MicroStation

Dirty Tricks
(… and How to Foil Them!)
Bentley 2004 BE Conference Session M-30

P.H. Rhodes, Inc.

Training, Consulting and Support Services
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Copyright
Copyright 2003 by 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, MicroStation/J, AccuDraw, SmartLine and the “B” Bentley logo are registered trademarks of
Bentley Systems, Inc. AutoCAD is a registered trademark of AutoDesk, Inc. Windows is a registered
trademark of Microsoft ® Corporation.

About the Presenter

Patrice Rhodes is an independent consultant specializing in on-site customized software training, utilizing
client documents and procedures. Patrice has written and implemented extensive customized training
programs for a variety of clients including government agencies, utility companies, manufacturing firms and
engineering consultants. She also writes and conducts seminars on training and course development and
provides on-site consulting and support services for her clients. Patrice Rhodes has been providing
successful training and support programs on MicroStation and other related software products since 1988.

P.H. Rhodes, Inc.

Training, Consulting and Support Services
E8185 Hogsback Road
Reedsburg, WI 53959
(608) 524-0831

patrice@phrhodesinc.com

Copyright © 2002 P.H. Rhodes, Inc. All rights reserved.

(Dirty Tricks) ... and How to Foil Them! 3

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Problem #1
You plot your design file and find all kinds of elements that don’t belong in it ...

Solution
Someone may have slipped the old “black elements on a black background” into your file! Try
this:

Preview your design before you plot. The mysterious elements should show up there. You can
also turn on the Black Background -> White button in the View Options category of the
Preferences dialog box to view elements against a white background. This will allow you to
see the elements while you delete them.

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Copyright © 2002 P.H. Rhodes, Inc. All rights reserved.

(Dirty Tricks) ... and How to Foil Them! 4

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Problem #2
Everything in your view acts like it’s not there; you can’t identify or locate elements and you
can’t adjust settings box controls.

Solution
You might just be looking at a background image displayed inside your view instead of your real
design file elements! Try this:

Open the View Attributes settings box and turn off the Background View Attribute. Any
background image will disappear. Fit your view to locate your real design file elements.

The image displayed by the Background View Attribute is selected in the Design File Settings
dialog box in the Views category. Selecting the Background Image button allows you to select
a background image file from the Select Background Image dialog box.

The image file may have been created by using the “capture view contents” key-in. By
entering the key-in and then selecting a view, you can save a picture of the view’s contents as an
image file in the Capture Screen Output dialog box.

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Copyright © 2002 P.H. Rhodes, Inc. All rights reserved.

(Dirty Tricks) ... and How to Foil Them! 5

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Problem #3
The elements in your file seem OK, but a tool or settings box acts like it’s not there ...

Solution
The tool or settings box may be an impostor! Try this:

Click on the suspect item with the Element Selection tool. If it highlights, it is an image file and
not a real settings or tool box. Click the Delete tool to delete the highlighted image.

The image file may have been created by using the Capture Rectangle button in the Screen
Capture window. Select Image > Capture from the Utilities menu to open the Screen
Capture window. Click the Capture Rectangle button, then place two data points to define a
rectangular area immediately surrounding a settings or tool box inside a view window. Save the
outlined area as an image file in the Capture Screen Output dialog box.

To display the image in a view, select Import > Image from the File menu and select the image
file from the Select Image File dialog box. Place two data points to define the size of the image
in your view.

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Copyright © 2002 P.H. Rhodes, Inc. All rights reserved.

(Dirty Tricks) ... and How to Foil Them! 6

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Problem #4
You press an AccuDraw shortcut key and something unexpected happens ...

Solution
Someone has edited or replaced your AccuDraw shortcut file! Try this:

Open your AccuDraw shortcut file in a text editor and correct any shortcut key-ins that have
been altered. (The default AccuDraw shortcut key-in file, shortcut.txt, is located in the ...
\Workspace\system\data\ directory.)

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Copyright © 2002 P.H. Rhodes, Inc. All rights reserved.

(Dirty Tricks) ... and How to Foil Them! 7

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Problem #5
You can’t manipulate the elements in your design file ...

Solution
Someone may have locked the elements! Try this:

Analyze an element with the Analyze Element (Element Information) tool. If an element is
locked, “Locked” will appear in the General tab of the Element Information box. Select
Select All from the Edit menu to select all elements in your design file. Select Unlock from the
Edit menu to unlock the elements.

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Copyright © 2002 P.H. Rhodes, Inc. All rights reserved.

