Creating a New Design File

In order to create a new file, either:

 In the MicroStation Manager dialogue box select File/New,

(if you have just started MicroStation),
 Or, in the File menu select New (if you are already running
MicroStation)

Then for a drive on which to save a new design file select the
drive, and type in the name of a new file (e.g.: practice) in the Name
field. Make sure before you press OK that the Seed File field at the
bottom of the dialog box is the same as in this figure, that is
seed2d.dgn. If not press the Select button, and in the list of files
select the one called seed2d.dgn.

New design files are created using the so-called seed files, which
represent the templates with given settings. For example, in order to
create your file practice.dgn, you have used the seed file

seed2d.dgn, in which the drawing is two-dimensional. Other

seed files exist for three-dimensional drawings (seed3d.dgn,
seed3dm.dgn,...).
 When you create a design file, you identify a seed file as a
template for the design file. The new design file is actually a copy of
the seed file.

Seed files do not (necessarily) contain elements, but, like other

design files, they do contain settings and view configurations. Having a
seed file with customized settings keeps you from having to adjust
settings each time you create a design file. If you wish, you can have a
different seed file for each type of drawing you do.

Compressing the active design file

When you delete an element from the active design, the element is
not removed from the active design file but merely marked as
“deleted.” Compressing a design file reduces its size by actually
removing “deleted” elements.

 Compressing the active design file prevents previous changes

from being undone.

To cause MicroStation to automatically compress the active design file

when closing it, turn on the user preference setting, Compress Design
on Exit

Drawing Lines

The most fundamental drawing element is the line. Almost any

drawing will contain line segments. The Place Line command allows
the user to add straight-line segments to the drawing as needed.
Command sequence

a) Start the Place Line command.

b) Enter the first point.
c) Enter an end point.
d) Continue entering end points until you are
finished, then press the Reset button on your
pointing device.

Notes

 The Place Line command is the second in a group of tools on a

flyout. To get to the command without tearing off the toolbox, hold
down the data button on the first tool to see the other tools. Then
move over to the Place Line command and release the data button.
You will start that command.

 MicroStation is always in a command. When you press the Reset

button to finish the Place Line command, you are still in the
command, but at the “Enter first point” prompt again.

 Do not press and drag from one end of the line to another.

Deleting Elements

Just as in manual drafting, you will often need to correct mistakes or

make revisions in a MicroStation design file. The Delete Element
command is used just as you would use an eraser in manual drafting.
After you start the command, MicroStation will ask you to identify the
objects you wish to remove
Command sequence

a) Start the Delete Element command.

b) Datapoint on the element you want to delete.
The element will highlight.
c) Accept by selecting a point out in space.

Notes

 You can also select the next element you want to delete and it will
act as an accept on the previous item. Don’t forget to data point a
final “accept” out in space when you are finished.

 Sometimes deleting will cause parts of other elements to look as if

they are also deleted. To clean up your window, data point on the
Update View command at the bottom of the view window.

Drawing Rectangles
 Blocks are MicroStation’s term for rectangles, another fundamental
element in most designs. A rectangle can be created from a series
of lines, but an easier and more efficient way is to use the Place
Block command.

Command sequence

a) Start the Place Block command from the Main toolbox.

b) Enter the first point of the rectangular shape.
c) Enter the opposite corner of the rectangular shapE

Notes

 You do not have to press Reset to end this command, because it

always uses only two points to create the geometry.

Drawing Circles
The Place Circle by Center command allows the user to put circles in
the design file either as stand-alone elements or as parts of a more
complex construction.
With this command, you draw a circle by choosing its center point and
its radius. We will see several other ways of constructing circles later
in the class.

Command sequence

a) Initiate the Place Circle by Center command from

the Main toolbox.
b) Specify the center of the circle.
c) Specify a point on the radius.

