Frequently Asked Questions for the CONNECT Edition of Bentley CAD software
MicroStation, OpenRoads Designer and OpenSite Designer questions are all included on this page because MicroStation is included inside the "Open" products. Any answer about MicroStation will apply to the same function (Drawing ribbon workflow) in OpenRoads Designer and OpenSite Designer.
Use your browser's Find on page command (Ctrl + F) to locate key words in any question. Answers can be searched only if they are expanded.
When you use OpenSite Designer and edit a civil DGN file that was created with OpenRoads Designer, you will be prompted to either open the file as Read-Only or to [Cancel] and close the file.
If you are not the creator/owner of the file and have not been assigned responsibility for the file, by all means, open it Read-Only or attach it as a reference to a file that you own. You should be doing that anyway.
If you are the creator/owner of the file, follow the instructions in "Align DGN Data for OpenSite Editing" to align the civil schema. After that, you will be able to edit your file with OpenSite Designer.
Yes, you can fix the display. When the document list view from ProjectWise doesn't look correct, your ProjectWise "View" needs to be reset. Here's how:
- Exit MicroStation or OpenRoads.
- Open the ProjectWise Explorer - that's right, it is controlled in ProjectWise!
- Expand the datasource and select the folder that contains the DGN file that you will be opening.
- Ensure that the View toolbar is displayed - if it is not, choose PW: View>Toolbar>View.
- Change the View on the View toolbar to a different view - this is the key! Then, set the view back to the view that you prefer.
- Now launch MicroStation or OpenRoads and you should see the document view list in the File Open dialog matches the presently set View in ProjectWise Explorer.
The Pattern Area tool settings dialog uses slightly different language in MicroStation CONNECT and offers the option to place a pattern that is dropped immediately after it is placed. V8i options of "Associative Region Boundary" and "Associative Pattern" have been combined into a single option, "Associative Boundary". Using the option of "Associative Boundary" results in the pattern being placed with the same attributes for level, color, and weight that are defined in the pattern cell.
The Pattern Area tool in CONNECT Edition is aware of the annotation scale of the active model. When using ODOT pattern cells, leave the Scale set to 1 and the annotation scaling will adjust the pattern size correctly.
For more information, refer to the MicroStation CONNECT Edition Help documentation about Pattern Area.
KMZ files are most correctly exported from a DGN when the graphics are not civil graphics. Take an intermediate step of creating a non-civil graphics file containing just the text and elements that you want to export to a KMZ file.
- Adjust the level display to only what you wish to export.
- Use the Save Fence to File command from Drawing>Home>Selection>Fence Tools
- Follow the prompts to draw a fence around the graphics and create a new file that contains non-civil graphics.
- With the new file open, use File>Export>Visualization File Types>Google Earth (*.kml)
All base files that contain civil data (ORD files) will be saved in 6_Civil_Data. 6_Civil_Data is the location of the most up to date and correct information from a designer using ORD. The files are named with four-character abbreviations like: TERR, GEOM, and CORR. Only the OPNP file (ORD-generated Plan/Profile Sheets) is stored in the 2_Plan_Sheets folder. The reason for this one exception is because the OPNP file can actually contain plan sheets and for ease of manually attaching references to the design data when manually assembling sheets.
It is likely that the last step in creating the terrain container file was missed. The owner of the existing terrain may need to simply open the terrain container file using OpenRoads Designer and use Set as Active Terrain Model. That will create the ORD-managed 3D model in the container file so that it can be automatically referenced into your corridor's 3D model.
Set as Active Terrain Model is used to cause OpenRoads Designer to do several things automatically, and to set your file up to be used for 3D design. Set as Active Terrain Model is an important last step in the creation of container files.
- Creates an ORD-managed 3D model
- Attaches 3D models in current references to 3D model
- Self-references the 3D model into the 2D model with nesting
- Attaches 3D models in future references to the 3D model
Grayshading of existing elements is performed by a pen table. The pen tables are typically applied using the appropriate print style. All of that will not work unless the Logical Name of the reference attachment to the data uses a unique name that includes the string "exist". In the picture below, three reference attachments include the phrase "exist" (highlighted yellow) in their logical names.
In the snip of the resulting PDF shown below, it is obvious that some of the line work is gray-colored and some of the line work is black.
For some reason, the links in our software are broken. Use these:
Ask yourself, "I am the creator/owner of this file?".
When you use ORD 10.10 and edit a DGN file that was created with ODOT's previous versions of MicroStation or ORD, you will be prompted to upgrade the civil schema in the file or open the file read-only. If you are the creator of the DGN file - it is recommended that you upgrade the civil schema. If you are prompted to upgrade a file that was created by someone else, courtesy and ProjectWise usage guidelines dictate that you choose to open another's file read-only.
Use the same tools in MicroStation CONNECT from the Drawing ribbon workflow that you used in MicroStation V8i SS4. The ODOT standard line styles, cell libraries, text styles and levels are all available in the ODOT_CONNECT WorkSpace. There are even discipline ribbon work flows that have choices similar to the ODOT Discipline Tasks - look at ribbon workflows like ODOT Roadway.
PDFs from 11x17 Models in the OPNP File - video
PDFs from Long Uncut Models in the OPNP File - video
Because you did not select Sheet from Seed, but just used a type named Sheet. The Sheet from Seed is totally set up as a B size sheet (11x17) and displays the boundary.
The Feature Definition toolbar is ever so slightly taller than other toolbars and only docks to the bottom row on monitors with a certain vertical resolution. There is nothing that you can do except float the dialog and don't dock it.
- Projects that have already been created in ProjectWise are likely to continue their life as a “V8i” project if they are at or past DAP by July 1, 2021.
- New projects created in ProjectWise after July 1, 2021 will be assigned the CONNECT Design Platform attribute and managed by ProjectWise. MicroStation V8i and InRoads V8i will not operate in a CONNECT Design Platform project – so MicroStation CONNECT and OpenRoads Designer will be required to be used in these new projects.
Yes, the Upgrading to OpenRoads Designer training provided instruction in the creation of cross section sheets, and you created an End Area Volume Report. The Cross Section Grade Report is generated in a similar fashion from the same Civil Analysis group - see Chapter 12.
Yes. DGN files for straight MicroStation use have not changed and are at the top of the list still when selecting a document description with the ProjectWise Document Naming tool. Descriptions for OpenRoads Designer files were added for every discipline at the BOTTOM of the document description list.
In ProjectWise, in the _PW_Resources>PW_Standards folder, at the top of the PW_ODOT_PROD datasource, is a spreadsheet named "ProjectWise_Document_Naming_Tool_Search.xslx". Follow the instructions in the active worksheet to display the descriptions, names and correct folders for the discipline that you select.