(Dirty Tricks) ... and How to Foil Them! 8

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Problem #6
You can’t manipulate the elements in your design file ...

Solution
Your design file may have been switched to a reference file! Try this:

Check your file name in the title bar at the top of the MicroStation application window. If the
file name is wrong (look for subtle differences), open the References settings box to see if your
file is referenced. If it is, then open the correct file as your active design file.

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Copyright © 2002 P.H. Rhodes, Inc. All rights reserved.

(Dirty Tricks) ... and How to Foil Them! 9

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Problem #7
Every piece of text in your files appears as a block with an “X” in it, even if you zoom in closer!

Solution
Someone may have messed with your Smallest Text preference. Try this:

Open the Preferences dialog box, select the Text category, and set Smallest Text to 0. This
setting determines the minimum size, in pixels, that text has to be before MicroStation will
display it on your screen. (Note: If you’ve seen those little rectangles before, but only when you
were zoomed out further, you probably had the Smallest Text set to its default setting of 4!)
Update your view to see the change.

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Copyright © 2002 P.H. Rhodes, Inc. All rights reserved.

(Dirty Tricks) ... and How to Foil Them! 10

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Problem #8
Your design file is a little difficult to read.

Solution
Someone may have made slight alterations to your Line Weights preferences! Try this:

Open the Preferences dialog box, select the View Options category, and then click the Line
Weights button. In the Line Weight Translation dialog box, see if your line weight values
have been substituted with some higher numbers. If so, try clicking on the 1:1 button in the
upper-right corner of the box and click Apply to see the results in your view right away before
you save any changes. If the problem is solved, you can assign any display weight you want for
your elements and save the change.

This preference can be very useful when working in files with heavier line weights. It gives you
the option of displaying those weights thinner on your screen without having any effect on how
they plot.

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Copyright © 2002 P.H. Rhodes, Inc. All rights reserved.

(Dirty Tricks) ... and How to Foil Them! 11

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Problem #9
The elements seem to be missing from your file!

Solution
They may only seem to be missing! Someone could have attached a different color table. Try
this:

Select Color Table from the Settings menu to open the Color Table dialog box. Take a
look at the colors and see if some substitutions have been made. If so, you can select Default
from the Color Table File menu to open the default color table, or select Open from the Color
Table File menu to open a different saved color table. Click the Attach button to attach it to
your file.

You can create custom color tables with custom colors and attach them to your files any time
you want a different collection of colors to work with in your files.

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Copyright © 2002 P.H. Rhodes, Inc. All rights reserved.

(Dirty Tricks) ... and How to Foil Them! 12

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Problem #10
Your dimensions are showing up with a few unwanted features!

Solution
Someone may have made some adjustments to your dimension settings! Try this:

Select Dimensions from the Element menu to open the Dimension Settings box. In this
case, check the Custom Symbols and Terminator Symbols categories for suspicious settings.
After you correct the settings, use the Change Dimension tool to update the dimensions to
your corrected settings. Save settings before you go out of the file!

In fact, any time you want to change an existing dimension, you can change dimension settings,
then use the Change Dimension tool to update the existing dimension to reflect those settings.

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Copyright © 2002 P.H. Rhodes, Inc. All rights reserved.

(Dirty Tricks) ... and How to Foil Them! 13

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Problem #11
You click on a tool in MicroStation and something unexpected happens ...

Solution
Someone has edited the tool’s key-in in your user interface! Try this:

Open the Customize settings box by selecting Customize from the Workspace menu and
select the tool box from the Edit Tool Box list. Double-click on the tool and correct its
associated key-in in the Key-in field of the Modify Tool dialog box.

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Copyright © 2002 P.H. Rhodes, Inc. All rights reserved.

(Dirty Tricks) ... and How to Foil Them! 14

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Problem #12
You press a function key and something unexpected happens ...

Solution
Someone has edited or replaced your function key menu! Try this:

Select Function Keys from the Workspace menu to open the Function Keys dialog box. If
the wrong function key menu displays in the title bar, select Open from its File menu to select
the correct function key menu. If the correct function key menu is open, then correct any
altered key-ins associated with your function keys. Select the function key and then click the
Edit button to edit its associated key-in in the Edit Key Definition dialog box.

Copyright © 2002 P.H. Rhodes, Inc. All rights reserved.

 Thank you!
I hope you enjoyed the session!

Need training or help with CAD management?

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) 524-0831
patrice@phrhodesinc.com

Copyright © 2003 P.H. Rhodes, Inc. All rights reserved.