DRAWING

BOUNDARIES
CONNECT PLANS PRODUCTION PROCESSES USING MICROSTATION CONNECT
TOPICS

• Civil Drawing Boundaries and Non-civil Drawing Boundaries -

create plan sheets along an alignment or a path.
• Managing Named Boundaries – edit properties or move.
• When to use Civil Plan versus From Drawing Boundary
• Unusual Scales
 WHAT ARE DRAWING BOUNDARY SEEDS?

• Models – drawing-type and sheet-type.

• Sheet model seeds have four (4) elements in each:
• Border cell
• Title block cell
• Sheet Number cell
• Bordernotes or Borderfull cell (construction class)

• Civil drawing boundaries are placed relative to an alignment location and stationing values
• Non-civil drawing boundaries are placed related to an XY location

Drawing Boundary Seeds are delivered in a design library. Create Drawing command uses drawing boundary seeds to
automate creating sheets, attaching references, and clipping, scaling and rotating reference attachments.
Elements are delivered in the seeds because it is easier and faster to delete or turn off what you don’t want.
 The drawing boundary seed sets:
• which models to use in the drawing creation,
WHY NOT JUST
PLACE A NAMED • the detail scale of the sheet,
FENCE?
• the orientation of the sheet,
When the drawing boundary is used
• the annotation scale of the drawing model,
to create a drawing - that's where
the difference and efficiencies come And create drawing will automatically create models for
out to play!
multiple sheet and attach the source graphics as a
clipped and rotated references!

A drawing boundary seed creates an intelligent, permanent fence. When used to create drawings, the drawing boundary
acts as the view port or clip boundary.
 NON-CIVIL DRAWING BOUNDARY SEEDS

• MicroStation CONNECT • Non-civil in OpenRoads Designer

When the type of boundary is set to “From Drawing Boundary”, both MSCE and ORD provide the same list of five (5)
ODOT non-civil drawing boundary seeds. ODOT seed names begin with an underscore so that ODOT boundary seeds
sort to the top of the list. Don’t use boundary seeds that don’t have an underscore in the name.
 “CIVIL PLAN” DRAWING BOUNDARY SEEDS

When the type of boundary is set to “Civil Plan” in ORD, the drawing boundary seed list is more than one page long! Use
the scroll bar. You will see
 TYPE = FROM DRAWING BOUNDARY (non-civil)

• MicroStation CONNECT • OpenRoads Designer

The top row of icons sets the type of boundary. The most commonly used type of non-civil drawing boundary for both
MSCE and ORD is “From Drawing Boundary”. Non-civil drawing boundaries do not have a scale in the name.
 SINGLE , GRID OR ARRAY METHOD (non-civil)

SINGLE ARRAY
• Detail • More than one boundary “along a path”
• Single sheet sketch

Only two methods are routinely used: Single and Array. Array is useful when working in plan view and there is a path along
which you wish to cut sheets.
An OpenRoads Designer dialog is shown on the right with more types of named boundaries at the top.
 ALONG A PATH – ARRAY (non-civil)

• MicroStation CONNECT • OpenRoads Designer

Both MSCE and ORD can place a non-civil drawing boundary “Along a Path”. “Path” is a generic term and could mean a
complex chain drawn using MicroStation or a civil geometry (alignment) that is displayed as a reference.
The MicroStation dialog on the left looks almost the same as the OpenRoads Designer dialog on the right.
 ALONG A PATH ≈ CIVIL PLAN

• MicroStation CONNECT – Along a Path • OpenRoads Designer – Civil Plan

OpenRoads Designer Place Named Boundary tool is shown on the right with Civil Plan tool selected. MSCE (on the left) is
set to use “From Drawing Boundary” tool with the method of “Along Path”. Check out the similarities: you get to select
the path or geometry and the sheet overlap can be adjusted.
 HOW BOUNDARIES
ALONG A PATH ARE
PLACED
Leading boundary edge placed at start
location (- ½ overlap) – green x is start
location

Midpoint of leading boundary edge

intersects the path

Midpoint of trailing boundary edge

intersects the path

100% of overlap between sheets on path

Boundary edges are only perpendicular to path if no curve within the boundary of the sheet.
DEMO
Use ORD in OPNP file; attach
reference to CAD Base file; attach
references to Container Files; place
Civil Plan named boundaries that
match preliminary cuts
TOPICS

•  Civil Drawing Boundaries and Non-civil Drawing Boundaries -

create plan sheets along an alignment or a path.
• Managing Named Boundaries – edit properties or move.
• When to use Civil Plan versus From Drawing Boundary
• Unusual Scales
 MANAGING NAMED BOUNDARIES

Named boundaries are stored in the model in which they are created. ORD organizes the groups by the type of named
boundary. Boundaries created by MSCE are “Other Groups”.
 EDITING NAMED BOUNDARIES - MICROSTATION

Best Practice is to make edits in the Properties dialog. Must close and reopen the Named Boundaries dialog to see
changes.You can edit in the Named Boundaries dialog using a slow double-click.
Note – There’s no pencil icon to make the Create Drawing dialog show – it’s automatic in MicroStation!
 EDITING NAMED
BOUNDARIES –
MICROSTATION
Why bother to edit the names of
named boundaries?

