Additional Resources for MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries)

Articles

Blog

MicroStation and OpenRoads Designer: Optimizing your remote working configuration

  Working from home is the new normal for a lot of companies. There are numerous methods businesses are utilizing for establishing remote connections and…
Blog

Bentley Licensing: It’s almost midnight

It’s been two years since Bentley announced the end of SELECTserver. CONNECT Edition: The clock is ticking Now, January 1, 2021 is only a few short weeks…
Blog

Thanks a million!

Thanks to you Last month we reached a goal of ours and it’s all thanks to you! EnvisionCAD reached 1 million views (and counting) on our YouTube channel!…
Blog

Bentley Products, Terminology, and Versions: Making sense of the confusion

The more we talk to our clients, and other Bentley users, it has become crystal clear that many users and organizations are very confused by the terms and…
Blog

CONNECT Edition: The clock is ticking

Still haven’t made the leap to MicroStation or OpenRoads Designer CONNECT Edition? Bentley has announced that as of January 1, 2021 they will officially…
Blog

MicroStation Tip: Improve PDF image quality in Raster Manager and Descartes

Vector PDF documents attached in Raster Manager or Descartes typically work without issue. Using scanned, or other raster PDF documents, on the other hand, can…
Blog

Bentley Civil Products V8i (SELECTseries 4) Maintenance Release 2 Released – V08.11.09.872

Bentley Civil Products V8i (SELECTseries 4) Maintenance Release 2  – V08.11.09.872 – has been released and is available for download from Bentley…
Blog

MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries 4) Released

MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries 4) – Version 08.11.09.829 – has been released and is available for download from Bentley Software Fulfillment. The…
Blog

Top 10 Blogs at EnvisionCAD in 2015!

1.  MicroStation Connect Edition Now Available The CONNECT Edition provides the first common environment for comprehensive project delivery – comprising a…
Blog

Top 10 EnvisionCAD Tips of 2015!

1.  MicroStation Tip:  Aligning Patterns What you will have is multiple patterns that align perfectly across different elements. Click here to learn how this…
Blog

MicroStation CONNECT: New Keyboard Shortcuts

With the new ribbon interface in MicroStation CONNECT replacing the MicroStation V8i Task Bar a new set of keyboard shortcuts has replaced positional keyboard…
Blog

3 Reasons to Move to OpenRoads

Design Intent What is Design Intent? Design Intent in OpenRoads builds associations and relationships between civil elements. The object information (how,…
Blog

OpenRoads V8i SELECTseries 4 is Now Available – Read This Before Updating!

If you like to stay current with releases and plan on downloading and installing OpenRoads SS4 you need to read this first.  Managing files and data will take…
Blog

Top 10 Configuration Variables for OpenRoads

With the release of OpenRoads Technology the design tools are closely integrated into the platform product MicroStation.  This requires additional…
Blog

Bentley Systems – iPad Apps Roundup

Bentley iPad Apps Roundup Its been nearly two and half years since Bentley released their first two iPad apps ProjectWise Explorer and Bentley Navigator.…
Blog

MicroStation Visualization Roundup

I am asked all the time. “What are some good MicroStation resources if I want to start rendering and animating in MicroStation?” Here are some…
Blog

MicroStation Pranks

In the spirit of April Fools Day we have compiled a few MicroStation pranks you can play on our coworkers. When your victim leaves their desk for a few…
Blog

Infographic: Bits of Wisdom from CAD/BIM Managers

Please share your bits of wisdom in the comments below. People who read this post also read:                                 … Read more…
Blog

Top 10 Blogs at EnvisionCAD in 2013

Written by Bethany Borsody.     1. My Top 14 MicroStation Pet Peeves 1.  Move the drawing to 5000, 5000 and rotate so the road runs West-East. Did you…
Blog

6 Inspirational Quotes for a New Year in CAD

Written by Bethany Borsody.   1) Have a Goal. Although CAD may not be at the very top of your list of things to improve on in 2014, it’s…
Blog

Top 5 Distinctions between IT and CAD Management

Written by: Lisa Polonski, Review by: Ron Brys.   IT managers are typically responsible for licensing and installing software instituting company-wide…
Blog

12 Days of CAD Manager Tips for the Holidays

Written by Bob Mecham and Rod Wing   With the holiday season upon us here are 12 Days of CAD Manager Tips. Performing these tasks will help keep your…
Blog

My Top 14 MicroStation Pet Peeves

Written by Bob Mecham.   1.  Move the drawing to 5000, 5000 and rotate so the road runs West-East. Did you know a kitten dies every time a buildings…
Blog

A Virus in a Design File?

