MicroStation CONNECT Edition -- It's not only about the UX

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Cecily Harmon
5 years ago
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MicroStation CONNECT Edition -- It's not only about the UX Don t judge the new release by its cover. There is so much more to CONNECT Edition than a pretty face.

Most users first impression has something to do with CONNECT Edition s ribbon menu system across the top of the screen.

For others, mostly folks who have been using MicroStation for years, the reaction is more along the lines of, oh my! Where do I start?

1 MicroStation CONNECT Edition -- It's not only about the UX Don t judge the new release by its cover. There is so much more to CONNECT Edition than a pretty face. By Dan Raker, ConnectPress A common misconception about MicroStation CONNECT Edition is that the update since V8i is all about moving to a Windows/Office style user interface. Most users first impression has something to do with CONNECT Edition s ribbon menu system across the top of the screen. For some, this is immediately comfortable why did it take so long to bring MicroStation s UX to come into the modern era? For others, mostly folks who have been using MicroStation for years, the reaction is more along the lines of, oh my! Where do I start? But regardless of what end of the first impression spectrum you lean towards, CONNECT Edition has less to do with a new UX and more to do with oodles of new functionality. Sometimes I think it was a mistake for Bentley to combine both the new interface and all the new CONNECT productivity tools into one release. Might it have been better to first bring the UX into the modern era and let users get comfortable with that before unleashing the torrent of new tools at also show up in CONNECT Edition? Moot point water under the proverbial Bentleymulti-discipline bridge design and analysis solution at this juncture. So, take some time to broaden your understanding of the array of tools that show up in the latest version of MicroStation. MicroStation CONNECT Edition -- It's not only about the UX pg. 1

The obvious: ribbon-style UX Even before you get to the MicroStation workset area, a number of orientation screens allow you to select work environments appropriate for your

One of the first Welcome screens in MicroStation CONNECT Edition draws you into various work environments. In the Work Page, you can select from a list of projects on the left.

2 The obvious: ribbon-style UX Even before you get to the MicroStation workset area, a number of orientation screens allow you to select work environments appropriate for your MicroStation session. The Welcome screen, fully customizable, gives you access to things like news, project lists, libraries, RSS news feeds and more. One of the first Welcome screens in MicroStation CONNECT Edition draws you into various work environments. In the Work Page, you can select from a list of projects on the left. In this example Training is highlighting giving a half-dozen training related options. Note the Browse and New File options center screen. MicroStation CONNECT Edition -- It's not only about the UX pg. 2

Under the hood Moving on from simple look and feel, CONNECT Edition has several behind-thescenes functionalities as well as in-your-face productivity

3 Getting to the core of the MicroStation working area, CONNECT Edition presents a Windows/Office-style ribbon menu across the top of the screen. The default setup is well thought through, but you can customize as you choose. Overview of MicroStation CONNECT Edition user interface changes. Under the hood Moving on from simple look and feel, CONNECT Edition has several behind-thescenes functionalities as well as in-your-face productivity tools. The behind-the-scenes under the hood functionality takes care of a host platform tools like: MicroStation CONNECT Edition -- It's not only about the UX pg. 3

4 Backstage handling like file lists, access to libraries and naming conventions Semi-automatic ProjectWise enablement for connected project and file sharing Cloud enablement if your enterprise has set up CONNECTED cloud services (and you should ) the linkage between your desktop and (local server and) cloud access is transparent 64-bit processing for vastly improved computing performance allowing faster handling of large design files RSS reader functionality built into almost any screen, so you can bring external resources directly into your design environment Automatic every-three-week updating. You don t have to think about it, but behind the scenes MicroStation CONNECT Edition has a new, strong underlying platform. Functionality! There are literally hundreds of new tools, updated easier-to-use tools, and linkages between MicroStation CONNECT Edition and your projects and other Bentley and external tools. Here are a noteworthy few highlights of what s new: Item Types if you want, add a database of properties behind any item or element in the design file. Later use these properties for intelligent MicroStation CONNECT Edition -- It's not only about the UX pg. 4

5 design, reporting, and documentation. Example: this line is a fence, a fence has materials, length, width, cost, etc. Show me all Aluminum fences. Or tell me how many feet of fence I ve drawn and how much it will cost. Visual pen types allow you to control what is highlighted or displayed. In the example below a wireframe design file is currently set to show only areas where you must mow the grass. Automatic sheet indexing automatically renumbers sheets and elements within sheets based on intelligent re-ordering. Many, many more. If you want to get a feel for other new functionality I suggest you read the article 8 Things you could not do with V8i that you can do with CONNECT Edition in this CONNECT Edition series. You may also want to spend an hour with the view-on-demand webinar, Why you should start using MicroStation CONNECT Edition at 08 The more your team uses Item Type properties, the more you can take advantage of CONNECT Edition property-driven smart tools. MicroStation CONNECT Edition -- It's not only about the UX pg. 5

Using the Display Styles dialog box, the visual of the current file is limited to showing only areas where the grass needs to be mowed. A few more What s New items in MicroStation CONNECT Edition.

