MicroStation

AccuDraw Bearing and Distance Key-in

Did you know that AccuDraw can operate in a polar or rectangular mode. Hitting the
spacebar toggles between the two modes. The following shortcuts have been
programmed for polar mode input:
Northeast = quadrant #1
Northwest = quadrant #2
Southwest = quadrant #3
Southeast = quadrant #4
How do you apply this? The quadrant number replaces the standard input of
N45^23'45"E with a Key-in of 1 45^23'45" and AccuDraw will interpret it as
N45^23'45"E
Wait, it gets better! Do you hate keying-in the [shift][ 6] keystroke to get the degree
input? Try hitting the semicolon instead.
So now your input can be: 1 45;23'45
We just went from 12 keystrokes to 9. While this does not seem to be a huge
difference, it does make this task 25% more efficient and eliminates cumbersome
keystrokes. We know your supervisor will appreciate the productivity boost!
From Ron Brys with the Envision Group

MicroStation
Accudraw Compass Size
Did you know that that you can resize the default size of the accudraw compass?
The default size of the compass is set to 40. You can make it smaller with the Key-in:
accudraw settings size 20. Values can be anything between 6 and 399.

MicroStation
AccuDraw Compass
Did you know that you can quickly rotate the AccuDraw Compass to maintain its
conventional drawing plan mode of X-axis horizontal and Y-axis vertical to the view,
instead of having the compass rotate with the element being placed. Simply press
the letter V on the keyboard to rotate the compass to the "view" plane.
The AccuDraw keyboard shortcut V will always rotate the compass to the view in
which you are placing elements. You can quickly rotate the compass to a particular
view by pressing the appropriate keyboard shortcut below:

T - top view
F - front view
S - side view

Most of the time you will be drawing in a top (plan) view, when doing Civil Design.
Other handy rotation options are Rotate Quick (keyboard shortcut R Q) which
temporarily rotates the compass dynamically as you move your cursor or the Rotate
ACS (keyboard shortcut R A) which permanently rotates the drawing plane by
snapping to known points along an element. These rotation options are handy for
matching the angle of existing elements when placing cells or text.

MicroStation
AccuDraws Coordinate Readout
Did you know that you can use the Key-In to switch AccuDraw between Northings/Eastings and X/Y?
Key-In accudraw settings northeast or accudraw settings xy to toggle between the two coordinate input
values.

MicroStation
AccuDraw Feet and Inches
Did you know that if you dont like keying in a colon ( : ) to separate the feet from inches when using
Accudraw you can use a semi-colon ( ; ) or two periods ( .. ) instead!

MicroStation
Adding and Subtracting from Selection Set
Did you know that you can also add and remove elements from a selection set by holding down the Ctrl
key on the keyboard and selecting the items one by one, or by holding down the Ctrl and Shift keys at the
same time, point to the screen, drag the mouse and touch many elements that you want to add or remove
from the selection set all at once. (Similar to a Crossing in other CAD packages)

MicroStation
Additional MicroStation Training Books
Did you know that there are other sources that are good for MicroStation training. One author in
particular who has always been reputable is Frank Conforti. His book is called Inside MicroStation V8.
Another book and author is called Harnessing MicroStation by GV Krishnan. Both are available on
Amazon.com. Another site is http://shop.prosoftnet.com/ out of Utah. They have several manuals to
choose from. Book stores and Libraries around town, may also carry the above referenced books and
others for that matter.
As Always...Happy Cadding!

MicroStation
Aligning an Element's Edge
Did you know that you can align an elements edge (the top, bottom, left, or right) to
another elements edge by using the Align Elements by Edge command in the
Manipulate Tool Box. This is the best way to line up general notes or data in a table
that are not aligned to each other either vertical or horizontally.
Two ways to do this:
1. Pick the Element Selection icon, than pick the element(s) that you want to align.
Next, pick the Manipulate tool box icon (copy, move, and scale etc.), open that up,
than scroll over and pick on the Align Elements by Edge icon (3 rectangular boxes
aligned diagonally). Choose the edge (the top, bottom, left, or right) how you want
your selected element(s) to line up with the element you want to align too. Then, pick
the element you want to align too, and accept it (left mouse key). Your selected
element(s) will move and it's edge will be aligned to the same edge of the base
element (which was signified by a dashed rectangle around it).
2. Pick the Align Elements by Edge icon first, make sure the edge for alignment (kind
of like the elements justification point) is correct, pick the base element you want to
align too, than pick the element you want to be aligned, accept this, then reset (right
mouse key). The element that you wanted to align will line up with the element (base
element) that you chose to align to.
It will take several minutes of practice to get it, but it will be worth the time and effort
because this will reduce a lot of work and be a huge time saver. Give it a try. Tip from
Louis Avgeris- Standards and Specs HQ

MicroStation
Angular Dimensioning Tool
Did you know that you can force the arrow heads to the inside of an angular
dimension using the angle between lines command? If you go to the Dimension
Styles > Terminators category and change the minimum leader value to 0 this will
swing the arrow heads to the inside of the angled lines, as long as the text will also
fall within this space. Remember to select the Reset Style so the setting will return to
the default setting of Min. Leader 2.500000 when complete. That way all other
dimensioning will act as expected.

