Hi all,

I'm trying to stencil some very long linestrings/chains onto a 3d mesh and am finding the results are many individual lines. They are being draped successfully, but is there any reason why the linestrings/chains are being dropped to lines? There are so many that is not very practical.

I'm using MicroStation CE U12/OpenRoads Designer U7, but see the same behaviour in v8i.

Regards,

Mark

SCDOT provides a number of downloads on their CADD Design website (https://www.scdot.org/business/CADD-Design.aspx) that are intended for contractors use.  I have downloaded the “Complete Microstation and Geopak Workspace” .exe file and have been attempting to bring up this workspace and other configurations into our Microstation files but have not been having much luck.  The tables and other preferences are there but seed/template files are blank and I don't want to start creating my own template file afraid I'll miss something (especially in the Geopak files).

I don't see a link that will allow me to post in the different communities or product forums. Has that changed?

Problem

Error expanding variable MS_LIBRARY_PATH. Exiting

MicroStation - Text Window loads with a message "Error expanding variable MS_LIBRARY_PATH. Exiting." and closes MicroStation.

Other Bentley products may also display the following error.

Solution

In most cases, where User’s reported this error, the problem was with PATH (system environment variable) values not set up correctly.

Try and expand PATH variable, look for any formatting errors and/or special characters.

You can also export the PATH values to a text file and look for errors.
•  Open CMD.exe as an Administrator
•  Key-in “echo %PATH% > d:\path-values.txt”

If you require help, contact support team and provide the PATH values and MSDEBUG of your workspace.

See Also

Create MSDEBUG file

Is there a TTF text font that matches to LEROY microstation font?

I am importing information from word and excel and the spacing is always slightly off that require some guess work.

I wanted to see if anyone has found a solution to this issue. I had found a font in the past but abandoned the solution after realizing the special font would require installations on all computers. With the new company I am with, I don't think that would be a problem to install a good TTF across all computers with real IT assistance.

Problem

How to remove all hidden lines from a 3D design?

Solution

There are 3 different methods.

Method #1: Export Visible Edges
1. File > Export Visible Edges...["Export Visible Edges" dialog opens].
2. Set desired settings, review help for more information on settings.
3. Click Export ["Save Visible Edges Design File As" dialog opens]
4. Give file a name and location (default extension is HLN).
5. Click OK.

Notes:
- Used to export an entire model to visible edges.

Method #2: Switching display mode to "Hidden Lines" or "Filled Hidden Lines".
1. From Menubar, go to Settings > Rendering > View Attributes.
2. Change Display to "Hidden Line" or "Filled Hidden Line".
3. Click Apply.

Notes:
- Normally used to clearly view the design, which will allow the element to remain hidden after view updates.
- Optional: Enable "Graphics Acceleration" to allow Video card to control view updates.

Method #3: Using Reference Presentation.
1. After attaching a 3D model as a reference; in Reference dialog, highlight the reference to be set.
2. Click the "Reference Presentation" button [Set Reference Presentation dialog opens].
3. Change Presentation to "Hidden Line " or "True Hidden Line".

Notes: True Hidden Line is only available if the model is a layout type.

See also

Other language sources

It is common practice to edit dimension text such as changing " 10'-10" "to "MIN 10½ FT CLEAR". When editing the dimension text of an existing dimension element (using Edit Text), typed stacked fractionssuch as 1/8, 3/16, etc. are replaced with a “?”. However, fractions ½, ¼, and ¾ all work fine.

The question marks appears only when all three of these conditions exist:
• The font is a Bentley "stick" font (Engineering, Working, etc)
• The fraction is stacked
• The font contains fractions for 8ths, 16ths, 32nds, and 64ths

However, the fraction displays correctly:
• When the fraction is not stacked OR
• When ANY stacked fraction other than 8ths, 16ths, 32nds, or 64ths is done in Bentley fonts. (i.e. 13/100 works fine)
• When ANY stacked fraction is done in TrueType fonts

Is this a bug?  Running MicroStation CE 10.10.00.23.

