I'm trying to install Microstation SS4, but it refuses to work.

When I run the setup.exe, a dialog window pops up for a fraction of a second, and thats it.nothing else happens. I tried running as Administrator, with the same results.

I had this problem before, and I managed to get it to work by creating a new Windows Administrative User, and install using this user.

But now this won't work. I only have this problem with Bentley products.

Does anyone know what I can do to get this to work.

I'm running Windows 10 Pro with all the latest updates.

Design Explorer

DGN Links

Explorer

General

Sheet Index

• "Follow Engineering Link" tool doesn't support links that includes special character "Comma"
• Engineering Links with spaces in the path name MicroStation 2004 Edition
• How to: Link DGN elements to a folder
  
• Is it possible to link a DGN element to a ProjectWise Folder?
  

• Is there a way to link a web page or E-mail address to an element?

• Comparing Text Field, Label, Note, Table, Report, Item, Item Type, and Item Sets
• Difference between shape and complex shape.
• Where to locate the file properties
  

• How can I detach a specific Item Type from an element
• How to attach an Item to an Element
• How to attach Item Type to a Reference file
• How to change the background color of the Text Field for Item type (Item label)
• How to create a Custom Property Type
• Introduction to MicroStation Connect Edition Item Types
• Introduction to MicroStation Connect Edition Reports
• Items do not display in Items Management Dialog
• To Attach an Item to a file or model
• Unable to edit Items in Properties dialog
• Upgrade Tag Set to Item Type

• Attached Reference - Orphan Tags
• AutoCAD Attributes (Tags)
• Copying Tags From One DWG To Another
• Creating a Tag Report with actual Coordinates
• Duplicate Tags Sets in Cells
• Editing Tags
• How to Create Tag Reports
• How to Drop Tags to Text
• How to Generate Tag Reports
• How to open toolbox Tags in CONNECT
  
• Open PDS Utility Tags not Displayed
• Re-associate Tags to Elements
• Tag Report Coordinate Values
• Tags in DWG File do not Display
• Tags in V7 Not Displayed
• Tags to Fit Bracket or Box
• Updating an Element Associated with a Tag Set
• When the Same Tag Set Exists Multiple Times in a Cell
• Where are Tag Sets Stored?

Raster imagery can often greatly enhance the MicroStation environment, whether one is working with a geospatial, civil, or any other relevant application. This paper provides tips on properly attaching and displaying raster imagery.

Attaching Images 

When you attach a raster image or a group of raster images in MicroStation and the raster images do not display in the design file, you may need to define proper environment variables to handle the caching when you attach the raster images. If the raster images show in the Raster Manager listing, but do not display in your design file, then try the following steps to resolve the problem. Normally, a purple border will display where the raster image should be displayed. For starters, try the following:

1. Exit MicroStation and then do a search and delete the .CTIFF file that you find that contains part of the Raster Image file name.
2. Check free disk space on the C:\ disk drive and the disk drive where the design file and raster image are located. (Go into Windows Explorer - My Computer - click the right mouse button on the disk drive you want to check the free disk drive space - Properties - General tab.)
3. Check file and folder permissions for user privileges.
4. Select Start -> Control Panel -> System -> Advanced -> Environment Variables -> System Variables -> New -> Variable Name: -> MS_RASTER_LOADMODE -> Variable Value: -> 3
5. Create a folder on a disk drive with ample free space; for example C:\HmrTemp or D:\HmrTemp. Then, choose Start -> Control Panel -> System -> Advanced -> Environment Variables -> System Variables -> New -> Variable Name: -> HmrTempDirectory -> Variable Value: -> (Use the disk drive and folder that you created, for example, C:\HmrTemp for the Path. The folder name can be anything you want to name it.
6. Rename your .UPF file. The .UPF file is located in the C:\Program Files\Bentley\Home\prefs folder and will be named the same thing as what shows in the Workspace -> User box on the MicroStation Manager screen when you go into MicroStation.

Restart MicroStation, and if the raster image does not display and is not shown in the Raster Image listing, then check the raster attachment settings in Raster Manager and make sure Place Interactively is NOT marked. Go into Raster Manager - File - Attachment.

Check the attachment settings. If the Place Interactively setting is marked, then the raster image will be placed where you place the box using the mouse.

It is recommended that you also reference the following TechNotes:

Technote 9004 - Configuration Variables in MicroStation V8 XM Edition
TechNote 8223 - Configuration Variables in MicroStation V8 (2004 Edition, V8.0 and V8.1)
TechNote 8325 - Supported AutoCAD Key-ins
TechNote 6123 -- MicroStation Images Manager FAQ
TechNote 6205 -- Raster Manager FAQ
TechNote 6195 -- Raster Manager General FAQ
TechNote 8224 -- What's New for Referencing
Unable to load dialog whose ID is 701
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

This brief section describes how to correct the following error message: "Unable to load dialog whose ID is 701", which could display when performing File->Attach--Raster Manager.