Written by Rod Wing. A design file virus? Not exactly. In my 25+ years of supporting MicroStation I’ve seen this happen more times than I can count. A user,…
Blog

Creating a Text Style Standard

Written by Bob Mecham Creating a Text Style Standard Text Style Naming Implementing text styles makes annotating the drawing more efficient in most situations.…
Blog

Upcoming Fall 2013 Bentley User Group Meetings

Written by Bethany Borsody.   The Southern California Bentley User Group will present 3 sessions of the Fall 2013 Meeting. Topics to be discussed include…
Blog

Introducing our Newest Book – Bentley Descartes V8i (SELECTseries)

Written by Rod Wing. EnvisionCAD has released a new Book: Bentley Descartes – V8i (SELECTseries)   Bentley Descartes V8i (SELECTseries) is available…
Blog

Meet Bob Mecham – CAD Applications Manager

EnvisionCAD Staff: Meet Bob Mecham – CADD Applications Manager Bio: Hometown – Waunakee, WI (the only one in the world) Current Residency –…
Blog

Highlights from the 2013 Bentley LEARNing Conference

Another Bentley Conference has wrapped with a lot of buzz and anticipation of OpenRoads Technology. Bob Mecham and Ron Brys attended the 2013 conference and…
Blog

The EnvisionCAD Theory: Our Daily Reading

Written by Bethany Borsody. Making sense of LandXML can be quite a task, but it’s daily reading for the guys here. I caught a photo of Eric and Rod…
Blog

Increase daily productivity by defining Plotting Variables in MicroStation

Written by Bob Mecham.    If there is one constant in your daily work, at some point you will need to plot your MicroStation file.  Plotting is one area…
Blog

Featured MicroStation and InRoads Books

   Reduced Book Prices!   InRoads V8i (SELECTseries) Site Design – $35 InRoads Site design using the Site Modeler commands new in the…

Tips

Tip

MicroStation Tip: AccuSnap – Cycle Through All Elements Within Range

Using AccuSnap, it’s easier to snap to the desired element when there are multiple elements within range of your snap tolerance. Simply use the…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Selecting an Alternate Sheet

Using Print Styles are a great way to help standardize your printing processes. If you’re using Print Organizer they are a necessity. Print Styles can…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Active vs. Passive Named Groups

When using the Add to Graphic Group tool to create Named Groups there is a Member Type selection for Active or Passive. The Member Type settings are as…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Setting the default font

When opening design files you may occasionally get a warning message about a missing rsc font. The default is to replace the missing font with the STANDARD rsc…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Flood Methods – Part 2

A previous tip detailed that using any of the Flood Methods in MicroStation requires the entire region being flooded by visible in the view window.…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Automate Coordinate Entries – Part 2

I previously published a tip on how to use Excel to format bearing and distance values so they were compatible with MicroStation key-in entries. Then exporting…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Use viewing tools during placement

Did you know that you can use tools from the View Control Toolbox while in the middle of an element placement tool, such as Place Smartline, without losing…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Design Script lineweight remapping

Starting with MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries 3) you may use IPlot design scripts in addition to MicroStation pen tables to resymbolize you drawings during…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Save Settings on Exit

I see a lot of users who have the Save Settings on Exit option toggled on in their User Preference settings. While this can be a great benefit to have… Read…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Standardize color and gray shade output

Do you have problems getting consistent colors on your plots? Sometimes users change color tables that cause odd colors to be printed. When submitting a…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Improve PDF image quality in Raster Manager and Descartes

Vector PDF documents attached in Raster Manager or Descartes typically work without issue. Using scanned, or other raster PDF documents, on the other hand, can…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Printing Problem Quick Fix

MicroStation printing problems; we’ve all had them, and they always seem to happen at the most inopportune time. You check and recheck your print…
Tip

MicroStation CONNECT: Multiple Application Windows

MicroStation has always had the ability to manage windows independently on dual monitor workstations. To support the expanded monitor capabilities in Windows 8…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Finding a Tool Key-in

At EnvisionCAD we provide training for CAD administrators and advanced users. As part of this instruction we cover building custom function key menus, tool…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Element Selection

Element selection is a very widely used tool with many options available to the user. I remembered one tip that is very handy and easy. When selecting your…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Flood Methods

There are many tools in MicroStation that contain a Flood method to create a shape, fill a shape, or to complete some other type of operation. In all of…
Tip

