Tips
Element Display Order in 3D Design Files
In this tutorial we will show you the new procedure in MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries) to control the display order of elements in a 3D design file. The default method is set to the elevation of the element. With a simple edit to a Display Style the legacy draw order could also be used.
Testing Form Text Entries
When using VBA forms for gathering text inputs you may want to test the values. This is particularly true when your application is expecting numeric text inputs. The examples below show two TextBox events that can be used to validate numeric entries. The default Change event tests the input after every key press. This even [...]
Drape an Image on a Surface
In this tutorial we will demonstrate how to drape an image onto a triangle or mesh surface.
String $ Functions
Use $ versions of string functions
VBA provides two versions of some of the commonly used string functions such as TRIM and TRIM$, MID and MID$, LCASE and LCASE$, etc. The $ version of the function returns a string value and is the one that should be used. The alternate version without the $ returns a [...]
Longitude, Latitude Coordinate Input
In a previous tip we demonstrated how to obtain geographic coordinate readouts in MicroStation V8i and later releases. It is also possible to enter coordinate values in Longitude, Latitude units. When a geographic coordinate system is selected using the Geographic tool box MicroStation automatically creates an Auxiliary Coordinate System based on the selected geographic coordinate [...]
Test for empty string
Using the VBA Len function to test for empty string values will improve the performance of your applications.
Dim strValue as String
‘
‘ Typical method to test for empty string
‘
If strValue = “” Then
MsgBox “String is empty”
End If
‘
‘ Quicker method to test for empty string
[...]
Rendering – Fur Settings for Grass
The ability to render realistic grass has been included in the (SELECTseries 2) release of MicroStation. Below are the steps and a couple tips on working with the data.
Open the Material Editor dialog.
From the Material Editor dialog drop down menu Settings > Advanced
Load the Landscape.pal [Bentley_Materials.dgnlib] palette.
Select a grass lawn material from the list.
Click [...]
Preventing Multiple Instances of a Macro
It can be easy for a user to start multiple instances of your macro program, especially if it contains non-modal user forms. In some cases this may not be a problem, but usually, having multiple instances of a macro running simultaneously can lead to problems. To prevent this from happening simply declare a Public Boolean [...]
Attaching Point Clouds in MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries)
The ability to reference Point Cloud data has been included in the (SELECTseries 2) release of MicroStation. It is as easy as attaching any reference file in MicroStation. Below are the steps and a couple tips on working with the data.
From the MicroStation pull down menu select File > Point Clouds. The [...]
Early Binding vs Late Binding
When connecting a macro with an external application, like Microsoft Excel, an object variable must be “bound” to an instance of the application’s object. In early binding a reference is to the external application using Tools > References from the VBA pull-down menu, and then declaring an object variable to the referenced application object. In [...]