MicroStation
Bar Scales
Did you know that the latest CDOT configuration V2.01, now contains two cell within the General Cell
Library called SHEET_Bar-Scale-Horizontal and SHEET_Bar-Scale-Vertical? These cells are to be
used as the standard for placing Bar Scales within your drawing. The cells can be found on the CDOT
Group Menus General Pull-down under Sheet.
It should be noted that the cells contain tags and can only be edited with the Edit Tags command on
the Tags Tool Box. They cannot be edited through the Edit Text Command. The Tags tool Box is
adjacent to the Text Tool Box on the default Main Tool Frame. There are other tags being developed
within the configuration that will be discussed in the near future.

MicroStation
Boresite Lock
Did you know that if you are having difficulty selecting graphics within your DGN file,
then it may be relative to your Boresite Lock being turned off. Boresite Lock makes it
easier when using data points (alone) to identify elements. With Boresite Lock on,
data points will find elements at all depths of a view. When Boresite Lock is off, data
points (alone) will identify only those elements that are lying on or near the active
depth for the view. Whether Boresite Lock is on or off, still you can snap to elements
at any depth in a view. The lock should be turned on by default in the CDOT
workspace. See Settings > Locks > Boresite on the MicroStation Pulldowns.

MicroStation
CADD Library Details
Did you know that CADD Library Details are being collected? The Details need to be drawn on
appropriate levels, utilizing CDOT Standards. Designers can submit details to Region Representative for
review and approval and then details will be included on CDOT Web site for use by others. Submit the
drawings to the CADD Manager upon completion.

The Envision Group, Inc.

Change Line Direction

MicroStation & InRoads | EDUCATIONCONSULTINGSUPPORTVISUALIZATION

8517 Excelsior Drive, Suite 205

Madison, WI 53717-1995
608.836.3903 Phone
608.662.9043 Fax

User Workflow
Change Line Direction
When working with MicroStation files you may need to change the direction of a custom linestyle. This
work flow will step you through adjusting them with MicroStation tools.

Before

After

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MicroStation & InRoads | EDUCATIONCONSULTINGSUPPORTVISUALIZATION

Steps:
1.

From the MicroStation Pulldown Menu Tools > B-splines Curves > Modify Curves.
The Modify Curves toolbar will appear.

2.

<D> the Change Element Direction icon.

3.

Following the prompts from the MicroStation Status bar Identify an Element. <D> an element
you want to change direction.

Alternate Steps:
1.

From the MicroStation key-in browser. Key-in change direction

2.

<D> the Run icon.

3.

Following the prompts from the MicroStation Status bar Identify an Element. <D> an element
you want to change direction.

Notes: Prior to executing this command you can create a selection set of elements using PowerSelector.

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Change Cell Scale

MicroStation & InRoads | EDUCATIONCONSULTINGSUPPORTVISUALIZATION

8517 Excelsior Drive, Suite 205

Madison, WI 53717-1995
608.836.3903 Phone
608.662.9043 Fax

User Workflow
Changing Cell Scale
When working with MicroStation files you may need to adjust the cell scales for plotting or referencing
purposes. This work flow will step you through adjusting them with MicroStation tools.

Before

After

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MicroStation & InRoads | EDUCATIONCONSULTINGSUPPORTVISUALIZATION

Steps:
Note: Prior to manipulating the original file you may want to make a copy of the file and name the new file
accordingly.
1.

From the Main Menu Toolframe <D> the PowerSelector icon

2.

From the PowerSelector dialog <D> the Show Selection Information icon. The PowerSelector
dialog will expand.

3.

<D> the [Ty] tab. The available MicroStation Element Types will be displayed in the list.

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Change Cell Scale

MicroStation & InRoads | EDUCATIONCONSULTINGSUPPORTVISUALIZATION

4.

Scroll through the list and <D> the Cell item. All the cells in the design file will be selected.

5.

From the Manipulate toolbar <D> the Scale icon.

6.

In the Tool Settings dialog, set the desired scale factor.

X Scale = 2
Y Scale = 2
Z Scale = 1
About Element Center Checked

By setting the Z scale factor to 1, this will not modify the elements elevation. If you can not see the
About Element Center check box <D> the expand down arrow.

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MicroStation & InRoads | EDUCATIONCONSULTINGSUPPORTVISUALIZATION

7.

<D> a point in the view to accept the scale. The cells will change size.

8.

From the PowerSelector dialog <D> the Clear All icon. All cells in the active design file will be
deselected.

Note: If needed select Edit > Undo to revert to the original graphics.

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Change Linestyle Scale

MicroStation & InRoads | EDUCATIONCONSULTINGSUPPORTVISUALIZATION

8517 Excelsior Drive, Suite 205

Madison, WI 53717-1995
608.836.3903 Phone
608.662.9043 Fax

User Workflow
Changing Linestyle Scale
When working with MicroStation files you may need to adjust the linestyle scales for plotting or
referencing purposes. This work flow will step you through adjusting them with MicroStation tools.

Before

After

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MicroStation & InRoads | EDUCATIONCONSULTINGSUPPORTVISUALIZATION

Steps:
Note: Prior to manipulating the original file you may want to make a copy of the file and name the new file
accordingly.
1.