First, check the workspace for MS_MDLAPPS (and related MDL variables) and particularly MS_RSRCPATH. Ensure that the existing MS_RSRCPATH variable is not being overwritten.

Go to Workspace - Configuration - MS_RSRCPATH - Edit - New Value the line must be:

$(MSDIR);$(MSDIR)mdlsys\asneeded\;"Then your custom value"

C:\Program Files\Bentley\Program\MicroStation\

C:\Program Files\Bentley\Program\MicroStation\ mdlsys\asneeded\

If you have Descartes loaded, then the line must be:

$(MS_DESCARTESDIR)mdlapps\;$(MSDIR);$(MSDIR)mdlsys\asneeded\;"Then your custom value"

C:\Program Files\Bentley\Program\Descartes\mdlapps\

C:\Program Files\Bentley\Program\MicroStation\

C:\Program Files\Bentley\Program\MicroStation\ mdlsys\asneeded\

If you still have a problem, then try the following:

Rename the .UPF file in the

C:\Program Files\Bentley\Home\prefs folder and comment out the project name in the .UCF file in the C:\Program Files\Bentley\Workspace\Users folder.

See also

Other language sources

Raster Manager supports some basic raster editing, however only Bentley Descartes provides advanced raster editing. All editing operations that change the pixel values are not persistent - meaning that the original pixel values are not modified.  To permanently modify the pixels, Bentley Descartes would be required. 

Transform

Raster Manager provides these basic functions for positioning an image:

• Move
• Scale
• Rotate
• Warp
• Mirror

Most of these functions are similar to those found in Bentley Descartes except that Descartes provides a few additional options.  Most notably is the Helmert method for the Warp transformation and added flexibility regarding the axis selection for the Mirror transformation.  For more information, please see Bentley Descartes - Raster Transformation.
 

Clipping

With Raster Manager it is possible to clip an image so that only the area inside, or outside, the specified clip region is visible.

Example  

The following describes how clipping can be used to control the display of those pixels that represent a body of water. The first exercise is to define the clipping area.  This can be done by drawing a shape around the water  as shown. 

Once the clipping area has been defined, the desired clipping mode must be selected in the Tool Settings dialog. For example, to only display those pixels inside the shape drawn in the previous step, set the mode to Clip Boundary.

On the contrary, if the pixels inside the boundary should be hidden, then the Clip Mask clipping mode should be used.  

Appearance Modification  

Raster Manager provides several controls for modifying the appearance of attached images.

Contrast / Brightness

Where images appear dull, or lack in contrast, you can change their contrast and brightness display settings. Additionally, you can change the Display Gamma setting. Changing any of these settings does not alter the original image. Display settings may be different for individual images and they are saved with the DGN file. Changing the Contrast and Brightness may only be carried out on one image file at a time, while the Display Gamma setting can be applied to a number of selected image files simultaneously. 

Tint Adjustment

When working with multiple, overlapping or otherwise complex designs, a tint can be applied to coloured images.  The feature can be used to assist with visualization.

Transparency 

For colored images, the Transparency setting is used to set a transparent color for the raster reference. The selected color in the raster image then becomes transparent, when the Transparent setting is enabled.

For monochrome images, the Background Color setting is used to set the background color of the raster file.

The chosen transparency color also is used as a fill color when clipping raster images.

See also

Other language sources

I'm trying to install Microstation SS4, but it refuses to work.

When I run the setup.exe, a dialog window pops up for a fraction of a second, and thats it.nothing else happens. I tried running as Administrator, with the same results.

I had this problem before, and I managed to get it to work by creating a new Windows Administrative User, and install using this user.

But now this won't work. I only have this problem with Bentley products.

Does anyone know what I can do to get this to work.

I'm running Windows 10 Pro with all the latest updates.

MicroStation provides the MS_RASTER_DEFAULTSCALE configuration variable that attaches rasters at a predetermined scale. The variable is only valid when working with images that are:

• not georeferenced and,
• are not placed interactively.

A quick way to verify this information is to take a peek at the Preview Attachment when attaching an image.

If MS_RASTER_DEFAULTSCALE is undefined or set to 1, then qualifying rasters are attached at a scale of 1 and the pixel size is calculated from the dots per inch (DPI) and set to the appropriate drawing units

So, for example, when an image is attached to a drawing set to FT/IN, it gets a scale of 1 and a pixel size of (1 inch / 300 dots per inch) = 0.0033333 inches or 0.0002778 feet.

