MicroStation Manual

Introduction

This Document is intended to give the New MicroStation user a basic outline to the features and capabilities of bently microstation
V8i.

This manual will aim to cover some of the major tools and settings available to the drafter for efficient use in microstation.

At the end of the main text of the document there has been space provided for any personal comments you may wish to note down

During the course of this training session.

At the completion of this training session, participants will be able to:

• Recognize the user interface and fine the required functions

• Understand the features available in MicroStation V8i
• Use this document as a guide to help improve workflow and productivity within MicroStation
• Understand the plotting configuration of MicroStation V8i within the GHD Environment

The MicroStation V8i Program

• Program file location and directory layout
C:\ Program Files\Bentley\MicroStation V8i\MicroStation

• Local Workspace location

C:\Documents and Setting\All Users\Application Data\Bently\MicroStation V8i\MicroStation\Workspace

• Start program – Use TFarm select specific set-up depends on client or projects

• Install first client set-up on first pull down bar

 • Select installed client set-up

• Launch Workspace the Installed client set-up

• Create a new design file

• Select New File

• Choose Drive where you can save the New Design file.

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 • Put desired name
• Select DGN Files (*.dgn)
• Browse where you can save New File
• Select save

• Select Open

• Example of typical MicroStation Scree layout:

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 Use of the mouse pointing device

• Mouse button assignment

Workspace\button Assignments\

• Data, Tentative and Reset functionality

USER PREFERENCES
THE COMPANY "BUILD"
User_Name.UPF
Workspace\Configuration\
Workspace\Preferemces\

DESIGN FILE SETTINGS DWG_NAME.DGN

Setting\Design File\

• User preferences
Workspace\Preferences\
• MicroStation environment
Workspace\Configuration\
• Design File Settings
Settings\Design File\

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 Application window

• Control of the displayed views

• View control – Zoom, Pan etc.
The following gives an explanation as to what each button performs when selected:

View Attributes – Opens the dialog box to adjust the view attributes settings

View Display Mode – Opens the Display Styles dialog box that allows a display style to be set from a pull down list

Adjust View Brightness – Allows quick access to set scene lighting and adjustments to the brightness of shaded views

Update View – Redraws the view (s)

Zoom In – Increase the magnification of the view

Zoom Out – Decrease the magnification of the view

Window Area – Decrease the magnification of the view

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 Fit View – Display all viewable elements in the active dgn and attached references in the view

View Rotation – Opens the View Rotation toolbox to rotate the view

Pan View – Allows the user to change what part of the view is displayed without modifying the
Magnification of the view.

View Previous – Undo the last viewing operation

View Next – Redo the last undone viewing operation

Copy View – Copies the contents of one view to another

Change View Perspective – Opens the view Perspective toolbox to change the perspective angle of a 3D view

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 Clip Volume – Opens the Clip Volume toolbox to apply a clip volume to a view

Clip Mask – Applies a clip mask to a view

• Selecting the displayed tool bars

• Standard tools
• Primary tools
• Attributes tools
• Turning buttons On/Off (right click on the selected tool bar and check / uncheck selected function)
• Main menu layout
• Setup of the layout and saving of the settings
• The task bar

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By selecting the buttons on the right hand side, you can change the way the above buttons are displayed:

• The first button gives a mix of setting between the middle and last
• The middle icon puts a name next to each icon to give a description of the function
• The button gives only the icon as shown above

(Selecting the middle button may be a good way to understand the functions while you are still learning MicroStation)

• Exanple of a typical MicroStation screen layout:

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View Attributes
• Settings\\ View Attributes

• Attribute Selection
• View Control

Key-In Functionality

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Some Example of Key-In functions:

• Update view – “update all”

• Zoom Window – “window area extended”
• Rotate View – “rotate view extended”
• Pan View – “pan view”
• Measure Distance – “measure distance points”
• Snap Key Point – “snap keypoint”
• Snap Intersect –“snap intersection”
• Snap Nearest – “snap nearest”
• Accu-Snap – “accusnap toggle”
• Phong Render – “set view phong”
• Wire Render – “set view wireframe”