From the Main Menu Toolframe <D> the PowerSelector icon

2.

From the PowerSelector dialog <D> the Select All icon. All elements in the active design file will
be selected.

3.

In the MicroStation Key-in Browser: Key-in change linestyle scale x. X is the absolute
linestyle scale.

4.

<D> the Run icon. The linestyles will change scale in the view.

5.

From the PowerSelector dialog <D> the Clear All icon. All elements in the active design file will
be deselected.

Note: If needed select Edit > Undo to revert to the original graphics.

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Change Text Scale

MicroStation & InRoads | EDUCATIONCONSULTINGSUPPORTVISUALIZATION

8517 Excelsior Drive, Suite 205

Madison, WI 53717-1995
608.836.3903 Phone
608.662.9043 Fax

User Workflow
Changing Text Scale
When working with MicroStation files you may need to adjust the text scales for plotting or referencing
purposes. This work flow will step you through adjusting them with MicroStation tools.

Before

After

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Steps:
Note: Prior to manipulating the original file you may want to make a copy of the file and name the new file
accordingly.
1.

From the Main Menu Toolframe <D> the PowerSelector icon

2.

From the PowerSelector dialog <D> the Show Selection Information icon. The PowerSelector
dialog will expand.

3.

<D> the [Ty] tab. The available MicroStation Element Types will be displayed in the list.

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4.

Scroll through the list and <D> the Text. All the text in the design file will be selected.

5.

From the Manipulate toolbar <D> the Scale icon.

6.

In the Tool Settings dialog set the desired scale factor.

X Scale = 2
Y Scale = 2
Z Scale = 1
About Element Center - Checked
By setting the Z scale factor to 1, this will not modify the elements elevations. If you can not see the
About Element Center check box <D> the expand down arrow.

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MicroStation & InRoads | EDUCATIONCONSULTINGSUPPORTVISUALIZATION

7.

<D> a point in the view to accept the scale. The text will change size.

8.

From the PowerSelector dialog <D> the Clear All icon. All text in the active design file will be
deselected.

Note: If needed select Edit > Undo to revert to original graphics.

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MicroStation and AutoCAD Interface

Changing From UCS t o WCS in AutoCAD for
Reference File Operations in MicroStation
This workflow could be useful for Corridor projects or mapping that was received by outside Agencies
(Cities, Counties, other consultants) where other phases of the project are in AutoCAD and need to be
referenced into a MicroStation project, but continually come into the wrong coordinate system when
referenced. It may be due to a User Defined Coordinated System (UCS) within AutoCAD which may need
to be updated to a World Coordinate System (WCS). Click here for more

Changing From UCS to WCS in AutoCAD

This workflow could be useful for Corridor projects or mapping that was received by outside
Agencies (Cities, Counties, other consultants) where other phases of the project are in AutoCAD
and need to be referenced into a MicroStation project, but continually come into the wrong
coordinate system when referenced. It may be due to a User Defined Coordinated System (UCS)
within AutoCAD which may need to be updated to a World Coordinate System (WCS).

Here is the workflow to change the UCS back to the WCS. Go to the item below in AutoCAD.

That brings up the dialog box:

Highlight World and Set Current. That brings you back to the default WCS and Save the file
when you exit AutoCAD. Then reference as required into MicroStation.

MicroStation
Changing Elements to have ByLevel attributes
Did you know that changing an element to bylevel and resetting the scale factor can easily be
accomplished? Turn off all the levels except the desired levels to change. Remember that the active level
must be one of the desired levels. Select the elements that need updating and choose the change
element attributes dialog (shown). Check the boxes as shown and set all the pull-downs to bylevel.
Accept the changes in the screen...Review your changes carefully before closing the file.

..You can also change the scale factor of the selected elements with the Key-in change linestyle scale
100 (100 being the desired factor that you want the elements to be scaled to).

MicroStation
Selection Set Origin in Clipboard
Did you know that you can define the origin of a selection set that will be written to
the clipboard within MicroStation? Once you have determined your selection set,
Tentative Snap (middle mouse button) to the desired origin location. Do Not
ACCEPT (Left mouse button) the tentative point. Now select Edit > Copy to copy the
selection to the clipboard. Once the selection has been defined, you can now Edit >
Paste the graphics into the active drawing, or into another drawing. It will be placed
about the point established above.

MicroStation
Version of CDOT Configuration
The way that you can tell the version of the configuration you are running is to open up
MicroStation and Hover over the CDOT Icon on the Main Tool Bar Menu. You will see both a pop-up and
a message in the lower left hand corner of the Status Bar.

MicroStation
Converting Complex Chain
Did you know that you can convert a Complex Chain to a Single Element? If the complex element does
not contain any arcs, then convert it to a shape using the Modify Element tool. Ensure that the Smartline
Modification Settings are set to "Minimize number of linear elements" then snap to the same vertex twice
and then reset so the element is not altered in appearance.