And, when the same image is attached to a drawing set to M/CM, the scale of 1:1 and a pixel size is calculated as follows: ( 1 inch / 300 dots per inch ) = 0.0033333 inches. This value must then be converted to meters by multiply by 0.0254 to get a final result of 0.00008467 meters.

If the variable is set to any whole number other than 1, then that number becomes the scale of the image. For example, setting the variable to 2, will attach the image with a scale of 2.

Productivity Tip: To quickly set a variable without editing your configuration files manually, use the EXPAND SET key in as described here: Set Temporary Variables With The Expand Set Keyin. Likewise, to return the value of a variable, use the EXPAND ECHO key in as shown here: Report Your Variables With Expand Echo Keyin.

And, attaching the same image when the variable is set to 96, will set the scale to 96. 

 When an image is attached using a scale from MS_RASTER_DEFAULTSCALE, the location of the upper left corner is fixed, while the location of the lower right corner is adjusted. This can be seen in the following graphic where the same image has been attached twice: the smaller one is at a scale of 1 and the larger at a scale of 2. Note that the upper left corner of both images share the same location while the lower right does not.

Problem Description

Change the display of a Raster file

Steps to Resolve

 Option 1

1. Open raster  Manager, 

2.  Right-click the raster in Raster Manager

3. Select a SEND TO BACK on the raster.

    

Option 2

1. Using one of the following key-ins:

   RASTER BACK

   RASTER FRONT
   
   RASTER SETPLANE BACKGROUND
   
   RASTER SETPLANE DESIGN
   
   RASTER SETPLANE FOREGROUND

See Also

http://communities.bentley.com/products/microstation/microstation_printing/f/19568/t/12135.aspx

Steps to Accomplish

1. Open Raster Manager
2. File\Attach\Raster
3. Turn on Open Setting dialog

4. Raster Attachment options dialog open

5. Right Click on top of the PDF directory

6. Select page and press ok

If changing the selected page is needed, now there is no need for detaching and reattaching PDF again like in old version, MicroStation SS3 added this possibility by doing right clicking on the PDF attached on the Raster Manager dialog and by selecting change page.

See Also

http://communities.bentley.com/communities/other_communities/askinga/w/askinga/6134.aspx

Problem Description

When I attach certain raster files in MicroStation V8i and then close and re-open the file my raster attachments no longer appear in the view and in raster manager the attachments have turned red.

Steps to Resolve 

1. Go into Workspace > Preference > Raster Manager >Memory

2. Change setting from Automatic to Standard. 

3. In Raster Manager go to Settings > Cache Manager

4. Click View File.  Look to see if you have a file name that contains the raster image name and has a file extension of .CTIFF. 

5. Exit MicroStation and go to the folder that was shown in Raster Manager > Settings > Cache Manager > View File

6. Delete the .CTIFF file if it exist.

7. Go back into MicroStation.  It will be slow displaying the raster images because it is recreating the raster image cache file (.CTIFF.)  The raster image files should display faster the next time you go into the dgn file.

    See Also

http://communities.bentley.com/products/microstation/microstation_interoperability/f/162/p/71629/189615.aspx#189615

Raster File Format Handling

Being the principal module in MicroStation for attaching rasters, Raster Manager is able to open and display more than 30 file formats of any size, and is only limited to RAM memory capacity.

File Formats

Raster Manager supports many geospatial enabled as well as non geospatial file formats.

Proprietary File Formats

The Raster Manager also supports four proprietary file formats that were designed to ensure maximum performance for visualization and the editing with Bentley Descartes:

• HMR - The HMR file format is the first proprietary file format that was developed and supports only 2 or 256 colors.  This format has been replaced by the iTIFF file format.

• iTIFF - The iTIFF file format was developed to replace the HMR file format. Its most important advantage over the HMR file format is its support for 24 bits RGB and 32 bits RGBA color space.

Performance tip : To improve performance when working with images in Raster Manager or Descartes, consider converting old HMR files to iTIFF. 

• cTIFF - The cTIFF file format is very similar to the iTIFF file format but it is used as a cache file format.  The cTIFF file format cannot be created or attached directly in Raster Manager.  Instead,  it's created and used when needed which is determined by the original file format, the cache settings and on-the-fly transformation of the attached image.  

• iTIFF64 - This is the latest proprietary file format that uses an internal 64-bit pointer for the indexing the raster data.  This allows the creation of files that exceed 4 gigabytes in size.  

Supported File Formats

Raster Manager supports dozens of different file formats, which are listed in the table below.

* R: Read,  W: Write, C: Create

** C: Can store DEM as well as imagery , O:  Can only store DEM data

Tip:  For the most current list of supported input and output file types, please refer to MicroStation's Help > Supported Input File Formats and Help > Supported Output File Formats.