MicroStation CONNECT: Pen Table Macros

Written by Rod Wing Support for the legacy MicroStation Basic macros has been removed in MicroStation CONNECT. This also means these macros can no longer be…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: XYZ Text

Delivered with MicroStation is a toolbar that will label coordinates in the file and import/export coordinates.  From the MicroStation pulldown menu select…
Tip

MicroStation CONNECT: Model Properties

Written by:  Rod Wing In MicroStation CONNECT Edition the old Element Information dialog has been renamed Properties. Continuing the trend we saw in…
Tip

OpenRoads Tip: Black and Blue Manipulator Preference

Written by Bob Mecham After working in OpenRoads for a while you may notice that the size and color of the Manipulator is rather hard to read.  Maybe I am…
Tip

MicroStation CONNECT: Add Custom Tools to the Ribbon

Written by Rod Wing The Menu Bar pull downs are no longer supported in MicroStation CONNECT. Many organizations created custom pull downs for organizing…
Tip

MicroStation CONNECT: Bring back the Tasks Dialog

Written by:  Rod Wing As you probably know MicroStation CONNECT employs a ribbon style interface similar to Microsoft Office and AutoCAD. We recommend that…
Tip

MicroStation CONNECT: Associating Files to a WorkSet

Written by: Rod Wing One of the many changes in the MicroStation CONNECT Workspace is that the former Project setting has been replaced by WorkSet.  This is…
Tip

OpenRoads Tip: 5 Things to Know When Working with Superelevations

Written by:  Bob Mecham Working with superelevations in the OpenRoads SS4 release is much different from previous versions of InRoads or GEOPAK. Here are 5…
Tip

AutoCAD Civil 3D Tip: Adding Sample Lines in the Middle of the Existing Sample Line Group

Written by Ben Johnson Have you ever created a group of corridor section views, done a bunch of labeling edits to your automated code set labels; and then…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: What’s New in V8i (SELECTseries 3) Update 2

Written by:  Bob Mecham With the release of the new OpenRoads – V8i (SELECTseries 4) Maintenance Release 1 comes a new release of MicroStation V8i…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Rendering Material Assignments in Google Earth

Written by: Bob Mecham Credit to: Margaret Valletta – McFarland Johnson I was providing professional guidance to Margaret on a 3D rendering project.…
Tip

MicroStation Tip – Aligning Patterns

Written by Bob Mecham When patterning or hatching a detail it is beneficial to be sure the patterns align between adjacent elements.  This can be done by…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Keyin to Toggle between AccuDraw and Civil AccuDraw

Written by Mark Templeman – Senior Transportation Designer at JEO Consulting Group, Inc. At last months Nebraska User Group 2015 spring conference Mark…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Working with Linestyles – Scale, Shift, Direction

Written by Bob Mecham Scale Here is a key-in I had to dig up for a project I was working on. All of my existing custom linestyles were placed in… Read more »
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Set Reference Presentation – View Flags

Written by: Bob Mecham You are probably aware of using View Attributes in MicroStation.  The View Attributes dialog allows you to affect whether and how…
Tip

MicroStation Tip: Selecting your DWG Version

Written by Rod Wing When you install MicroStation the AutoCAD Real DWG library is also installed.  The Real DWG library allows MicroStation to work with…

Video Tips

Video

OpenRoads Tip – Create Terrain Element from Corridor and Add Exterior Boundary

Written by:  Bob Mecham In this tip we will show you how to create a terrain element from your corridor.  Then we will show you how to constrain the…
Video

3D Photo Match

In this tutorial we will demonstrate one workflow to create a photo simulation using MicroStation. Below are some items to consider before you take your first…
Video

InRoads Tip: V8i SS2 Feature Editing – Radius Returns

Written by Ronald Brys.   See all of our InRoads tips on this YouTube playlist.   Last Month’s Tips:                   MicroStation: 3D…
Video

InRoads Tip: GEOPAK Corridor Modeling – Cross Section Annotation

Written by Ronald Brys. Overview on how to annotate cross sections generated using Corridor Modeler in GEOPAK SELECTseries 2.   See all of our InRoads…
Video

Working with Civil Geometry

Written by Bob Mecham. In this tutorial we will demonstrate the Civil Geometry tools by creating an intersection.  We will show the geometric relationships…
Video

Remove User Data – InRoads V8i

Written by Bob Mecham. When manipulating graphics displayed from InRoads in MicroStation those elements can disappear when the alignment is redisplayed.…
Video

Import LandXML into MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries 3) Annotate the Terrain Model