MicroStation
Create Region Tool
Did you know that after creating the necessary grid for the asphalt layer on a typical section,
activate Create Region from the main menu. In the Create Region menu box, choose Opaque
for the Fill Type, make sure Keep Original is checked, and select the button for Ignore Interior
Shapes at the bottom of the menu box.
Youll find that this works much better and faster than the AutoCAD solid command!
Submitted by Brett Nordby Region 5-Durango

MicroStation
Placing Curved Leader Lines
Did you know that you can place curved leader lines with the Place Note
command? Open the Place Note dialog box, set the Location to Manual and the
Leader Type to Curve. You can then place as many curves in your leader line as you
wish. You will also need to remember to change the Location setting back to Automatic
when you want to place a regular dimension.

MicroStation
Decimal Feet to Inches
Did you know that if your drawing is set up to display decimal feet but you want to enter your values in
inches, just precede the value by a .. (dot dot). Not only does this save you time by eliminating the need
for calculating the decimal equivalent, it's also way cool!
For example:
If you want 2" simply keyin ..2 instead of 0.167. This will also work with fractions of an inch but is a little
tricky on occasion. Key in ..2 1/8 and it will convert it to .177 of a foot.

MicroStation
Angular Dimensioning Tool
Did you know that you can force the arrow heads to the inside of an angular
dimension using the angle between lines command? If you go to the Dimension
Styles > Terminators category and change the minimum leader value to 0 this will
swing the arrow heads to the inside of the angled lines, as long as the text will also
fall within this space. Remember to select the Reset Style so the setting will return to
the default setting of Min. Leader 2.500000 when complete. That way all other
dimensioning will act as expected. Click to view the commands.

Angular Dimension Setting

MicroStation
Dimension Association
Did you know that dimensions are associated with the Associative Dimension
setting in the sheet file. If the Reference file is associated to a dimension upon initial
placement, and the reference file is either not found or detached and reattached, the
association will be broken. You can drop the dimension through the drop element
command (element will become only a graphic group not dimension any longer),
place another dimension while associating to the reference file with association
selected, or key-in dimension reassociate to associate the dimension again.

MicroStation
Dismissing AccuDraw
Did you know that if you point to your AccuDraw dialog box with your cursor and type the letter Q, you will
close or Quit AccuDraw? You can then bring AccuDraw back by selecting its icon on your Primary Tools
dialog box or key-in accudraw activate. This will actually toggle Accudraw on or off in the middle of a
command. This Key-In would be handy to have on your Function Keys.
If a command is acting different than expected, often times dismissing AccuDraw and reopening it, will
help the command to act as desired.

MicroStation
Dividing value in Input Fields
If you
have 75 ft of text height and you want to change it to 37.5 ft of text height. You can add "/2" or
"75/2" and the software will calculate the new height. You can divide anything by adding the
divide character "/".

Did you know that you can use the "/" character to divide values in the MicroStation input fields?

MicroStation
Dropping and Dragging References
Did you know that you can attach multiple reference files quickly and easily by simply dragging and
dropping from Windows Explorer into the reference dialog box? Highlight the references you desire in
your Windows Explorer and drag them into your MS reference dialog box. A message will appear
notifying you how many files you are about to attach. You can change the attachment method and answer
OK.
This method works for both references and raster attachments!
Note that if the rasters are not georeferenced they'll all end up at the same coordinates.

MicroStation
Dropping Dimension Elements
Did you know that to break up a dimension element into its component lines, line string, ellipse, arc, or
text elements, use the Drop Element tool in the Groups tool box or the Drop Dimension Element Tool in
the Drop tool box? The Dimensioning can still be manipulated as a more primitive group with the Graphic
Group Lock turned on. However, the Dimension will no longer be Associative.

MicroStation
MicroStation Panning
Did you know that panning in MicroStation can act similar to AutoCAD panning.
Users who miss the middle button pan functionality there is a pretty close equivalent.
Click on the Pan display button control, verify that the Dynamic Display is selected on
in the Pan View Tool Settings box, then left click a point in your drawing and hold
down the left mouse. When you drag the mouse the pan anchor point moves the
drawing on your screen just like AutoCAD. When you release the left mouse button
the drawing has been panned to the new location.

A word of caution, when you exceed the dimensions of the graphics screen without
releasing the left mouse button, the drawing appears to be "stuck" on the mouse
cursor, even if you release the left mouse button. Simply left click again in the
graphics screen to clear the current Pan command.

MicroStation
Editing Cell Text
Did you know that if you cannot edit the text in a title block cell or any other cell for
that matter, then the cell was inadvertently placed as a shared cell. You can choose
the Drop Element and select the Shared Cells category. Select the pull down and
change it to "To Normal Cell", select the title block and accept it in the screen. This
will change the cell to a simple cell and will now allow editing.

MicroStation
Entering AccuDraw Angles
Did you know when digitizing new linework, you can replace the degree symbol ( ^) with a semi-colon ( ; )
when entering angles in AccuDraw? For example: N89^59'42"E can be entered as N89;59'42"E

MicroStation
Extracting Column Information
Did you know that you can extract column information from several of MicroStation's dialog boxes?
Invoke a CTRL+A to select all entries, then invoke a CTRL+C to copy the text information to the clipboard.
Once youve done this you can paste the information into Excel or any other application you want to.
A few dialog boxes you can try this with include: References, Models, Design History, Raster Manager and
Element Information details.