File Open Options

Raster Manager offers a variety of options that can be specified during the attachment of an image. Those options can be set on the Raster Attachment Options dialog, which is shown only when Open Settings Dialog is checked on the Attach Raster Reference dialog. The Raster Attachment Options dialog is shown below.

Attachments 

The top pane displays a list of rasters that were selected in the Attach Raster Reference dialog. In the above example, the list contains two files: SinglePage.bmp and MultiPages.gif.   The attachment options are then applied to the selected file(s).  

Note that the icon for a multi-page image differs than that for a single page image.   As its name implies, a multi-page image contains multiple images.  To choose the correct image to display in a multi-page image, right click the selected file entry and choose Page Selection. 

Display Print

The Display Print pane contains options related to the visual appearance of the raster to be attached.

• Views: Specifies which of the eight MicroStation views the raster is going to be visible.
• Plane: One of the three planes to put the raster on. Background places the image behind all vector graphics.  Foreground places the image in front of all vector graphics. That is also valid in a 3D model. For example,  when working with a 3D model, a raster that's put on the Background plane is going to lie behind all elements, even if the raster is closer to the camera than the elements. If the image is to appear in front of elements that are farther from the camera, then the image should be put on the Design plane.
• Print: Specifies if the raster is printable or not.
• Print Gamma and Display Gamma: Sets the gamma value for printing and display.
• Clip: Specifies if the clip is going to be applied when the raster is displayed. Note:  Aside from iTIFF and iTIFF64, a raster cannot have a clip when it's first attached since other formats don't support the saving of a clip.  However, after being attached a clip can be subsequently set and saved with the attachment.

General

The general pane contains the following options to apply to the attachment: 

• Level: The level the raster will be placed on.
• Color: The color of the raster's border.
• Line Style: The line style of the raster's border.
• Weight: The weight of the raster's border.
• Class: Specifies the element class.
• Priority: Specifies the display priority.

Image 

• Logical Name: A unique logical name given to the raster.
• Description: A description of the raster.

Color

The color pane contains options that affect the visual appearance of the raster. Note that the original data in the raster are not modified, only its on-screen appearance is affected.

• Tint: Defines the tint to apply to the image..  
• Contrast: Sets the display contrast setting of the image. This is similar to changing the contrast of a monitor.
• Brightness: Sets the display brightness of the raster. This is like changing the brightness of a monitor.
• Invert: If set, this inverts the image meaning black pixels become white and white pixels become black.
• Transparency: Specifies which pixel colours will be transparent. 

Geometry

The Geometry pane contains an option related to the localization of the raster.

• Geo Priority: This specifies if geo-coding and georeferencing will be coming from the information stored in the raster element (Attachment) or in the raster file (Raster Header). The Raster Header option is only present if the format of the selected file supports the saving of  geo-coding and georeferenced information.  For more information, refer to Supported Input File Formats.   

Action

The Action pane contains an option related to the placement of raster.

• Place Interactively: When this option is enabled, the raster can be attached by entering a pair of diagonal datapoints to define the extents of the image. 

Extended

This pane contains an option related to the snapping of raster.

• Snappable: This option specifies if the raster is snappable or not. 

File Format Details

Visualization

Raster Manager uses a different strategies to display very large images smooth, fast and with limited, configurable memory usage. Those strategies are: on-demand access, RAM caching, file improvement (caching) and independent viewing process.

On-Demand Access

When an image is attached in Raster Manager its data is not automatically loaded in memory.

Raster Manager starts loading the raster data only when the image becomes visible on at least one view. It then loads the portion of the raster that's visible and only at the resolution that best fits the current view's resolution in units per screen pixel.

This on-demand access capability of Raster Manager allows the attachment of  images that are several gigabytes in size  completely independent of the available RAM capacity.

RAM Caching

Raster Manager has a memory pool that's used to store the most recently requested raster's data.  This information is stored as a tile which is a square bitmap. This allows fast access to raster data that has been recently accessed.

Cache File

The on-demand access and RAM caching strategies explained above are only optimal when the raster data is stored as tiles and sub-resolutions in the raster file.  

Unfortunately, not all file formats support the storing of raster data as tiles and of sub-resolutions.  Also, some file formats support a few different storing strategies and the selected storing strategy during the creation of the raster file might not be optimized for Raster Manager.  For example, a TIFF raster file with no sub-resolutions and with raster data stored as separate lines. 

The two examples below illustrate this.

Example 1 :

Example 2 :

To ensure the optimization of the on-demand access and RAM caching, Raster Manager creates cache files (*.cTIFF) in a temporary folder for those file formats that do not have tiles or sub-resolutions already defined.