Problem

Would like to set up Workspace so DWG/DXF Units dialog is automatically turned off.

Solution

Go to File->Open select (make sure file type is set to dwg or dxf) dwg options go to advanced -> dislay units and toggle all off. This will save to the dwgsettings.rsc. Copy this file to network and set Configuration variable MS_DWGDATA to the file path in the workspace. Now when the users open MicroStation they will automatically be set not to show this dialog box.

DWGSETTINGS.rsc is located in the C:/Program Files/Bentley/Home/prefs/dwgdata

See also

Other language sources

Problem

How to open a specific CellSelector file with a key-in or macro?

Solution

Set the MS_CELLSELECTOR variable to a CSF file. This will allow you to bypass the load CSF dialog.

The syntax load the specific cell selector file:

MDL KEYIN CELLSEL DIALOG CELLSEL;cellsel file open c:\test.csf

This will load cell selector test regardless of the default or currently load CSF file.

See Also

Problem

Made a change to the Mslocal.cfg file and now gets" Unexpected end of macro error"

Solution

The Mslocal.cfg file did not have a carriage return after the last line. Once it was added, MicroStation started.

See Also

Problem

We have files that are still being opened in Microstation J when they are opened in V8, then they no longer able to be opened in Microstation J.

What can we do to prevent this from Happening?

Solution

The variable MS_OPENV7 can be set to the following options.

0: Open with alert dialog box
1: upgrade V7 to V8, no alert dialog
2: open V7 as read-only, no alert dialog
3: open V7 for read/write and set workmode to V7, no alert dialog

See Also

Problem

When launching MicroStation receiving the error:

 c:program files\bentley\workspace\users\.......ucf] not found

Solution

The problem was that the named ucf file did not exist in the directory. User will need to create a new ucf file by copying and renaming an existing one or creating one with notepad and naming it the correctly.

See Also

Problem

When setting up MS_DEF in a project configuration file, the project directory is coming up wrong and is doubled.

Solution

The path to MS_DEF did not have a trailing back slash at the end. Once trailing back slash was added problem was resolved.

See Also

Problem Description

How can I install and run multiple versions of MicroStation on the same PC?

Background

"I am a Cad Administrator and need to provide my company's users with support, including testing in multiple version of MicroStation. For example, I have MicroStation SELECTseries 3 on my machine while my company's users have SELECTseries 2 or 1. Sometimes it is necessary to have the same version as them to determine if an issue is version related."

"EasyMultiInstall.vbs" was delivered with early versions of MicroStation V8 XM (08.09.04.88) through MicroStation V8i SELECTseries 3 (08.11.09.292). This file is no longer delivered starting in MicroStation V8i SELECTseries 3 Update 1 (08.11.09.357).

Multi-install was created to address this.It was intended to be used to test a new version of a product before the new version was placed into production. I was never intended to be used to run multiple versions of a product in production. Because of this, the multi-install method was found to be deficient in production for a few reasons:

 1. The product is not registered
 2. Layered applications cannot be installed on it
 3. The multi-installed product cannot be updated , etc.
None of these reasons are trivial and caused problems for users who did use the method to install.  In fact, the last point prior to etc. creates exactly the problem we attempted to solve with SELECTseries releases.  It's not possible to provide the update path and side-by-side installations.

Solution

A virtual machine (VM) can be used for testing purposes. It is a very effective, very efficient way to minimize all the issues that result from "side-by-side installations". It is a recommended to be used for testing of new builds before the build is placed into production. Virtual machines are not a certified environment for production purposes only issues that are reproducible in a standard and certified windows environment will be supported. It does work well for testing purposes.