MicroStation
Fence to a Selection Set
Did you know that if you'd like to add the contents of a fence to a new selection set, you can Key-in:
Fence Selection New. You can then add more elements to an existing selection set: first place a fence
and then Key-in: Fence Selection Append. Finally, if you want to remove elements from a selection set:
first place a fence and the Key-in: Fence Selection Remove.

MicroStation
File Fence Command (FF=)
Did you know that if you have a certain level or levels that you want to send to someone, you can turn off
all other levels, place a fence around the objects and key-in FF= and then hit a return? A dialog box will
appear that will allow you to type in the name of a new file and then save out just the level that is
contained in the fence. Once you have accepted the dialog box you must place a data point in the screen
to accept the fence contents. A new file will be created with only the levels specified.

MicroStation
Filled Text Styles
Did you know that there is a new text style available in the CDOT Workspace that
utilizes a filled background and will be very useful when placing text on top of Raster
Images. The style is called -"100 Filled and 80 Filled" and is applicable for all Eng
text sizes available in the workspace (.05", .07", .10", .14" and .30"). For more
information see the following workflow: CDOT Printing Raster Images

CDOT Printing Raster Images

This document guides you through the display settings of raster images and modifying text for
better clarity.

Adjusting Raster Display Settings

1. Contrast and Brightness controls are used to adjust the display characteristics of
raster images. Select Tools > Raster > Display.

2. The Raster Display tool bar will appear. <D> the Contrast/Brightness icon.

3. If more than one raster image is displayed in the drawing, the image you want to
adjust may not be active. To select a different image, <R> then select the desired
image (<D>) from the view.

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CDOT Printing Raster Images

4. Determine how you want to adjust the selected raster image. To make an image
appear lighter, move the Brightness slider to the right or key in a positive value. To
increase the contrast of the image (setting apart the display of different entities within
the raster file), move the Contrast slider to the right or key in a positive value. Using
a negative value for contrast will result in a darkened image.

5. Continue adjusting Brightness and Contrast until the desired result is achieved then
dismiss the setting dialog.

Using a Text Style with a Background

If a raster image is dominated by dark colors, it may be necessary to use a text style with
a background.

Placing Text with a Background

The only change required for placing text with a background is to select one of the
Filled Text Styles.
1. Select the Place Text icon from the Main toolbar.

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2. In the Place Text settings dialog box, use the Text Style pull down menu and select
the desired Filled Text Style.

3. In the Text Editor, key in the desired text and place as normal. The result will look
like the example below:

Note: The color of the text in this example has been changed for clarity.

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Modifying InRoads Text to Have a Background

InRoads does not use Text Styles or Annotation Scale. Therefore, text displayed by this
program will have to be modified to display a background.
4. Turn off the Graphic Group Lock. All Cardinal Point text and all P.I. text are
contained in graphic groups. Turning off the Graphic Group lock will allow the
justification to be set for each piece of text as needed.

5.

Select Change Text Attributes from the Main toolbar.

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6. In the Change Text Attributes dialog box, set the Text Style. Use .10 ENG-100
Filled for Major Stations and .07 ENG100 Filled for PC, PT, and PI stationing
Points. Also, set the desired Justification.

Note: the following justifications are used by InRoads:

Major Stations - Left Center
P.I. Left of Centerline - Right Center
P.I. Right of Centerline - Left Center
Cardinal Left of Centerline - Right Bottom
Cardinal Right of Centerline - Left Bottom
7. Select the desired text from the MicroStation view. Text may be selected
individually or use the MicroStation element selection tools to select multiple text
entities. Use the element selection tools to select a large number of elements that
have the same Text Style and Justification (like Major Stations, for example). For
Cardinal Points and P.I. stations, selecting them individually may be a better option
as their justification is dependent on the direction of the curve.

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Note: The text will change to a very small size. Do not worry about that for now. An
Annotation Scale will be added to all of the text that was modified at one time. This will
restore the text to its proper size. As shown below, the text size in the image on the left is
correct, but the text styles are wrong. The text in the image on the right has had the
correct text style applied, but no adjustment to the text size has been made.

8. Repeat steps 10 and 11 for all of the text placed by InRoads.

9. Highlight all of the InRoads placed text that has been changed to a Filled text
styles.
Note: If no text is highlighted when the annotationscale add key in is run, then the
annotation scale is applied to all text. This will enlarge InRoads geometry symbols
(which come from symbol fonts) by the annotation scale factor.
10. In the Key-in window, type annotationscale add and <D> the Run Key-in icon
or press the Enter key. This will restore the text to its proper size.

11.

Below is an example of InRoads text with a filled background and correct annotation
scale.

Version 03.02.02

Page 6 of 6

Updated May, 2008

MicroStation
Level Display and Level Manager
Did you know that you can drag the "Used" tab on the dialog box much closer to the "Name" tab and
then sort by the "Used" category. All the tabs can be repositioned on the dialog box in any order that is
most useful to the user. You can also Right Click on the tabs and turn on or off any of the desired tabs.

MicroStation
Level Manager Plot or No Plot
Did you know that there is a Plot Category on the far right hand side of the Level
Manager Dialog box? This category can accidentally be turned off on all levels or on a
level by level basis, causing elements within your design file to display on the screen,
but not show up when you send the file to the plotter. This can be very frustrating, so
check to see if the elements in question have accidentally been instructed not to plot.
This setting is file specific setting.