For example, when attaching a TIFF file, no cache is present and must therefore be generated.  This will result in a lengthy  redisplay, however, for each zoom operation, a "snap shot" is added to a locally cached file which is then utilized in subsequent viewing operations. As you work with the file, caches will be created and re-used which results in display speeds and improved performance over time.

Performance Tip:  For optimal display speeds, Bentley's own iTIFF format can be used; it already contains the required sub-representations for high performance display.

Cache Manager

The Cache Manager dialog can be used to configure file caching.

• Delete cache file on exit: When checked, all cache files created during the session are deleted when MicroStation is closed. 
• Delete cache files older than: When checked, all cache files older than a specified number of days are deleted when clicking the Run Now button.
• Limit disk space usage to: When checked, the space usage attributed to the cache is limited to the amount specified.
• New location: Specifies the location of the cache files.

Performance can be influenced by the location of the cache files. For example, if the Cache Manager is configured to use a network drive rather than a local drive, it may impede performance.

In addition to the Cache Manager, the Load Mode sets how memory management for raster will be handled. The options for this can be found in WorkSpace > Preferences > Raster Manager > Memory.  MicroStation  V8i also  provides an option to tune the memory usage by a % factor of the memory you have available on your machine.

Independent Raster Display

The last visualization strategy that Raster Manager is using is to display images using an independent.  This is also called progressive display or non-blocking raster display and is set in Workspace > Preferences > Raster Manager > General.

Displaying rasters using an independent process removes jerky panning and zooming that can be caused when viewing raster data stored remotely on a server.  Raster Manager - Server Streaming Raster Visualization  This undesired behaviour can also occur when locally stored raster visualization consumes excessive CPU power.

When viewing rasters using an independent process, the raster data is only sent to MicroStation when it becomes available.  When zooming in on the image, Raster Manager will display stretched, lower resolution raster data until the higher resolution data arrives.  This results in a progressive display.

Raster File Format Handling

Being the principal module in MicroStation for attaching raster in model, Raster Manager is able to open and display more than 30 file formats of any size, whatever the RAM memory capacity is.

File Formats

Opening Options

Information On File Format

Visualization

Caching

Raster Manager is the name of the module which allows you to open or attach raster files in MicroStation. It is best known for its non-destructive editing capabilities, meaning that most of its functions will only modify the DGN's raster attachment while leaving the original raster data intact.  Other useful functionalities include:

• Raster batch converting
• Offline raster batch converting
• Save As resampling and tiling options when saving to a new raster
• Assigning Geo Coordinate System information to raster formats that support reprojection.

Basic FAQs

Opening multipage files in Raster Manager

Starting with MicroStation V8i, there are two ways to visualize the content of your multipage raster files in MicroStation:

1. You can open them directly from the MicroStation Manager or within the MicroStation Open File menu by using the Common Raster Formats, Common Geo Raster Formats, or All Files of type filters. This will open all the pages of your raster document as read-only into a MicroStation view.
2. You can open a DGN, go to the Raster Manager dialog box, do File - Attach Raster ensuring the Open Settings Dialog toggle is set on, then select your multipage raster and click Open so it gets listed in the Raster Attachment Options menu. Once in that menu, right-click over the raster attachment and select the page you want to display, then click the Attach button. This allows you to pick the exact page you want displayed from your raster attachment.

Raster reprojection

Starting with MicroStation V8i, you can reproject rasters just like any other referenced DGN onto a master DGN with a Geo Coordinate System definition. Please consult the MicroStation Help for more information under the Managing References and Raster Images > Modifying Raster File Attachments > Reprojecting Images topic.

Image Server attachments

It is possible to use Raster Manager to open up images stored on the ProjectWise Publishing Server. Information about the Raster Manager Image Server menu can be found under the MicroStation Help > Menus > Raster Manager > Image Server Settings dialog topic.  You will find more information on the ProjectWise Publishing Server at the following link: http://www.bentley.com/en-US/Products/ProjectWise+Integration+Server/Services-Modules.htm

Display plane and display priorities of rasters

When handling display priority of rasters in a model, we first have to determine whether we are in a 2D DGN, a 3D DGN or a DWG file. Although they have a few things in common, raster display priorities are handled differently in 2D and 3D space.

In a 2D DGN/model:

The rasters all are stored in the same XY plane, also known as the Top view in 3D terms, therefore their display priority is managed relative to the other raster attachments and to the vectors found in the same model. In the Raster Manager dialog box, the raster attachment can be stored on the Background plane, the Design plane, or the Foreground plane.

Rasters stored on the Background plane will redisplay behind the vectors in the model.