Using Element Attributes

MicroStation has a number of attributes that apply to every element

you draw. These are level, color, line style, line weight, and class.
These attributes let you control the appearance of your drawing. For
example, you may want heavier lines around the outline of an object,
and dashed lines to show features hidden in a particular view.

 You can set these attributes from the Primary toolbar or from the
Element Attributes setting box.

Color, line style, and line weight all control the look of the element.
For example, if the active color is white, the active line style is dashed,
and the active line weight is 7; all the elements you draw will be
dashed, white and heavy. If you change the active color to green, the
elements will be dashed, green and heavy.

An element can be either of two classes, Primary or Construction.

Primary elements are the main part of your design. Construction
elements are similar to very light pencil lines in hand drafting. You
need to see them to create the design, but you do not want them to
show on the final plot.

Notes

 You will need to continuously change these active attributes as

you create your design.

 It is a good idea to stay in Primary class almost all the time. It

is easy to forget that you have set the class to Construction until
you try to plot and nothing comes out

Saving Your Work

It’s important to save your work periodically to protect against

computer crashes, power loss, etc. MicroStation can be set to save
your design file in two different ways:

1. MicroStation automatically saves any changes you make to the

design file such as adding or deleting elements and editing those
elements. It does not save the settings automatically. This is the
traditional way MicroStation works. To save the settings (such as
the attributes and windows discussed above) select File>Save
Settings from the Main menu bar or press the Save button on the
Standard toolbar.

2. You make the decision when to save anything. When you save you
save both the elements and the settings. To save this way select
File>Save from the Main menu bar or press the Save button on the
Standard toolbar.

Notes
 The method should be set up by your CAD Manager. Check to see
which method you will need to use at your job.

 If you want to save the design file to a different name you can use
Save as.

 When you Close a design file, you return to the MicroStation

Manager, where you can also open existing files and create new
ones.

 You can Exit from MicroStation from either the design file or the
MicroStation Manager

Arranging View Windows

A view window is like a camera with a zoom lens. You focus on an

object (that is, your drawing) and that object does not change in size,
but you can zoom in with the lens to see a detail or zoom out to get a
wide-angle view.

As mentioned earlier, you can open as many as eight view windows in

MicroStation to view various parts of your design file. Now we will
take a closer look at how to use those windows to help you create your
designs.
Opening and Closing Windows

There are two different ways to open or close windows:

 Choose Window>Open/Close from the pull-down menu and pick the

window you want to open by number.

 Choose Window>Open/Close>Dialog from the pull-down. A small

dialog box with toggle buttons will come up. You can leave this on
your screen and easily pick on the windows you want open or
closed.

Cascading and Tiling Windows

Cascade Tiled

Once you have several windows open, you will need to arrange them
on the screen. First Cascade or Tile the windows and then resize them
as needed.

 Cascading windows makes them all the same size and stacks them
on top of each other, with only the top window totally visible. To
bring a different window to the top of the stack, pick on the title
bar of the window.
 Tiling windows makes them all the same size and sets them up side
by side. All the windows are totally visible.

You can also arrange the windows in your design file. Once you set
several windows up with the various sizes choose Window>Arrange
and it will neaten the windows so that they touch each other.

Using the View Controls

Once you have several windows open in your drawing you will want
them to show different parts of the design. Each window has a
number of view controls along the lower border to let you zoom in, out
and around your design file.

Update view: - Cleans up the screen. It does not alter

any of the elements in the design file or
the current zoom magnification.

Zoom In: - Zooms in closer to the elements at a

specified zoom ration. It shows a
rectangular outline of the area it will
zoom in around. Position the rectangle
over the area you want increased in size
and pick.

Zoom Out: - Zooms out away from the elements at a

specified zoom ratio. Pick the button and
it will automatically zoom out from the
center of the window.

Window Area: - Allows you to create a rectangular

window around part of your drawing and
zooms in on it. It does not require a
zoom ratio. When you pick your first
point, a rectangle will appear that you
can resize until you select the second
point. The rectangle will always be the
shape.