Styles that are not displaying correctly is more than likely

due to the Element Line Styles Custom Scale factor
setting not being checked on. The scale factor should
be set to 100 by default. If the drawing does not update
directly you may also have to key in dwg ltscale 0
followed by the Enter key. This should fix your linestyle
scale viewing issue.

MicroStation
Measure Length
Did you know that the total measurement of a series of lines selected with the
selection tool in a drawing may be done by picking the "Measure Length" tool from
the "Measure" toolbar (4th icon from the left)? This gives the total of all lines in the
selection set.
This command may be used on non-linear elements also, such as arcs, circles,
blocks, smart-lines, etc. It will also measure lengths of 3D lines, so be careful if this is
not your desired intention.
This tip comes from Hanh Nguyen of Staff Bridge

MicroStation
Measuring with AccuDraw
Did you know that instead of using a measure command inside of MicroStation, you can use
AccuDraw for most measuring. As the AccuDraw dialog echoes back the position of the cursor relative
to the last data point. A common workflow could be, select the place line command, pick the initial
point (which moves the AccuDraw compass to the selected location) and just drag and/or tentative to
the point of interest. Toggling between polar or rectangular mode (spacebar) let's you see delta X,Y,Z
or Distance & Angle. Thanks Ron Brys for the Tip.

MicroStation
Modifying Auto-Dimensioning
Did you know that after placing Linear Dimensioning you can use several of the
Modify Element commands on the dimension. The Modify Element command allows
you to modify the extension line and re-associate it's start or stop position. It also
allows you to reposition the text that has been placed with the Dimension string. The
Insert Vertex allows you to insert additional dimension breaks along a previously
placed dimension string, while the Delete Vertex allows you to delete dimension
breaks.

Sometimes it is easier to simply redraw the dimension all together, other times it may
be better to modify it. Try it, you may like it.

MicroStation
Modifying Custom Linestyle
Did you know that you can modify a custom linestyle on the fly by using the Modify
Line Style Attribute command? Place the desired lines in your file, choose the modify
linestyle attribute command, select the pull-down and choose the shift or scale
method. Select the lines that you want to change and dynamically drag the cursor to
the desired location. This command only works on previously placed lines, shapes,
arcs and circles. View the command.
It should be noted that additional functions are available through the pull-down but
scale and shift are the only two commands that work with the CDOT linestyles. The
CDOT line widths are driven by weight (through ByLevel settings), and not driven by
line width associated with the custom linestyle.

The Command Key-in:

Modify Linestyle Icon showing selections Modify Linestyle shift and Modify Linestyle Scale.

MicroStation
Modifying Element Attributes
Did you know that there is another way to change entity attributes other than using
the standard MicroStation "Change Element Attributes". If you click on the "Element
Information" icon (the large "I" icon), then click on the element to view the information.
Once the "Element Information" dialog box appears select the level you want to
change to, from the Level drop-down combo box list. You can also change the color
from the Color drop-down combo box list. After Selecting changes hit the "Apply"
button. The element you selected has now been changed to the new level and color.
Thanks JR Heathcote Region 3

MicroStation and AutoCAD Interface

Changing From UCS t o WCS in AutoCAD for
Reference File Operations in MicroStation
This workflow could be useful for Corridor projects or mapping that was received by outside Agencies
(Cities, Counties, other consultants) where other phases of the project are in AutoCAD and need to be
referenced into a MicroStation project, but continually come into the wrong coordinate system when
referenced. It may be due to a User Defined Coordinated System (UCS) within AutoCAD which may need
to be updated to a World Coordinate System (WCS). Click here for more

Changing From UCS to WCS in AutoCAD

This workflow could be useful for Corridor projects or mapping that was received by outside
Agencies (Cities, Counties, other consultants) where other phases of the project are in AutoCAD
and need to be referenced into a MicroStation project, but continually come into the wrong
coordinate system when referenced. It may be due to a User Defined Coordinated System (UCS)
within AutoCAD which may need to be updated to a World Coordinate System (WCS).

Here is the workflow to change the UCS back to the WCS. Go to the item below in AutoCAD.

That brings up the dialog box:

Highlight World and Set Current. That brings you back to the default WCS and Save the file
when you exit AutoCAD. Then reference as required into MicroStation.

MicroStation
Panning with Cursor only
Did you know that if you hold down the shift key and drag the cursor in any direction, you can Pan in that direction?
If you want to Pan to the right (even in the middle of a command such as Move) hold down the shift key and point to
the screen along the left side of the monitor, and then slowly drag the cursor to the right. Your view should begin to
scroll to the right. Let go of the shift key, quit dragging the cursor and then continue with your Move command.

MicroStation
Printing a Dialog Box
Did you know that in order to print a Dialog Box while inside MicroStation/InRoads, first make the dialog
box that you want to capture Active (click on the tool bar)? Once active, with the keyboard, press ALT
+Print Screen. Open up a Word document or an email message and with the keyboard, press Ctrl+V (or
Edit>Paste or with your mouse Right Click>Paste). This should paste the active dialog box into the
document. The dialog box will be easier to manipulate and have more functionality when inserted into
Word or Paint.