6 Using the Display Styles dialog box, the visual of the current file is limited to showing only areas where the grass needs to be mowed. A few more What s New items in MicroStation CONNECT Edition. CONNECTivity While you don t have to be connected to the cloud to use MicroStation CONNECT Edition, you will likely want to be once you take some time to set up and get used to the benefits of all the CONNECT Edition s connectivity. MicroStation CONNECT Edition -- It's not only about the UX pg. 6

Using the nearly setup-free cloud services, you are automatically connected to follow project users. You can connect users, projects and enterprises including permissioned external players.

7 Using the nearly setup-free cloud services, you are automatically connected to follow project users. You can connect users, projects and enterprises including permissioned external players. The CONNECT Edition resources available through cloud connections are vast. A Project Portal is setup as a dashboard to manage your role and interaction with other facets of the project. MicroStation CONNECT Edition -- It's not only about the UX pg. 7

With CONNECT Edition connectivity you can use things like a Project Portal as a dashboard to manage interaction between you and other facets of a project including: Viewing project details Get news

8 With CONNECT Edition connectivity you can use things like a Project Portal as a dashboard to manage interaction between you and other facets of a project including: Viewing project details Get news and notifications of project developments Manage team members and permissions Securely share files with project participants the way you would with Drop Box or G-drive, but securely in your environment Access additional cloud services like virtual servers for rendering and optioneering The Enterprise Portal is like the Project Portal but at the next meta-level up. Use the connected enterprise portal to View project activity Manage software and service requests including user management, permissions, roles, licenses and usage reports Manage master catalogs and reality meshes An Enterprise Portal allows meta-level management of an array of resources. While not a direct function of MicroStation CONNECT Edition itself, using CONNECT Edition seamlessly meshes with other Bentley connected tools including ProjectWise CONNECTION Services. MicroStation CONNECT Edition -- It's not only about the UX pg. 8

9 With the CONNECTed version of these suite of Bentley tools, visual, cloudenabled work flow management comes to life. Here s an overview of ProjectWise CONNECTION Services that seamlessly integrate with MicroStation CONNECT Edition. Cloud as a buzzword can mean a lot of things. Many older software programs have had cloud links stitched onto them. But programs that have been written freshly to take advantage cloud functionality are different in their orientation to everything from file and data sharing to built for the cloud reach of functionality. Bentley has made its CONNECT cloud services nearly invisible within its CONNECT Edition it is extremely easy to turn on and use. CONNECT Edition is a handsome integration of older MicroStation functionality, completely reengineered to take advantage of cloud connectivity. Parametric Design Modeling And the list goes on! I ll close this discussion with one more set of functionalities that you should know comes built into MicroStation CONNECT Edition. For this release, Bentley has completely re-written the underlying solids-modeler that makes MicroStation so powerful. You will notice virtually no changes to the design modeling functionality that you ve know from earlier editions. MicroStation CONNECT Edition -- It's not only about the UX pg. 9

10 However, the rewrite enables the addition of powerful parametric functionality that can supercharge user s ability to create and reuse designs. Check out some of these concepts: Smart geometry and reuse are some of the features of CONNECT Edition s new parametric modeling technology. So MicroStation CONNECT Edition is not just another pretty face. Getting past the new UX opens a whole host of new tools. Dan Raker has been writing about CAD and MicroStation software for over 35 years. This article originally appeared in MicroStationConnections.com and is copyright 2018 by ConnectPress, Ltd. Some of the material in this article originated in the live webinar Why you should start using MicroStation CONNECT Edition on October 25, You can watch the view on demand version of this webinar at ConnectPress MicroStationConnections.com also runs a resource page for CONNECT Edition learning and migration at MicroStation CONNECT Edition -- It's not only about the UX pg. 10

8 Things you could not do with V8i you can now do with CONNECT Edition

8 Things you could not do with V8i you can now do with CONNECT Edition MicroStation CONNECT Edition brings a huge number of new productivity tools. Here are a few. By Dan Raker, ConnectPress CONNECT Edition