Function Keys
Workspace → Function Keys

Example of relevant set of F-Keys:

• F1 - Update View - “update all”

• F2 - Zoom Window - “window area extended”
• F3 - Rotate View – “rotate view extended”
• F4 - Pan View – “pan view”
• F5 – Measure Distance – “measure distance points”
• F6 – Measure Distance – “snap keypoint”
• F7 – Snap Intersect – “snap intersection”
• F8 – Snap nearest – “snap nearest”
• F9 – Acu-Snap – “accusnaop toggle”
• F10 – Phong Render – “set view phong”
• F11 – Wire Render – “set view wireframe”
• F12 – Update View – “update all”

A custom file (FUNCKEY.MNU) can be created and located on H:\Ustn\Menu

A custom button menu file (BUTTON.BTNMNU) can also be created and located on H:\Ustn\Menu

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AccuSnap
• Butoon bar layout.
Setting →Snap → Button Bar

• Key Point Snap Setting – K

AccuDraw
• Toggle AccuDraw
• Change Mode
• Mode Lock
• Rotation
• Specific X, Y and angles
• AccuDraw settings

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 Linear Elements

• Line Styles
Element → Line Styles → Edit

• Difference between “Place Line” and Place SmartLine”

• Multi-line Styles
Element → Multi-line Styles → Edit

• Place Stream Line – Note /resolution

• Place Polyline
• Construct Angle Bisector
• Minimum Distance Line
• Line at active angle

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 Polygons

• Review, setup and use of polygons

Active Area – solid or Hole

Fill Type – None (no fill), Opaque (filled with Active Color) or (outline with Active color and filled with Fill color)

• Place regular polygon

INSCRIBED CIRCUMSCRIBED

Circles, Ellipse and Arcs

• Review, setup and use of circles and ellipse
• Review, setup and use of arcs
• Place half ellipse

Place Half Ellipse Place Quarter Ellipse

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 Elements Selection

• Standard element selection – With Ctrl

• Power Selector (Can filter object by the categories listed below)

Fence
The Fence command allows you to place a fence, save it and use it for future work (i.e. a plot border)

Note: even though you can the fence outline on the screen once you are in another command it will not plot

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 • Place fence

→ Fence Type - Block / Shape Circle

- Element
- From View
- From Design File
- From Flood

→Fence Mode - Inside / Void (Outside)

- Inside – Overlap / Clip
- Inside – Overlap / Clip

• Modify Fence

→Vertex
→Position

• Manipulate Fence Contents

• Delete Fence Contents
• Drop Fence Contents

Paper Space / Model Space

• Use of the Model Manager

• Create a new model (Design) or paper (Sheet)

• Copy a model / paper
• Edit model / paper properties

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 • Delete model / paper
• Import model / paper

External Referencing
The Below Image shows how referencing between files, both dgn and dwg and referencing within a file is handled.

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 • Attach / Detach / Reload / Exchange

• Move / Copy / Scale / Rotate

• Merge into Master
• Mirror
• Clip Boundary
• Clip Mask
• Nesting

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Raster Manager
The below image shows, explains the nesting of references

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 • Attach / Detach
• Order of Display
• Modify / Move / Scale / Rotate / Mirror / Warp
• Clip
• Attachment Settings

Text
• Create text styles and save them with style names
Element / Text Styles

• Place Text
Select the preferred text editor – Workspace / preferences / Text / Text Editor Style

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→ Annotation Scale (Annotation Scale lock must be on and selected in the dialog box above to work)

• Place Note or Leader

• Edit Text
• Spelling check
• Display Text Attributes
• Match Text Attributes
• Place Text Nodes
• Copy and Increment Text
• Copy Enter Data Field
• Copy and Increment Enter Data Field
• Fill in Single enter Data Field
• Auto Fill in enter Data Fields
• Find and Replace Text
Edit / Find – Replace Text