• Models will be created with

names using the Named
Boundary names

Create Drawing dialog is filled out by the drawing boundary seed.

 EDITING NAMED BOUNDARIES - MICROSTATION

Named boundary names = Saved View names = Model name seed.

 EDITING NAMED BOUNDARIES – OPENROADS
DESIGNER

Best Practice is to make edits in the Properties dialog. Named Boundaries dialog does NOT refresh: close/reopen to see
changes. Best practice to edit named boundary names PRIOR to creating drawings.
Note – The Create Drawing dialog will not display in ORD unless you click the pencil icon to make it show!
 EDITING NAMED
BOUNDARIES –
OPENROADS
DESIGNER
Why bother to edit the names of
named boundaries?
• Models will be created by
combining the Plan Group name
with the Named Boundary name.
• The Plan Group is automatically
named for your selected alignment
• Alignment name – named boundary
name
Named boundary name is used in the Model name seed.
 EDITING NAMED BOUNDARIES – OPENROADS
DESIGNER

Named boundary names => Saved View names => Model name seed.
MOVING NAMED BOUNDARIES

• Move at right angles to the boundary sides

• Wait until after drawings are created to alter size
• Properties that are gray – cannot be changed
• When Civil Plan boundaries are placed, the alignment
stationing (civil) is recorded in the properties, but only used
for the initial placement of the boundary - there's no
synchronization - if the alignment stationing changes - nothing
happens to the boundaries or sheets that were cut.
DEMO
Use ORD in OPNP file; edit Civil
Plan named boundaries for name;
create plan sheets in a PL file.

Use MSCE in PL file to create PDF.

TOPICS

•  Civil Drawing Boundaries and Non-civil Drawing Boundaries -

create plan sheets along an alignment or a path.
•  Managing Named Boundaries – edit properties or move.
• When to use Civil Plan versus From Drawing Boundary
• Unusual Scales
 WHEN TO USE “CIVIL
PLAN” INSTEAD OF
“FROM DRAWING
BOUNDARY – ALONG • If you are using OpenRoads Designer, use Civil Plan
A PATH” • Will alignment stationing be helpful in laying out plan
A path can be a complex chain, a view sheets? Use Civil Plan
referenced element, or an alignment.
• Will you have associated profiles? Use Civil Plan

As we’ve seen from the demo, Civil Plan used in ORD can place boundaries similar to MicroStation using From Drawing
Boundary and Along a Path.
 WHAT ABOUT UNUSUAL SCALES? - MICROSTATION

• Choose a drawing boundary seed

• Set the Detail Scale to whatever you like, the drawing boundary size will automatically
adjust to your chosen scale.

Drawing boundaries are sized according to the Detail Scale selected on the dialog. Use Custom… for any scale not listed.
Multiply the scale value in inches by 12 to get the scale factor. For example, 1”=25’ is the same as 1:300 (12x25=300).
Select 1”=100’ first, before setting a Custom scale.
 WHAT ABOUT UNUSUAL SCALES? – OPENROADS
DESIGNER
• Choose a drawing boundary seed like Plan Inch 100
• Set the Detail Scale to whatever you like, the length of the boundary, offsets (width) and
overlap will automatically adjust to your chosen detail scale.

Drawing boundaries are sized according to the Detail Scale selected on the dialog. Use Custom… for any scale not listed.
Multiply the scale value in inches by 12 to get the scale factor. For example, 1”=25’ is the same as 1:300 (12x25=300)
DEMO
MicroStation CONNECT &
OpenRoads Designer: Place named
boundaries for 1”=25’
TOPICS

•  Civil Drawing Boundaries and Non-civil Drawing Boundaries -

create plan sheets along an alignment or a path.
•  Managing Named Boundaries – edit properties or move.
•  When to use Civil Plan versus From Drawing Boundary
•  Unusual Scales
QUESTIONS?
A LOOK AHEAD
November 9 - Civil Profile and Alternating Plan and Profile
• What's special about Profiles?
• What are Linked Profile Named Boundaries and Do You Have to Use Them?
• Diverting Sheet models to Other DGN Files on the Create Drawing Dialog - DT, PL,
PF, PP