Written by Bob Mecham. In this tutorial we will import a LandXML file into MicroStation and view its feature properties.  Then we will review the annotation…
Video

Create Profiles from Multipoint and Graphics in InRoads V8i (SELECTseries)

Written by Bob Mecham. In this tutorial we will demonstrate creating profiles using the Multipoint and Graphics options. Adding a name to the Multipoint or…
Video

Vector Icons in MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries 3)

Written by Bob Mcham. In this tutorial we will show you how to create and edit vector icons in MicroStation v8i (SELECTseries 3). Vector icons give users the…
Video

Import Graphics to create a Template – InRoads V8i

In this tutorial we will import MicroStation graphics to create an InRoads template.   See all of our InRoads tips on this YouTube playlist.   Last…
Video

Using Point Cells in a Visualization – Tree Example

In this tutorial we will show a workflow for placing a number of trees into a MicroStation Visualization utilizing Point Cells. There are two properties of a…
Video

Visualization Example – Trees, People, and Signs

In this tutorial we will show you a workflow for placing Trees People and Signs into your 3D rendered images with MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries). See all of…
Video

Print Organizer Overview

In this tutorial we will give you an overview of the MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries) Print Organizer dialog and settings. See all of our MicroStation tips on…
Video

Working with Dialogs in MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries)

In this tutorial we will work with dialogs in MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries). We show you how to dock, hide, tab, and set transparency to a number of dialogs…
Video

Working with Lidar Data using Data Acquisition tools in InRoads V8i (SELECTseries)

In this tutorial we will show you how to import lidar data into MicroStation using the Data Acquisition tool. See all of our InRoads tips on this YouTube…
Video

Geometry Tables in InRoads V8i (SELECTseries)

In this tutorial we will show you how to create a geometry table in InRoads. Then we will demonstrate how to place the geometry table in MicroStation V8i…
Video

What’s new with Fences

In this tutorial we will show you whats new with fences in MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries). The new tools include Copy Move Fence Contents, AccuSnap with…
Video

Applying Link Sets to Elements

In MicroStation V8i the ability to link elements to files, folders, keyins, and websites is handled through the Project Explorer dialog. By linking supporting…
Video

MicroStation 3D Solids Tutorial

In this tutorial we will look at some simple 3d tools for creating a flange. See all of our MicroStation tips on this YouTube playlist.  
Video

Import Lidar Data

In the InRoads V8i (SELECTseries 1) release there is a new tool called Data Acquisition. This tool can be used for acquiring many different data files from raw…
Video

Use Annotation Scale with References

MicroStation V8i has the added functionality to apply Annotation scale to reference file attachments. When you change the Annotation scale of the current model…
Video

Connect MicroStation V8i to a Web Map Server

MicroStation V8i has the added functionality to connect to a live Web Map Server (WMS). WMS is a standard for serving georeferenced map images over the…
Video

MicroStation V8i Open a DWG File

In this workflow demonstration we will open a DWG file into MicroStation V8i. See all of our MicroStation tips on this YouTube playlist.  
Video

MicroStation V8i Import a DWG File

In this workflow demonstration we will import a DWG file into MicroStation V8i. See all of our MicroStation tips on this YouTube playlist.  
Video

MicroStation V8i Save As a DWG File

In this workflow demonstration we will Save As a V8 DGN file to a DWG file. See all of our MicroStation tips on this YouTube playlist.  
Video

Colors

Colors are no longer limited to only one color table with 256 colors. Colors can be selected from True Color, Industry Standard and User defined Color Books.…
Video

Gradient Fills

When placing closed elements gradient fills can be applied from the tool settings dialog. Options for gradient fills include one, two or multiple color…
Video

Match Element Symbology with the ALT Key

Pressing the Alt key then left clicking on an element will change the active symbology to the element selected. This works in the XM and V8i releases of…
Video

MicroStation V8i Tip – Model Enhancements

In MicroStation V8i there is now the ability to open a different model in each view from one design file. The model is fully editable in the view. See…
Video

MicroStation Tip – Drag and Drop Attributes

For both MicroStation XM and V8i you have the ability to drag and drop an element from the design file to the Attributes toolbox to quickly change the current…
Video

MicroStation V8i Tip – Selection Enhancements

< In the V8i release of MicroStation the Element Selection overlap and inside mode works the same as other CAD packages. If you drag your cursor Left to…
Video

MicroStation V8i Tip – Element Selection Criteria

Expanding the Element Selection criteria of the dialog will display additional categories for selection such as Text Style, Dimension Style, Multi-Line Style,…