Rasters stored on the Design plane will honor MicroStation's Display Priority values (from -500 to +500) and can be displayed in front or at the back of existing vectors in the model.

Rasters stored on the Foreground plane will redisplay in front of the vectors in the model.

In a 3D DGN/model:

Rasters can be placed in any direction of the 3D space, just like vectors (top, bottom, left, right, front, back, isometric...). Therefore their position in the 3D design cube will honor the same display rules that apply to vectors: their relative 3D position to the other elements in the model will be respected and they will comply with the definition of the View Volume, Active Depth and Perspective Projections just like for any other equivalent filled vector element.

Now if you would like your 3D drawing to adopt a 2D display scenario, it is possible to revert to a legacy display mode by using the MicroStation Settings > Display Styles > Wireframe render mode and set the Use File Order for Display toggle ON.

Bring Element to Front

Since rasters are also being handled like standard vector elements, it is possible to modify their display priority relative to other elements using the MS Edit - Bring to Front menu.  This will place the raster in front of all other vector or raster elements.

Georeferencing and location

Geopriorities

When using raster's default positioning in a DGN, there are three possibilities:

1. The raster contains no georeference information in its header. In that case the only geopriority available is "Attachment" and by default it gets attached at origin 0,0 and at pixel size = 1, unless a DPI tag scales the pixel size to a value that will honor the DPI value (common DPI values range from 0 to 300, but 600 or 1200 DPIs are also possible, mostly for printing purposes). Example raster formats of this sort are: JPG, GIF, PNG, etc.
2. The raster contains georeference information in its header. In that case it can be assigned the "Raster Header" geopriority and the raster will be attached at the origin and pixel size indicated in its header information. Example raster formats : Geotiff, JPG2000, ITIFF...
3. The raster contains no georeference information in its header, but it comes with a worldfile or an HGR file, which are text files containing the raster's origin and basic positioning factors. The geopriority of these files can be set to "Sister files" and the raster will be attached as though it was georeferenced. Example raster formats : TIF raster with TFW worldfile, JPG raster with JGW worldfile, BMP raster with HGR worldfile, etc.

Batch convert vs Save As output raster location

It is important to note that when rasters do not contain georeference info in their headers (e.g. JPG, BMP, etc.) and are not assigned a worldfile or HGR file for positioning, batch converting them to a georeferenced format like Geotiff will not allow assigning them a georeferenced location, even though the JPG or BMP could be attached at a precise location in your DGN.

For a raster's georeference to follow through, it either needs to be accompanied by a worldfile or HGR file when you batch convert it, or you can save it using the Raster Manager Save As command. You can either save it to an output georeferenced file (like Geotiff) or to a non-georeferenced file with worldfile (like BMP + BPW).

Raster Format specific information

What is a XWMS file ?

XWMS files are special XML - like structured text files which send queries to WMS servers. These are internal to Bentley and allow attaching the map layer query results as Raster Manager attachments. There are restrictions on these attachments : they are read-only and cannot be moved, scaled, rotated... like other raster formats. But they will maintain their location info and map layer data integrity. For more info please see the MicroStation Help document under Menus > File Menu > Raster Manager > WMS Map Editor dialog topic.

What is an ECWP attachment ?

ECWP attachments are the result of URL queries sent to servers containing ECW rasters, known as ECWP Image Servers.  For additional info please see the MicroStation Help document under Menus > File Menu > Raster Manager dialog > File > Attach > ECWP Image Server.

Geo PDFs

Raster Manager can now georeference PDF files containing location header information.  For more info on how to create GeoPDFs in MicroStation, see the MicroStation Help document under the Working with Complete Designs > Printer Driver Configuration Files > PDF Printer Driver > Enable Georeferencing topic.

DEM and DTM Raster formats

Some DEM and DTM raster formats can now be attached by Raster Manager, but they will only be properly displayed once Bentley Descartes is loaded.  The formats that fall into this category are USGS DEM ASCII [*.dem] and USGS SDTS DEM [*catd, *.ddf].  