Measure
• Angle Readout
Setting → Design file → Angle Readout

• Working units
Settings → Design File → Working Units

Dimensions
• Dimension Styles
Settings / Dimension Styles

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 (From Task Bar)

(From Tools Pull Down Menu)

(From Tools Pull Down Menu)

• Place Dimensions
• Edit Existing Dimensions
• Match Dimension Styles
• Change Dimension Styles
• Dimension Audit (Available through Utilities → Dimension Audit)

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Element attributes
• Level Manager

• Setting up Levels

→ Filters
→ Global Display – Turns the display of the level On / Off
→ Global Freeze – If frozen a levels elements are not displayed and they cannot be printed
→ Lock – Enable / Disable plotting of the level.
→ Used – Indicates if a level is used.

• Manipulation of level attributes

• Level display

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Change Atrributes

• Change Element Attributes

→ Change and Match / Change

• Match Element Attributes

• SmartMatch

Manipulate

• Copy
• Move
• Scale
• Rotate
• Mirror
• Array
• Align
• Stretch
• Move Parallel
• Move to Contact

Modify

• Modify Element
• Partial Delete
• Extend line
• Extend Elements to Intersection
• Trim Elements
• Intelli Trim / Extend / Cut
• Insert Vertex
• Delete Vertex
• Construct Circular Fillet
• Construct Chamfer

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Groups

• Drop element
→ Complex – Cells, Complex chains etc.
→ Dimensions – Geometry (lines, ellipses, arcs, text etc.) / Segment (Individual Dimension Segments
→ Line Strings / Shapes
→ Multi-lines
→ Shared Cells – Geometry (into their components) / Normal Cell (unshared cells)
→ Solids – Surface or Wireframe
→ Text

• Create complex chain

• Create Complex Shape
• Create Region

Tags
• Elements → Tags → Define

• Attach Tags
• Edit Tags
• Review Tags
• Change Tags
• Delete Tags

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Cells

• Cell types

→ Three types of cells – Graphic, Piont and Menu

→ Graphic cell:

- Symbology (Color, line style and line weight) defined when it is created
- Is level independent – can be placed on levels relative to the Active Level or on the same
- Level as when it was created
- Snap to key point on the cell
- Rotates when a view is rotated

→ Point cell

- Active symbology (Color, line style and line weight) is assumed when the cell is placed
- Always placed on the Active Level
- Snaps to cell origin only
- View independent – Does not rotates when a view is rotated

• Place cells

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 • Place Active Cell Matrix
• Select and place cells
• Identify cells
• Replace cells

→ Method

• Update – Replaces the identified cell with the cell of the same name from the active cell library
• Replace - Use Active Cell off - Identifying the cell and then
Identifying its replacement cell
Use Active Cell on - Identifying the cell and then
Accepting to replace it with the
Active Cell

→ Mode

- Single – Lets you replace individual cells.

- Global – Replace all cells of the same name with the replacement cell.

• Place Active Line Terminator – Select cell and select the line
• Create a cell library

→ Create the cell file – Element \ Cells \ File \ New

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 → Draw the cell design

→ Select

→ Define the cell origin

→ Create – Select cell type, name and description

Cells

• Hatch Area

→ Method

• Element – The interior of a shape, ellipse, closed B-spline curve or between components of a multiline.
• Flood – The minimum area enclosed by a set of elements
• Union – Of two or more closed elements
• Intersection – Of two or more closed elements
• Difference – Of two or more closed elements
• Points – an area defined by a series of data points, each of which defines a vertex.
• Fence – The area inside the fence.

→ Tolerance - Maximum distance between curved element and approximating line segments used to pattern.

→ Associative Pattern – If on the hatching is associated with the hatched geometry.

→ Associated Region Boundary – Subject to “Associative Pattern – Is on hatching can be placed on a level
other than the level of the hatched element but still be associated with the hatched geometry.