Additional Information

It is understandable that this is a change from previous versions, but we believe for the better.  Suppose a user does a multi-install of MicroStation SELECTseries 3 next to SELECTseries 1.  The SELECTseries 1 components would be used for SELECTseries 3, creating a potentially unstable environment. This would cause problems in both production and testing. Components refers to the non-MicroStation MSIs which are installed when running the EXE.

The decision to produce SELECTseries releases and allow for updates was to support an existing application stack.  For example, if MicroStation SELECTseries 1 and Bentley Descartes are installed and you want to install MicroStation SELECTseries 2; the update method allows you to install MicroStation SELECTseries 2 without disturbing Bentley Descartes. It also allows you to update to a newer release without having to migrate any customization that you have done. Changes to the workspace are automatically incorporated into the updated installation. This could not be done in the past when having to do a full installation of a product to perform an update.

The consequence of this approach is that you cannot have side-by-side installations of SELECTseries releases.  This is not an arbitrary restriction imposed by Bentley Systems, Inc.

See Also

Administration Wiki - MicroStation V8i Virtualization FAQ

MicroStation V8i Forum - Where is the Multi-install.vbs for Ss3 refresh?

A quick guide for using Microsoft Debugdiag to capture MicroStation crashes

Background

In many circumstances MicroStation's issues can be caused by other applications or Windows components that interfere with MicroStation's optimal functioning. In some cases MicroStation's exception logs and minidump file cannot be generated or are not sufficient for understanding the root cause of the issue. In these cases Windows debugging tools are required for a thorough investigation.

Steps to debug in case of a crash

1. Set a user environment variable named MS_TRAP
Control Panel->System->Advanced->Environment Variables->User variables->New...

2. Download and install (with default options) latest 32-bit or 64-bit DebugDiag (depending on your Operating System) from the Microsoft site:

Debug Diagnostic Tool v2 Update 3

Debug Diagnostic Tool v2 Update 2

 

3.Start DebugDiag: Start->All Programs->Debug Diagnostics Tool 1.2->DebugDiag 1.2

4. Select Rule Type->Crash->Next

5. Select Target Type->A specific process->Next

6. Select Target"->Selected Process->ustation.exe->Next
[note that ustation.exe will not appear in the task list if it is not already running, as for startup crashes, but the “ustation.exe” can and should be typed into the “Selected Process” field.]

For MicroStation Connect, set the process name to MicroStation.exe

7. Advanced Configuration (Optional)->Action type for unconfigured first chance exceptions->Log Stack Trace->Action limit->200

8. Advanced Configuration (Optional)->Advanced Settings->Breakpoints...

9. Configure Breakpoint->Breakpoint->Ntdll!ZwTerminateProcess->Action->Action Type->Full Userdump->Action Limit->5->OK (Note: If you have much available disk space, you can set the Action Limit to 10)

10. Configure Breakpoints->Save & Close

11. Advanced Configuration (Optional)->Advanced Settings->PageHeap Flags...

12. Configure PageHeap Flags->Enable Full PageHeap->OK

13. Debug Diagnostic Tool->Yes

14. In the Advanced Configuration (Optional)->Next

15. Select Dump Location And Rule Name (Optional – and note location where dump files will be written, and optionally change it)  ->Next

16. Rule Completed->Activate the rule now->Finish

17. Debug Diagnostic Tools->Yes

18. Debug Diagnostic Tool - Connected to DbgSvc

19. (should observe that the "Crash Rule" status is "Active")

20. File->Exit

 

Debug Diagnostic Tool will now report MicroStation issue(s), and up to 25 or so memory dumps will be collected.

Navigate in Windows Explorer to location defaulted or specified in steps 15/16 above after issue has been reproduced, and right-click send to compressed folder the "Crash rule for all instances of ustation.exe" folder and upload to Bentley via ftp or sharedfiles.

Also add all .log files from "C:\Program Files\DebugDiag\Logs" to the above .zip archive before uploading; in fact, it may be easier (if the location for dump files has not been customized) to just recursively send the whole "C:\Program Files\DebugDiag\Logs" folder tree to a compressed folder.

