Index:
- How can I activate Settings Manager groups and components?
- How can I activate Settings components by key-in?
- How do I create and modify Settings Manager groups and components?
- How do I create and modify Dimension and Multi-line components?
- How does the "Use Paper Size" toggle work in Modify text component dialog box?
- Can I combine components from one .STG file to another?
- Where is the ascgroup.ma and how do you load it?
- Can I use .STG files over a network?
- Can multiple users read the same .STG file over a network?
- If the file attribute on a .STG file is set to "read-only" can the file still be accessed over a network?
- Why doesn't the UNITS.STG file ever change, even if I add my own working units?
- When I go to select my own units from the "units" menu (when creating working units, scale, or specifying a paper scale unit in a text component) there is nothing there; the menu in blank.
- Are MicroStation V5 .STG files portable to MicroStation 95?
Question 1: How can I activate Settings Manager groups and components?
Go to Settings > Manage; this will invoke the SELECT Settings dialog. If you want to open a different setting group file than the one that opens up as default (from the MS_SETTINGS variable), go to File > Open in the Select Settings dialog and choose the .STG file. Choose your desired Group, then double click on the desired Component to activate. You may also activate Dimensions and Multi-Lines definitions through the Style menu pulldown. To activate Scale and Working Unit settings, choose the Category pulldown, click on Scale or Working Units to invoke the selection dialog; double-click on the desired setting.
Question 2: How can I activate Settings components by key-in?
First key in "MDL LOAD SETMGR" to load the settings manager then
active settings apat <<group>>:<<component>>
active settings cell <<group>>:<<component>>
active settings dimension <<group>>:<<component>>
active settings linear <<group>>:<<component>>
active settings mline <<group>>:<<component>>
active settings point <<group>>:<<component>>
active settings text <<group>>:<<component>>
The <<group>> designates the group name and <<component>> designates the component name. You must spell out both the group and component completely to match what appears in the dialog box; these are also dependent on case.
For example: If you have a group called stYLe and a mline component called BRick you must key in: MDL LOAD SETMGR
ACTIVE SETTINGS MLINE stYle:BRick
This example will load a multi-line. If the component key-in said "place mline" then the place mline command would have been activated. Any of these key-ins could be assigned to a button, menu, or function key which would enable them to be activated very quickly.
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Question 3: How do I create and modify Settings Manager groups and components?
Go to Settings > Manage; this will invoke the Select Settings dialog; then go to File > Edit. This will invoke the Edit Settings dialog which will enable you to create new groups and components and to modify them. You must first create a Group name under which your components are based. To do this, go to Edit > Create > Group and name the new group. To then create components under that group, highlight the group, then go to Edit > Create and choose component you want to make (Active Point, Area Pattern, Cell, Dimension, Linear, Multi-line, Text). The new component will be created in the “Component” box, which must be given a name. To modify the component, highlight and double click on the component; this will invoke the Modify dialog which will enable you to change the settings as you like. The same applies for Scale and Working Units under the Category menu; select Edit > Create > Group to create a new definition, then double click on it to modify. For Active Points, Area Patterns, Cells, Linear elements, and Text you may also use the Match button to match symbology from an existing element in your design file. Be sure to hit the Save button when finished.
Question 4: How do I create and modify Dimension and Multi-line components?
Dimensions and multi-lines must first be set by normal MicroStation means. Create your custom dimension from the Element > Dimension dialog, or your custom multi-line from the Element > Multi-lines dialog. Then open the Edit Settings dialog, and create a multi-line or dimension component associated with the desired group. Now go to Style > Dimension (or Multi-line); this will open up an Edit Dimension Styles or Edit Multi-line Styles dialog. This is where the active MicroStation setting is captured for either a Multi-line or Dimension definition. Hit the Get Active button and give the multi-line or dimension definition name. You may now go to your multi-line or dimension component and double click on it. You must then choose the Select button, and then pick the definition that you captured from your active file. Make sure to hit the Save button when finished, and the multi-line or dimension component is updated.
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Question 5: How does the “Use Paper Size” toggle work in Modify text component dialog box?
The “Use Paper Size” toggle lets you set the text height to stay at a certain size you desire upon plotting time. This works in conjunction with the “Scale” dialog in Settings Manager. An example of this would be if you always like your text to be plotted at 1/8 of an inch on paper. Turn the “Use Paper Size” toggle on, set the Units to “ (inches) and then key in .125 for the text height and width. Then enable the proper scale you will use at plot time in the Category > Scale dialog from Select Settings. Now when you place text with the new Text component you’ve created in Edit Settings, it will place at height and width of 1/8 of an inch upon plot time, assuming you use the same plot scale that you’ve set with the Category > Scale dialog from Select Settings.