Fit View: - Zooms in or out until all the elements in

a design file are showing in the window.
 Rotate View: - Primarily a 3D command, but you can
rotate the view in the Window around the
x-axis if you are working on a
mechanical Auxiliary view or if you have
a building that sits at an angle.

Pan View: - Remains at the same magnification but

allow you to move to a different part of
the screen. Pick the first point and then
the second point to define the amount of
panning you want to do. The arrow
points the way the screen will move.

View Previous: - Takes you back to the previous view.

MicroStation remembers up to eight
previous views.

View Next: - Used only after a View Previous, takes

you back to the view you just left.

 You can also pan by holding down the <shift> key on your
keyboard and the data button on your pointing device. The screen
will pan at the speed you move your cursor.

 You can also pan by using the scroll bars around each window.

Common View Attributes

Many of these attributes settings refer to elements that we will discuss

later in the course.

Constructions Any element you create in Construction class

(see Element Attributes) will display if this is
checked.

Dimensions Shows dimensions in your window.

Fast Changes complex geometry so that it will take
less time to show up in a window. For
example, Fast Curves makes curves look
More like lines than arcs.

Fill If you draw a closed object such as a circle or

a block you can have it filled solid.

Grid Displays the grid.

Line Styles Displays the line styles of complex lines.

Line Weights Displays the line weight.

Patterns Displays hatching and patterns.

Text Displays text.

Text Nodes Displays text nodes. These are X’s with a

number on them that show up when you put in
more than one line of text. For this class we
will turn them off.

View number Sets the view for which the attribute settings
are displayed

ACS Traid If on a coordinate traid representing the active

auxiliary coordinate system (ACS) is displayed.

Background If on the view background is displayed.

Camera If on, the view camera is on for the view. This

control is disabled (Dimmed) if the active
design file is 2D.

Dynamics If on, element are dynamically updated as they

are displayed or modified. Letting you see an
element or modification before it is actually
placed in the design. Turning of can reduce the
view update time.
Data Fields If on enter data fields are displayed.

Level Symbology If on, level symbology the color, numbered

linestyle and line weight associated with each
level is displayed in the view, instead of the
color numbered line style, and line weight of
each element.

Tags if on, tags are displayed in the selected views.

Apply Applies attribute changes to the chosen view.

The view is updated, if necessary to show the
effects of the changes.

All Applies the displayed attributes to all views.

Changing View Attributes

View windows have many other aspects you can control besides the
magnification of the view. Most of these are found in the View
Attributes setting box. View Attributes let you determine how certain
types of elements will display, or whether other types of elements will
display at all. For example, in a small key plan, you might not want
line weights to be displayed; or in a furniture layout, you would want
to turn off the dimensions.

Command Sequence

a) Open the View Attributes setting box.

b) Choose the attributes you want on and off.
c) Select the window number where you want these
attributes to take effect.
d) Press the Apply button.
e) If you want these settings to apply to all the
windows open in your design file, press the All
button.

Saving Views by Name

One of the useful utilities MicroStation offers is the ability to save a

window you have set up with a specific view and attributes, and bring
it back again when you need it.
For example, you might want to have a key plan view. You set the
view window up the way you want it, then save the view to a name.
Later, whenever you want that view again, you can bring it back in any
open window, not matter how you have changed your view windows in
the meantime.

To Create a new Saved View:

a) Set up the window the way you want it, including

the View Attributes.
b) Open the Saved Views dialog (Utilities>Saved
Views).
c) In the Source section, type in a name and
description for the saved view. Then will you be
able to pick the view number it is coming from.
d) Pick the Save button. The new name and
description will come up in the Saved section of
the dialog.
e) Repeat as needed for other views you wish to
save.

To use a Saved View:

a) Choose the view you want from the list in the

Saved section of the dialog.
b) Choose the number of the Destination View.
c) Pick the Attach button.