→ Snappable Pattern – if on the hatched lines can be snapped to.

→ Locate Interior Shapes – Method set to Flood only – If on, all closed elements (regardless of their Area
attributes) inside the selected area are avoided when the area is hatched.

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 → Locate text – Method set to flood only – If on, any text or dimension text inside or overlapping the selected
area is avoided when are is hatched.

→ Dynamic Area – Method set to flood only – If on, the area to be hatched displays dynamically as you move
the screen pointer over the shapes.

→ Alternating Area – Method set to flood only with locate interior shapes on and dynamic are off –if on,
alternating areas are hatched where shapes are nested inside one another.

→ Max (imum) Gap – Method set to flood only – The maximum distance, in working units, between the
endpoints of enclosing elements.

→ Text Margin – Method set to flood only – Set the size of the margin between hatching lines and existing text
existing text elements in the area to hatch.

→ Search for holes – When creating non associative pattern, you can ignore holes elements or search for holes
elements on the same level as the element to pattern, or on all levels displayed in the view.

→ Use Element Symbology – If on, a pattern is created using the active color, weight, and style of the element
being patterned.

• Crosshatch Area
• Pattern Area
• Linear Pattern
• Show Pattern Attributes
• Match Pattern Attributes – Used to set the active pattern settings (Angle, Scale, and spacing).
• Change Pattern

→ Attributes – Layer, Color, Line type and line Weight.

→ Pattern Parameters – Angle, Scale and Spacing

→ Intersection Point – New Intersection point of the pattern

→ Re-Flood

• Delete Pattern

Cells

• Place Active Point

• Point between
• Point on Element
• Point at Intersection
• Point along an Element
• Point at a distance an Element

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Plot/Printing
Location of Plot Files:

N:\Global\Apps Resources\Bently\MicroStation\Plot Drivers

First of all, select the Relevant Bentley Plot Driver using tool shown as .

Bentley Plot Drivers

• GHD_A1_Blk.pltcfg
• GHD_A1_Col.pltcfg
• GHD_A3_Blk.pltcfg
• GHD_A3_Col.pltcfg
• PDF_3D.pltcfg
• PDF_A1_Blk.pltcfg
• PDF_A1_Col.pltcfg
• PDF_A3_Blk.pltcfg
• PDF_A3_Col.pltcfg

Next you will need to select a Window Driver using tool shown as . (The list of printers available will depend on which print
queue’s you have on your system, typically your PC will have the relevant A3 printers to your floor installed as a standard)

If you need to install a printer, say an A1 plotter, Go to your Start Button > Printers and faxes and add a printer (on left hand side of
dialog box)

Follow the prompts until the “Find Printers” Dialog Box appears, wait a second or two then pick on “Find Now” to the right hand side
of the dialog box.

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Find the Relevant Printer from the list and double click this to load it onto your system, Once loaded continue with the printing
process above.

(Please note that if Color are required, select the color Bently Driver as per normal. You will then need to go into the Windows

Printer Preferences through the button and find the relevant printer, then preferences and select color as you would for a
Word or Excel Print, as GHD policies stipulate that black is the default setting for color)

Press the Print Button as normal.

Inserting object
Edit\Insert Object

• Linked and unlinked data

• External media

Import\Export
• IGES – The Initial Graphics Exchange Specification defines the neutral data format that allows the digital exchange of
information among CAD systems.
• Parasolids – Is a geometric modeling kernel (engine) used mainly for the transfer of 3D solids and surface data.
• ACIS (SAT) – Is a 3D modeling kernel that provides software developers and manufacturers the underlying 3D modeling
functionality. Standard ACIS Text (SAT) is a ASCII format text file.
• CGM – Computer Graphics Metafile is an open international standard file format for the 2D vector graphics, raster
graphics and text in CAD designs.
• Step AP203/AP214 – 3D modeling data exchange file format.
• VRML – Virtual Reality Modeling Language is a file format for representing 3D vector graphics.
• STL – File format native to the Stereolithographic CAD systems. STL files describe only the surface geometry of a 3D
object without representation of color, texture and other CAD model attributes.
• U3D – Universal 3D is a compressed file format for 3D data.