Question 6: Can I combine components from one .STG file to another?
Answer: Yes. Using the ascgroup.ma application you can export or merge your components from one settings file to another. First you load ascgroup.ma and then you key in export or merge. Export will allow you to choose only those components that you want to add to another .STG file, whereas merge will merge the whole settings file with another settings file.
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Question 7: Where is the ascgroup.ma and how do you load it?
Answer: The ascgroup.ma application is delivered with MicroStation and can be loaded by keying in "mdl load ascgroup".
NOTE: Ascgroup.ma was not delivered with versions of MicroStation prior to MicroStation SE.
Question 8: Can I use .STG files over a network?
Answer: Yes. You may pull from the same .STG files over a network and be able to write to them, given that the correct path is set in the MS_SETTINGSDIR configuration variable where your .STG files are located (for example, o:/config/settings/). You may also set the MS_SETTINGS configuration variable, which lets you specify a certain .STG file upon startup (for example, john.stg). The settings file will automatically appear when opening settings manager. When editing or adding a component when the .STG file is open at multiple workstations, immediate changes will only be reflected at the workstation that is making the modification; other users must restart MicroStation to have the new changes loaded. NOTE: If you are using V5, it is necessary to load the latest version of MicroStation V5 setmgr.ma from the 1995 Q2 or newer MicroStation Vault for networking ability (older versions are read-only).
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Question 9: Can multiple users read the same .STG file over a network?
Answer: Yes. Multiple users on a network can read the same .STG file at the same time. However, only one user can write to the .STG file at a time and the changes will only be reflected at the workstation where the changes are being made. Other users reading the same file must restart MicroStation for the changes to take effect.
Question 10: If the file attribute on a .STG file is set to “read-only” can the file still be accessed over a network?
Answer: YES. MicroStation 95 has this ability. If you are using V5, it is necessary to load the latest version of setmgr.ma off the 1995 Q2 or newer MicroStation Vault to have this ability.
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Question 11: Why doesn’t the UNITS.STG file ever change, even if I add my own working units?
Answer: The UNITS.STG file is used as a seed file when creating your own working units for settings manager. Any working unit components that are created are written to the scales.stg file. It is not necessary to transport the units.stg file with your own *.STG when sharing .STGs with other people.
Question 12: When I go to select my own units from the “units” menu (when creating working units, scale, or specifying a paper scale unit in a text component) there is nothing there; the menu in blank.
Answer: This is because your units.stg file was not present when you created your new *.STG file. This must be present upon creation of your new settings file, but not needed for use in select mode (see above question for units.stg explanation).
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Question 13: Are MicroStation V5 .STG files portable to MicroStation 95?
Answer: All .STG files are portable from MicroStation V5 to MicroStation 95 with the EXCEPTION of a custom dimension component inside your .STG file (if you have made one in V5). The format of the .STG files has changed slightly from V5 to 95; only a few areas of dimension components are affected.
The values for these areas of dimension components are affected:
Terminators: Width, Height
Tolerance: Left Margin, Sep. Margin
Text: Margin (left margin in V5)
If any values are set different from default in V5 in the above three dimension areas, they will revert back to the default values when opening the .STG file in MicroStation 95. This also includes our delivered dimension .STG files as they were in V5. The best choice is to remake Dimension Components that were created prior to MicroStation 95. Here is the workaround:
In order to make your V5 dimension settings correct, you can place examples of the dimension styles in question in a file or open a file that contains them. Use your Match tool to Match a Dimension Style. You can check in the Dimension Settings dialog to make sure everything is set as you want. Then open Settings > Manage. Open File > Edit and get Dimensions from under the Style pulldown. Hit the Get Active button, rename the default Dim# to whatever name you want, add a description if you want and hit enter. All the settings in the Dimension Settings dialog are saved to this name. Now you can create a dimension component and use the Select button in the Modify dialog to apply it to the component.
Be aware, for now, that selecting a dimension component from Select Settings will change your coordinate readout (format and accuracy) to whatever settings were active in the design file at the time the definition of the dimension (Get Active) was saved. It will also set the Angle accuracy to the same number as the coordinate accuracy.
Multi-lines work the same way. Whatever is active in the Multi-lines dialog will be the style that is saved when "Get Active" is used.
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