MicroStation
PDF Printing
Did you know when printing a PDF file you may need to turn off the Page Scaling on
the print dialog box. Under the Page Handling area, notice the Page Scaling:, Select
the pull-down and choose None. This will allow the saved PDF files to be "to scale"
when measured with an Engineering scale, similar to a regular print from
MicroStation. Click Here to view the affected dialog box.

MicroStation
Problem Placing Fractions
Known Bug & Workaround - Once a fraction has been added to the body of any text a Soft Return
must be used from that time forward. A hard return will cause every fraction within the body of the text to
no longer display correctly. This happens in both the Place Text command and the Edit Text command. A
soft return is performed by pressing on the Shift Key and the Enter Key at the same time. The CAD
Management team is aware that this is a very difficult Workaround and has made it one of the highest
priorities to be fixed.

Redline
Opening an Editable Redline File
Did you know that if a file is opened in a Redline "View" only mode, then there are
only a few commands available to choose from. It will be very obvious to you as the
icons will not look anything like the training class. This mode is also known as "Read
Only". Check in the lower right hand corner of the screen, to see if there is a Red "X".
If so the file is being opened as "View" only. Printing and measuring are allowed, but
commenting is not. In order to open the file for Redline use, try using Start > all
programs > Bentley Redline > and select the Bentley Redline executable. You can
right click on the executable and send to desktop for a shortcut to the command in the
future.

MicroStation
Resizing AccuDraws Compass
Did you know that you can change the size of AccuDraw's compass? Key-In: accudraw settings size
number where number is a value between 6 and 399. The lower the value the smaller the compass; the
default number is 40.

MicroStation
Resizing Key-in Dialog Box
Did you know that if you want the Key-In Dialog Box to not take up as much space within your application
window when being docked, first minimize the Key-In box by selecting it along the bottom right corner, and
drag it to an appropriate size to your liking and then dock the Key-In Box where you want it on the
screen? Did you also know that you can use the arrow up and arrow down keys on your keyboard to bring
back previously typed Key-In information?

MicroStation
Resizing and Docking the CDOT Menu
Did you know that you can resize the CDOT Group Menus toolbar? Select the
Menu and "undock" or float the toolbar within the drawing workspace. Resize the
toolbar by selecting one of the corners, and drag the menu to the size that you
desire. If the text does not display correctly after the resize operation, click on the
CDOT Icon on the Main MicroStation Toolbar. This will update the text appearance.
Now you can bank or "dock" the menu where desired. It can be docked on either
monitor, on the top or the bottom of the screen.
The CDOT Icon will also bring back the Group Menu if it is accidentally deleted.

MicroStation
Scaling about Element Center
Did you know that you can easily scale elements about their insertion point? Simply
Select the elements that you want to manipulate, choose the Scale command, expand
the Scale Element Dialog Box with the arrow down (also known as show extended
information). Check the About Element Center box and accept the graphics. You will
notice that the elements are scaled without changing their insertion.

MicroStation
Shared Cells & Text Editing
Did you know that if you have the Use Shared Cell toggle turned on within the cell
library dialog box, when you place a cell that has text in it (such as the border cell), the
text cannot be edited? This can be frustrating. If you have already placed the cell, you
can key-in the command DROP SHARECELL. The system will prompt you Convert
Shared cell to Unshared Cell > Identify element. Once you have selected the element
you can now edit the text within the cell.
Remember to uncheck the Use Shared Cell toggle within the cell library dialog box and
save settings. This will prevent future shared cell placement.

MicroStation
Fraction placement within the Text Editor
Did you know that if a fraction is the last character of a sentence and you proceed to the next line with
a standard hard return on the keyboard, the fraction will become vertical on the next line within the
editor and will not place as expected within MicroStation. To remedy this problem, at the end of the
fraction, instead of using a hard return, use a soft return which can be accomplished by holding the
SHIFT+ENTER keys. This should prevent the fraction from changing to a different line.

MicroStation
Stretching Graphic Cells
Did you know that you can use the Fence Stretch command and stretch graphic cells
without dropping the cell status to simple graphics? Simply place a Fence (Inside Fence
Mode is the safest), go to the Manipulate Fence Contents Command. Select the
Operation pull-down and choose Stretch. Make sure that the Stretch Cells option is
checked. The command wants you to define the origin and then define the distance.
The cell will then be stretched. A few additional items to be aware of: make sure that the
Cell has NOT been placed as a Shared Cell. Also make sure that your fence is
strategically placed so as not to stretch elements that also lie inside the fence (vertices
included). Play with the command. It is very powerful.

MicroStation
Configuration Change
Did you know that the latest configuration now contains the Survey Tabulation sheet. The sheet is
not being autopopulated into newly created projects, but does exist in the C:\Program Files\WorkspaceCDOT\Standards-Global\MicroStation\Sheet Borders and it is called JPC#SURVTabSheet##.dgn. The file
can be copied to the desired location and renamed with the appropriate project code.