Supported raster file formats in MicroStation V8i:

Adobe PDF [*.pdf]
Apple  PICT [*.pct, *.pict]
Esri BIL [*.bil]
Type 29 [*.c29, *.t29]
Type 30 [*.c30]
Type 31 [*.c31]
CALS Type 1 CCITT4 [*.cal]
CIT Type 24 [*.cit]
Type 2 COT [*.cot]
Type 10 [*.crl, *.tpe, *.lsr]
Compuserve GIF [*.gif]
Digital Terrain Elevation Data [*.dt0, *.dt1, *.dt2]
USGS Digital Ortho Quad [*.doq]
ERMapper Compressed Wavelets[*.ecw]
Erdas IMG [*.img]
FLI Animation format [*.fli, *.flc]
GEOTIFF [*.tif, *.tiff]
Bentley HMR [*.hmr]
Img (24bit) [*.a]
Img [*.p]
Ingr. TIFF [*.tif, *.tiff]
Internet TIFF [*.itiff]
Internet TIFF64 File Format [*.itiff64]
JPEG (JFIF) [*.jpg, *.jpeg, *.jfif]
JPEG 2000 [*.jp2, *.j2k]
Anatech LRD [*.lrd]
Ingr. MPF [*.mpf]
MrSID [*.sid]
National Imagery Transmission Format [*.ntf, *.nsf]
PCX [*.pcx]
Portable Network Graphics [*.png]
Ingr. Type 27 [*.rgb]
Ingr. Type 28 [*.rgb]
RLC [*.rlc]
Ingr. Type 9 [*.rle] SPOT CAP Image [*.fil]
Sun Raster [*.rs, *.ras]
TG4 [*.tg4]
TIFF [*.tif]
Targa [*.tga]
Landsat TM FastL7A [*.fst]
USGS NDF [*.h1]
Wireless BitMap [*.wbmp]
Web Map Server File Format [*.xwms]
Windows BMP [*.bmp]

See Also

Product TechNotes and FAQs

Raster Product TechNotes And FAQs

External Links

Bentley Technical Support KnowledgeBase

Bentley LEARN Server

Raster Reprojection

Raster Manager supports on-the-fly reprojection of any geocoded and georeferenced image. 

Reprojection In Raster Manager Dialog

Raster Manager provides three columns of information which are related to raster reprojection.  They are: 

• Inherit GeoCS from Model  for activating the on-the-fly reprojection,
• Geo Priority for selecting the geo priority method, and
• Coordinate System which describes the coordinate system found from the geocoding information.

To display these columns, right-click the title of any column name and enable their display  in the resulting picklist.

Georeferencing 

Georeferencing is the operation of positioning a raster in the world by using the following six parameters :

• Sx: The scale in the X direction.
• Sxy: The scale in the X direction related to Y.
• Sy: The scale in the Y direction.
• Syx: The scale in the Y direction related to X.
• Tx: The translation in the X direction.
• Ty: The translation in the Y direction.

Sister Files

A sister file is a text file stored in the same folder as the image it georeferences.  It has the same name as the image, but has a different extension. A sister file is usually used with raster file that doesn't support georeferencing.

Raster Manager supports the following sister files :

• HGR: The proprietary sister file of Bentley, written as an ASCII file. It can support geometric transformation like translation, scaling, rotation and affinity.
• World File: The popular georeferencing file introduced by ESRI.
• ERS: The sister file developed originally by ErMapper. Contrary to the other two supported sister file, the ERS sister file also supports geocoding.

Setting The Georeference

Specifying the georeference can be done manually by using the basic transformation tool found in the Raster Manager.  For additional information, refer to:  Raster Manager - Basic Raster Editing.  This is not recommended  for precise georeferencing.

When the exact six transformation parameters are known, it's possible to create a sister file and manually write the transformation parameters to it.

A more precise approach is to register the raster with Bentley Descartes.  Please refer to Bentley Descartes - Raster Registration for more information.

Georeference Preferences

Found in the Raster Manager category of the Preferences dialog, georeference preferences can affect the final georeference attributed to a file.

• Use Sister File, if Present, for Georeferenced Files:  It's possible that a file containing georeference information be accompanied by a sister file. When that happens, Raster Manager checks this option to determine if it should use the georeference information presented in the sister file, or the file's georeference information. 
• Save Location Info in Sister File if Required: This option specifies if the location information should be stored in a sister file. 
• Default Unit Settings: It is possible that a raster file or sister file contains no information about the unit of its georeference. In that case, Raster Manager uses the default unit settings. 
• Use Unit Definition Geokey if Present:The geocoding in a GeoTIFF file is represented by a list of keys. Two important keys are ProjectedCSTypeGeoKey and ProjLinearUnitsGeoKey, which respectively defines the EPSG code for the projected coordinate system and the EPSG code of the projected linear units. A EPSG's defined projected coordinate system is related to a projected linear units. In some GeoTIFFs, it is possible that the projected linear units defined for the projected coordinate system is not correct. In that case, the ProjLinearUnitsGeoKey can be used to specify the correct projected linear unit. Raster Manager uses the Use Unit Definition Geokey if Present option when both the ProjectedCSTypeGeoKey and ProjLinearUnitsGeoKey keys are present to determine which key should be use to determine the projected linear unit.