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Isometric
• Ensure that a 3D seed file is used
• Setup display window to show:

→ Isometric View
→ Top View
→ Side View
→ Front View

Example of a single monitor layout:

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3D Basics
• Ensure that 3D seed file is used
• Setup display windows similar to isometric

Can be found on the Task Bar

Toolbars from Task Bar as defined below:

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Rendering –

• Model lighting – Setting → Rendering → Light Manager to adjust the light projected on the model

V8i Feature Overview

Transparency and Priority Attributes
Transparency is a display attribute that allows the setting of an elements transparency from 0% (no transparency) to an almost
invisible setting of 100%. Transparency can be applied to most items in MicroStation XM and V8i.

Priority (draw order) is a display attribute for 2D files only that adds a calculated depth to elements. This allows you to have a
display order so that various elements display in front (highest values) of or behind (lowest value) other elements

Transparency

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Priority (Draw Order)

Transparency – Tool and Dialog Boxes and Appearance Settings

Dialog Boxes now have the ability to also be transparent and are able to be docked.

Transparency has also been extended to toolboxes (Right click on a toolbox and select “Transparency”, then select the % required).

The Following Dialog Boxes have the ability to be docked:

• Task Manager
• Tool Settings (The box that appears when you select an operation to carry out)
• Models
• References
• Raster Manager
• Saved views
• Level Manager
• Level Display
• Element Information

These Dialog boxes can be docked as tabs (by pinning them), or as a horizontal or vertical panel next to another docked dialog box.
The tabs shown in the docking region can be torn off to become floating dialog boxes. Dialog boxes can also be resized when
docked. Below, a docked dialog box and docking indicators can be seen on the screen when you drag any one of the above dialog
boxes. When you drag a dock-able dialog over one of the docking indicators, it highlights the available docking region. Simply select
a location and release the button to dock to the selected edge.

(See below)

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Positional Mapping
Positional Mapping gives you the flexibility to select a function without using your mouse similar to AutoCAD

For example, to place a line of text using the Task Dialog Box in Select Series 2 you would press “A” and then “1” when the
secondary dialog Box appears (See below)

With positional keyboard navigation enabled, when the input focus is home, the following keys are enabled:

<Enter> - Opens the key-in window at the pointer location or if the window is already open, puts focus within the key-in browser if it
is visible.

<spacebar> - Moves focus to the AccuDraw window.

<Tab> - Change to the next element under the pointer.

<PgUp> - Next task

<PgDn> - Previous task

Button Assignments
In V8i button assignment have been expanded.

Double clicking the middle mouse button will perform a “Fit View”.

Holding down the middle mouse button and moving the mouse will “Pan” the view. (Hold down Shift + Data to pan also)

Rolling the mouse wheel “Zoom” in and out of a view.

Note that if the middle mouse button is change to “tentative”, double clicking the middle button will not perform a “Fit View”.

“Context” menus can be accessed by a single right click or press hold on the right mouse button, depending on which preference
has been selected (See more below).

(Note: Depending on the configuration of the client build, these functions may not work as they should. Also if the button have been
customized then that custom set-up will disable the above function as well)

Context Menu
A context menu is a menu that appears when you right-click. It is also called the Reset Pop-up menu. You can customize this menu
by adding menus and menu items to it. You can show or hide and enable or disable these meus and menu item based on named
expressions. You can customize the context menu by copying MicroStation toolboxes and tools to it so that you can activate tools
from these menus. Custom menus and menu items can be added, moved, copied, reordered, deleted, and renamed on a context
menu. (Although, this custom function is locked down to Administrator access only)

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When you select or hover an Element and Hold down your Right Button on an element with the Element Selection Tool, a “Context”
Shortcut Menu will open. This menu will only give you options relevant to that particular element (i.e. a reference file would have a
different set of options attached to that shown below).