MicroStation
Placing Text along an Element
Did you know that when placing text along an element, if the text to be added is too long to
match the limits of the element or the font is too large such that the new text is longer than the
element, the text will be truncated? Therefore, change the size of the text or make sure the
length of the new text is not longer that the limits of the element it is attached to. Submitted by
Brett Nordby Region 5-Durango

MicroStation
Text Placed Centered between two Points
Did you know that there is a way to place text that is centered between two snap
points without using dimensioning or construction lines? Various items are randomly
spaced in a file and for visual presentation, snapping to both of them and having
MicroStation place text centered between the items is desired.
Try the following with Accudraw enabled:
1) Start the Place Text tool (make sure active justification is set to Center Top, Center
Center or Center Bottom).
2) Enter the text to be placed.
3) Tentative on the first point (do not click Data).
4) Press the letter "O". (This moves the Accudraw origin to this point)
5) Tentative on the second point (do not click Data).
6) Enter /2.
7) Click the Data point.

MicroStation
Text Underline Spacing Problem

A known problem exists in the MicroStation software as it relates to Text underline

spacing. The underline spacing can be applied to text that has been placed in a
drawing, through the Change Text Attribute command. Place the text that should be
underlined in the design file. Open up the Change Text Attribute tool. Make sure to
check only the Underline setting and toggle the setting to Enable. All other settings
should not be selected. Apply the desired change to the text and the underline should
now display correctly.

The configuration default value defined by the Workspace > Preferences > Text >
Underline Spacing (%) 30 will be applied to the text. The underline is applied to the
entire line or multiple lines of text. It cannot be applied to only a few words in a line of
text.

MicroStation
Updating Thumbnail Display
Did you know that you can tell MicroStation what image to display as the thumbnail in the MicroStation
Manager? Create a saved view called PREVIEW (SV=preview) and MicroStation will use it as the source
view when previewing from the MicroStation Manager Dialog box. If you're going to use the title-block
area of your drawing for a preview, turn off your line weight display from your View Attribute Settings Box
(your weight display should actually be turned off in all files by default).
This preview window can be handy for thumbnail display images in Windows Explorer also.

MicroStation
Toggle Dimension Witness Lines
Did you know that if you Key-in Change Dimension Witness you can toggle on or off the dimension
witness line (AKA-extension lines) once it has been placed in you design file? To turn the dimension
witness line off point to the visible portion of the witness line and accept the line. To turn the dimension
witness line back on it is a little more tricky, point to the dimension line close to the arrow and it should
toggle back on. Sometimes it takes a few picks, but usually is successful.

MicroStation
Updating Annotation Scale
Did you know that if you've got a file that came from the V7 MicroStation, the text will not have annotation
scale applied to it? To do so, turn on the Annotation Scale Lock and Key-In: annotationscale add. This
global keyin will apply the annotation scale of the active model to all text elements in that model. Other
Key-In commands are: annotationscale remove which removes the annotation scale from the file and
annotationscale change 20:1 which actually changes the annotation scale of all text within a file by the
ratio given.

MicroStation
Using Measured Data
Did you know that you can highlight a measured distance from the Tool settings
Box, Right Click on the measurement and then do a Copy and Paste into another
document. Linear measurements give you the working unit label, but Square Area
units don't seem to. The Area unit also doesn't seem to recognize the design
coordinate readout. This is a bug that is being looked into.
The measurement can be copied into an Excel table and linked into a document. The
measurement doesn't have to be written down, merely pasted into a spreadsheet,
which allows less room for error. Click Here to view more.

Measured Area

Measured Distance

Settings > Design File > Coordinate Readout to change the unit measured
distance readout.

MicroStation
Activating View Attributes Box
Did you know that you can activate the View Attributes dialog box with a single click on the Bentley icon
(script B) in the upper left-hand corner of your view window. This will pull-down menu in which you can
select View Attributes. You can then uncheck line weights or any other view display settings that you
desire.
Submitted by Brett Nordby Region 5-Durango
Another quick way to activate the View Attributes dialog box is with a Ctrl+B (Hot Key).

MicroStation
Whats a Transient Element?
Have you seen the message Element is a Transient Element in either the status bar or message center
and wondered what it meant? A transient element is an element created by a tool or application that is
stored in memory only and not actually written to the file. A fine example of a transient element would be
the Define Cell Origin tool - the little cross-hair symbol is a transient element that will go away if you point
to the Cell Origin tool again, or re-open the design file.

MicroStation
Why use MicroStation Dimensioning?
Did you know that dimension elements have the following advantages:
1. A dimension element can be modified easily.
2. A dimension element can be associated with the element or elements it dimensions.
3. Associated dimensions update automatically when any of the dimensioned elements are modified.
4. Using dimension elements can significantly reduce the size of a design file that has many
dimensions, since a dimension element is usually smaller than the corresponding individual elements.

MicroStation
Single line to Multi-line Text
Did you know there is a workaround? - When editing single line text to multi-line text there is a bug in
the software. Edit the text as usual, adding the additional lines of text. Accept the text modifications and
notice that the line spacing for the multi-line text is incorrect. The spacing does not recognize the line
spacing that is set by the configuration. Open the Change Text Attribute command, check the Text Style
setting and apply the setting to the text that was placed. The line spacing should now reflect the correct
spacing.