of each view window. l. Set Transparency for Dynamics and Auto-Locate In Workspace Preferences, under the View Options category, the following settings control transparency for dynamics and auto-locate: Dynamics Transparency - Sets transparency for dynamically displayed elements. Auto-Locate Transparency - Sets transparency for auto-highlighted elements. The Dynamics Transparency is set to moderately opaque by default. The Auto-locate transparency is set to moderately clear by default. When setting up a user preference seed file, remember to consider all preferences stored the user preference seed file, including preferences that cannot be set in the Preferences dialog box. Tool Docking Locations AccuSnap Settings AccuDraw Settings And others!

15 6. Swap Function Key Menus Two function key menus are now delivered with MicroStation: funckey.mnu windows_funckey.mnu - MicroStation default navigational function key menu - Windows-compliant function key menu Other function key menus can still be used, and the default function key menu can be assigned via the following configuration variable: MS_FKEYMENU = <filename>.mnu To swap between function key menus while in MicroStation, a function key can be assigned the following action string: am=<filename>.mnu,fk 7. Change Button Assignments MicroStation V8 XM is delivered with more button assignment options, which can be customized by assigning key-ins or key-in combinations. Selecting Button Assignments from the Workspace menu opens the Button Assignments dialog box, where logical button assignments can be reviewed or edited. Selecting Remap Buttons in the Button Assignments dialog box opens the Button Mappings dialog box, where logical buttons can be assigned to the available physical buttons or button combinations on the input device being used. The number of physical buttons and button combinations available depends upon the current input device being used. After selecting a logical button name, it can be mapped to a physical button by clicking on that button (or button combination) in the Button definition area in the bottom of the dialog box (as in previous versions of MicroStation).

16 In the Button Assignments dialog box, button assignments are made by selecting a logical button (along with any combination of the <Ctrl>, <Alt> and/or <Shift> keys) and then assigning a key-in string in the Action field. Button assignments are stored in the file pointed to the MS_BUTTONMENU configuration variable. The following mouse button assignments are system defaults: LEFT Drag LEFT <Shift> (Drag) LEFT <Ctrl> (Drag) LEFT <Alt> LEFT <Ctrl-Shift> Drag LEFT RIGHT Hold RIGHT <Shift> RIGHT <Ctrl> RIGHT <Alt> RIGHT <Ctrl-Shift> RIGHT TENTATIVE <Ctrl> TENTATIVE (Drag) MIDDLE Double-click MIDDLE <Shift> (Drag) MIDDLE <Ctrl> (Drag) MIDDLE <Alt> (Drag) MIDDLE Roll WHEEL <Shift> Roll WHEEL <Ctrl> Roll WHEEL <Alt> Roll WHEEL - Data point or click - Draw by dragging - Dynamic panning - Selection functions - Match attributes from cursor - Overlap selection with selection tool - Reset or right-click - Reset pop-up menu - View Control Pop-up Menu - Main Tool Box - Element quick info from cursor - Current task at cursor location - Tentative Point or snap - Set AccuDraw Origin - Pan Drag - Fit View - Dynamically Rotate View - 3D Swivel View Camera - Rotate view - Zoom In/Out - Pan with Zoom - 3D Walk Forward/Backward - Pan Left/Right

17 Thank you! I hope you enjoyed the session! Need help with training or CAD management? If you would like some help with this or any other MicroStation topic, I offer the very best consulting services and the finest quality training programs, customized to fit your standards. Patrice H. Rhodes of P.H. Rhodes, Inc. Training, Consulting and Support Services (608) patrice@phrhodesinc.com