Crossing Selection
V8i now gives you the option of selecting elements via fence crossing boundary similar to that used on AutoCAD.

Remember, Selection Overlap mode is right to left – To select elements in overlap mode, drag the selection box right to left. If
you go left to right it’s the inside mode.

Reference Files
The Reference file dialog box has the option of allowing a reference to be manipulated as if it were part of the drawing (i.e. copy,

move, rotate, scale). This button can be found at the bottom of the Dialog Box. Select the reference you wish to manipulate,
then select this button. When finished, de-select this button.

Miscellaneous Enhancements
ALT-DATA to Match – To quickly match an elements level, colour, line style or line weight: hold the pointer over the element, and
press ALT+DATA. The active attributes will change to match the element under the pointer. (The user is required to be in the
“Change Attributes” command for this feature to work)

Quick Info – Rather than using the Element Information dialog to retrieve bits of information about the selected element, simply use
the Quick Info dialog. To do that, hover your cursor over the element and press ALT+RESET. The resulting compact dialog allows
you to review and even edit the symbology values

Pin and Roll Tabs – Dock-able dialogs have been modernized with the addition of pins to fix their docked location. When pinned,
dialog displays as a tab and will roll into the screen when the tab is clicked. Once the cursor is moved away from the dialog, it will
automatically roll up to its pinned location. The pin icon will be horizontal when pinned and upright when not pinned. Using pin and
roll dialogs can save on valuable screen real estate.

Remap Elements in Level Manager – To quickly move elements from one level to another, simply use the Remap Elements to
Level dialog from the Level Manager. To use this new utility, select the source level in the level Manager, issue a right-click and
choose Remap Element to Level from the resulting menu. Then simply select the destination level and click Ok.

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Spell Check a Model – Introduced in XM, the Spell Checker can be used to review text, text nodes, tags, dimension, notes and
symbols for spelling errors. Spell Checker searches the selected text elements and flags any words that do not have a match in its
dictionary. You can review individually selected text elements and/or selection sets within the fence contents.

View Different Models – You can view more than one model from the same file in separate views. To do that, open multiple
windows and define which model to view from the View Attributes dialog. Just navigate to the View Setup section and note the
models picker.

% key in – Used to start another Windows application key in %filename.extension. For example, keying in %pipespecs.doc will start
Microsoft Word and open the file called pipespecs.doc. and to open the system calculator, key in %calc.

Running Coordinates – To enable the display of running coordinates, right-click on the status bar and turn on Running
Coordinates from the available options. As you move your cursor, the coordinates of your current position display according to the
active Tentative Point Mode. When you left-click, a menu displays six options. When dealing with a Geo-coordinates System, such
as latitudes and longitudes, choose ACS Position.

Change Case – Located in the Text tool box (not the Text task), the Change Text Case tool is used to change the case of a piece of
text. It also case of text. It also supports text selection via a fence.

Drag selection support during manipulate commands – After selecting a manipulation tool, you can now select multiple
elements by dragging a window around them. In addition, the manipulate tools support the drag window at the beginning of the
command, or after the first group has been selected. You can then hold the CTRL down to add additional elements or CTRL+Drag
for multiple elements. Note that this is not a Selection Set.

Trim Tools – The Trim Element tool has renamed Trim Multiple, and has new modes. Regardless of which mode you are in, after
you select the cutting element. You can select multiple elements by dragging a selection line across them, so you can
simultaneously trim, or trim and extend them at their intersection with the cutting element.

The Extend Element to Intersection tool has been renamed Trim to Element. The default behavior of the enhanced Extend To
Element tool remains the same as before. However, a new tool setting has been added which lets you invert the element
identification behavior, so that the first element you identify is now the cutting element, and second element you identify is the
element that gets extended or shortened. When this tool setting is on, after you select the cutting element, you can select multiple
elements by dragging a selection line across them to simultaneously extend and/or shorten them.