Note! When all finished collecting dumps (may be minutes or days later), be sure to remove the Crash Rule using these steps:

1. Start DebugDiag: Start->All Programs->Debug Diagnostics Tool 1.2->DebugDiag 1.2

2. Select "Crash rule for all instances of ustation.exe"

3. "Remove Rule"

4. File->Exit

5. Unset the user environment variable named MS_TRAP

It is important to remove the rule, otherwise Debug Diag will keep on logging MicroStation and log files can fill up your memory space.

communities.bentley.com/.../DebugDiagCrash.mp4

 

See Also

Microsoft DebugDiag - Create Hang Dump

Other language sources

Hello Im quite new with microstation, just using it over a year and following problém appears. Always when I open microstation All the toolboxes opens like in a default mode. Nothing I change statys, not even "save settings" works. . I try to click some boxes in properities, I think sth like "save design" is there what i get could work but didnt. I dont know where else to change some settings.

Thanks 

How to create and collect Type 7 Minidump files

Background

In some circumstances "type 7" Minidump files may be required for advanced analysis of crash incidents. The methods here below allow Microstation to generate a more comprehensive minidump file that can help Bentley Technical Support to identify the causes of a crash.

Option 1: modifying Windows registry

Please note that modifying Windows registry can potentially cause issues and should be done only by or under the supervision of IT and System Administrators.

Use the registry files here below to respectively enable and disable Type 7 minidump files.

1. Download and unzip "ustation-minidumptype-type7.zip"

2. Double click on "ustation-minidumptype-7-enable.reg" to enable Type 7 minidump files

3. Reproduce the crash 3-4 times if possible

4. Double click on "ustation-minidumptype-7-disable.reg" to revert to type 4 minidump files

Please refer to this article for how to collect and send the crash dumps to Bentley Technical Support

communities.bentley.com/.../ustation_2D00_minidump_2D00_type7.zip

IMPORTANT: Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;256986

Option 2: manually adding a Windows variable

Simply enter this in variable manually as a New System Environment variable as shown in figure  below. 

At the Operation System level please put this in the Environment Variables - MS_MINIDUMPTYPE = 7. You can set the variable from:

Start > Control Panel > System > Advanced System Settings > Environment variables

Remember to remove or set the variable value back to 4 after having reproduced the crash and created the data.

Please refer to the article linkied here below for how to collect and send the crash dumps to Bentley Technical Support

Video

communities.bentley.com/.../CreateFullDump.mp4

Other Language Sources

Español 

Nederlands

See Also

MicroStation Exception Log Primer

How to quickly find and collect Exception logs and Minidump files

I currently have a site that is utilizing the LIDS and cc_tools applications with MicroStation v8i and MicroStation.v8.5, respectively. We are in the process of upgrading all of our users to MicroStation CONNECT v10. From what the users had explained, cc_tools is not available for newer versions of MicroStation without an additional purchase. I do not know whether LIDS is available for use with MicroStation CONNECT. Can anyone confirm if these tools are available for use with MicroStation CONNECT and if there is an added cost for either of them? MicroStation v8.5 cannot connect to the Bentley License Server either so these users are currently at a stand still. Is there a work around outside of creating .lic files for the users?

I cannot find a forum for Power InRoads.  It looks like it's not covered in the list of programs this forum discusses, but since Microstation and Power InRoads are basically the same, can I ask my Power InRoads question here?

That question would be, if I could ask it here.  We use ProjectWise at our agency and when an user tries to open a file, he cannot, because it says the Project Preferences (Project Defaults) are not set, but we cannot set them with being able to open Power InRoads.  It's a Catch 22.  We can't open Power InRoads because the Project Defaults are not set and we cannot set the Project Defaults because we cannot open Power InRoads.  Any ideas?