Extra:  EPSG stands for European Petroleum Survey Group  which has defined numeric identifies for common projections and coordinate metadata.  These codes are industry standards and are used with MicroStation as well as other products.

Geocoding

Geocoding is information describing the coordinate system for which the georeference is applied. It's the geocoding information that specifies the unit of the georeference and the type of coordinate such as spherical or planar.

There are two basic kinds of geocoding information :

• Geographic:  Information that is used to related the position of the the raster to latitude / longitude coordinates. The geographic information mostly describe the earth model. 
• Map Projection: Information that is used to described the projection operation that has been applied to the source raster data before creating the raster file.  

For a list of raster file formats supporting geocoding in their header, refer to the section titled Supported File Formats in Raster Manager - Raster File Format Handling.

Setting the Geocoding

The geocoding can be easily set for any attached rasters in the Raster Manager dialog by right-clicking on the raster and selecting the menu item Coordinate System > Select From Library. The Raster Managers Coordinate System column can be used to determine if a coordinate system is already specified for a given raster. Note that the geocoding information is going to be saved to the raster header or the attachment depending on its geo priority value.

Geo Priority

Geo priority is an important concept in Raster Manager.  It determines which source of georeference / geocoding information should be used when multiple sources are available. Raster Manager supports three information sources :

• Raster Header: The georeference is stored in the header of the raster file. See Supported File Formats in Raster Manager - Raster File Format Handling for the list of raster file formats supporting georeference iinformation in their header.
• Sister File: The georeference is stored in an accompanying file.
• Attachment: The georeference is stored in the raster element saved in the design file.

Reprojection

Reprojection is the process of transforming a raster from one coordinate system to another coordinate system.  This allows data sources in different coordinate systems be used together. 

On-the-fly

Raster Manager is able to reproject any georeferenced and geocoded raster on-the-fly without changing the raster file's coordinate system.

The reprojection can be done by simply unchecking the option Inherit GeoCS from Model. Note that the destination coordinate system is always the coordinate system of the model. If the model has no coordinate system, the raster will not be reprojected. Most of the time, the reprojection of a raster will move the raster to another location. 

Performance Tip : Creating a reprojected version of a raster on disk is more efficient than reprojecting the image on-the-fly.  Note that Bentley Descartes is required for this.

Domain Of Validity

Some geographic coordinate systems, meaning those coordinate system with no Map Projection information, and all reprojected coordinate systems have a validity zone.  This is a  zone on the earth for which the coordinate system is valid. For example, some projected coordinate systems can only be used for areas in North America, while others can only be used for European regions.

When reprojecting a raster which is covering a region greater than the validity zone of the destination coordinate system, Raster Manager will automatically clip the reprojected raster so that only the area of the raster in the destination coordinate system's validity zone be displayed. The pictures below show the clipping that is applied to a world image when reprojected to a coordinate system whose validity zone is not the whole world.

Unreprojected World Image

Clipped, Reprojected World Image

• Initialization of the dynamic link library rasterselect.dll failed
• After attaching raster images via I/RAS, display incorrectly in Bentley Redline
  
• Attaching Displaying Raster Images In MicroStation
  
• Basic Raster Editing
  
• Change Display Order of Raster
  
• Change the order of raster files
  
• Command line process for converting raster images to another format
  
• Dealing with error message - Raster image has 'Ignore Raster Rotation and Affinity' or/and 'View Independent' set to ON
  
• Define Default Raster Scale
  
• Differences of TIFF formats: Internet TIFF, Internet TIFF64, GEOTIFF
  
• ECW Not Showing as Supported Raster File
  
• Error when attaching MrSid and tiff images
  
• How can I improve memory allocation on my PC for Raster Manager?
  
• How to align accurately a raster image to existing geometry.
  
• How to attach a specific page of a PDF on Raster Manager
  
• How to attach Image (Raster) to design model
  
• How to convert format jpg to jp2 using its sister file (.jgw) in order to keep geographic information
  
• How to get ECW raster format available from the Default File Type set to: Common Raster Formats
  
• How to increase the raster available memory
  
• How to rotate 30 images in one step
  
• How to save a warped raster file
  
• How to share raster cache files between workstations
  

Problem

How to Link a level to a Reference attachment.

Solution

It is possible (starting in build 08.01.01.09) to attach a Reference and then select a level to link the reference to. If the level is Frozen, the corresponding reference will turn off.

This is available immediately in DWG workmode, it will be located near the bottom of the Settings Dialog when attaching the Reference.

To have this available in DGN workmode, it has to be enabled in the workmode.cfg file
(.../Bentley/Product/MicroStation/config/system)

Add this line to the file:
_USTN_CAPABILITY_DGN = +CAPABILITY_REFERENCE_ATTACHLEVEL

See Also