The Extend Two Element to Intersection tool has been renamed Trim To Intersection, and has been enhanced to let you extend
or shortened two elements of any type to their intersection.

Change Reference View – in this edition you can change the orientation of the reference attachment by clicking the reference’s
Orientation column in the References dialog. (This allows you to change to a saved view etc…)

Color Preferences – New options have been added to the View Option category of the Preferences dialog that allow you to control
the design model background color, sheet model background color, element highlight color and selection set color.

Jump to Active Level – This feature allows you to jump to the active level in the Level Manager and the Level Display dialog. The
Jump Active Level item has been added to the right-click menu from the right pane of the Level Manager dialog and to the lower
pane of the Level Display dialog. This is particularly useful when working with a large number of levels because it eliminates the
need to scroll through the level list to find the active level.

AutoCAD to MicroStationTerminology

AutoCAD Term MicroStation Note

- Cell libraries No analogous AutoCAD term.
ACIS Parasolid Native 3D modeling kernel for each
program
Attributes Tags In AutoCAD attributes must be part of a
block
Balloon Callout bubble -
Bind XREF Merger into Master Inserting an external reference into the
current drawing.

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Blocks Cells: shared and normal In AutoCAD, all blocks behave like
shared cells, there is no analogy to
normal cell.
ByLayer setting ByLevel setting Setting that control whether color, line
weight and line style are set for each
level (layer).
Command line Key-in Place for entering commands/variables
manually.
Drafting Settings View Attributes In AutoCAD, there is no analogy to view
attributes. Some setting are found in the
taskbar/drafting setting area.
Drawing layout (paper space) Sheet model Unlimited sheet model (drawing Layouts)
allowed in both programs.
Drawing units Working units Microstation has a setting on DWG
Open dialog box for Design Center units.
This corresponds to AutoCAD’s setting
for “Drawing units for Design Center
blocks”.
DWG file DGN file Native file format for each program
Explode Drop Element Command used to demote
element/object types to lower level. For
example, cells/blocks can be demoted to
geometry
Freeze layers Global Freeze In MicroStation, pay attention to the
model setting in the level Display dialog
View Freeze (DWG workmode only) box.
Grips Handles Vertices on geometry that can be
selected and manipulated.
Hatching Patterning AutoCAD hatching relies on predefined
patterns.
Layers Levels Both programs have a “Manager” style
dialog box for controlling level/layer
symbology. MicroStation also has the
Level Displayed dialog box for quick
on/off settings.
Linetypes Line Styles MicroStation standard line codes are not
available in DWG workmode.
LTSCALE ACTIVE LINESTYLESCALE Configuration/system variable used to
define the scale of line scale/line type
patterns.
Model space Design Model DWG workmode and AutoCAD allow
only one model. MicroStation DGN
workmode allows multiple models.
Nested references Nested references MicroStation lets you control levels of
nesting; AutoCAD does not.
Object Elements -
Osnap AccuSnap Drafting tool for automatic snaps.
Plot Print -
Plot style Pen tables AutoCAD CTB and STB files can be
imported into MicroStation
Poly styles Smart Line Polylines can have variable width, as
opposed to constant line weight.
Properties Element information Title for current symbology of
elements/objects.
Rectangle Block -
References: References AutoCAD references are also known as
Attachments and overlays XREFs (for “external references”).
MicroStation equivalent of an overlay is
to set No Nesting.
Region Shape -
System variable Configuration variables It is recommended that you not insert
AutoCAD system variable values in
fields in a DWG file that you expect to
save to DGN format.
Template drawing files Seed file These files are used as a starting point
for newly-created files. They stored
standard settings.

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Text window Message Center Place for viewing text message of
program feedback.
UCS ACS Coordinates system acronyms.
ACS= Auxiliary Coordinates System;
UCS = User Coordinates System.
Viewports View MicroStation views are more flexible in
terms of display attributes and number.
Zoom extents Fit View Command for Zooming in on all
elements currently in the drawing.

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