Models FAQ

Index:

1. What are models?
2. What is the difference between a design model and a sheet model?
3. Can more than one model be active?
4. How can I create a model?
5. How can I edit model information?
6. What are View Groups?
7. How can a model be placed as a cell?
8. What is the cell origin when placing a model as a Cell?
9. When attaching a reference file, why does a model need to be selected?
10. Why, when referencing a model, are there multiple Saved Views listed, when no Saved Views were created?
11. Other than using reference models, how could I include a model from another design file into my current design file?
12. When would it be applicable to use reference models versus placing the model as a cell?
13. For every Model that is loaded the View Groups dialog adds an entry to the list but it doesn’t always save after closing & reopening the drawing. Why?
14. When I delete a model, do all View Groups associated to that model get deleted too?
15. When I delete a View Group, does the model from which it was created also get deleted?
16. If I choose not to create a View Group when creating a new model, how can I create one in the future, as the Edit Properties dialog does not contain that toggle?
17. What if there are two View Groups for the same model, and elements are added to the model: do the elements display in both View Groups?
18. When the Copy Model tool is used, are the View Groups also copied?

Question 1: What are models?

Answer: Models are containers for elements that exist within a DGN file. A DGN file can contain a virtually unlimited number of models, which are broken down into two subsets, design models and sheet models.

When a new DGN is created, a default model design model is created. This model cannot be deleted, however its properties can be edited.

Lastly, each model within a DGN file can contain its own working units, however the level information is specific to the DGN.

Question 2: What is the difference between a design model and a sheet model?

Answer: A design model can be either 2D or 3D, and is a container for design elements. Design models are used either as active models, reference models or cells during design composition.

A sheet model, by comparison, is used to create a finished drawing. Sheet models are used to reference design models during drawing composition, and can accept 3D references to 2D sheet models. Lastly, the default design model has a black background, and the sheet model has a white background.

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Question 3: Can more than one model be active?

Answer: No. For each design file, there can be only one active model.

Question 4: How can I create a model?

Answer: Beginning with WIP Build 08.00.03.15, there are four methods by which to create a new model: Design, Seed, Design from Seed and Sheet from Seed. Both the Design and Seed types create a new model using the model properties of the active model. These types, however, will not use the properties of the active viewgroup.

When either the Design from Seed or Sheet from Seed type is used, the entire seed model is imported into the master file. Unlike the Design and Seed types, if the seed model contains a View Group, that View Group is also imported. The following list of variables controls both the model used when creating from a seed model, and the name of the model.

Both MS_DESIGNMODELSEED and MS_SHEETMODELSEED work like MS_DESIGNSEED in that the most recently used seed file for each type is written the the UPF. The information written to the UPF will populate the Seed Model field unless the respective variable is locked. If locked, information from the UPF is ignored.

In addition to Creating a Model using the GUI, you can also accomplish this via keyin. The keyins are as follows:

MODEL CREATE DESIGN [Name] [Description]
MODEL CREATE SHEET [Name] [Description]

Create a new design or sheet model. If the Name is not provided, the Model Create dialog will open to prompt for additional information. If the Name is provided, the model will be created immediately using the current model seed and the Model Create dialog box will not open. Description is optional.

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Question 5: How can I edit model information?

Answer: It depends on what information you are attempting to modify. Beginning with WIP Build 08.00.03.15, the Models dialog box now supports in place editing of the Name and Description. Standard Windows-type editing applies. Should you wish to change the Type or Cell Properties of the model, you would need to use the Models Properties dialog box. This can be accessed using the Edit Models Properties tool on the Models Dialog Box.

Question 6: What are View Groups?

Answer: View Groups are named view information for the model from which it was created. From the Window menu's View submenu, choose Dialog. You will see the View Groups dialog automatically dock above the area in which the status bar information is reported. To change between models, choose the Manage View Groups tool button. This invokes the Manage View Groups dialog in which you can double click the desired active View Group. The active View Group is denoted in teal, same as the active model.

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Question 7: How can a model be placed as a cell?

Answer: A design file can be attached as a cell library in V8. Once attached, the models that were selected to be placed as a cell will be listed in the dialog. You can place these using normal cell placement techniques for graphic cells. If the model was not chosen to be placed as a cell when the model was created, it can be chosen using the Edit Model Properties tool button in the Models dialog.

Question 8: What is the cell origin when placing a model as a cell?

Answer: The origin is (0,0,0) in the model that is being placed as a cell. For example, an ellipse is created whose center is (0,0,0). When that model is placed as a cell, the cell origin is in the center of the ellipse.

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Question 9: When attaching a Reference file, why does a model need to be selected?

Answer: As stated above, a model is a container for elements in a design file. As there are no elements stored within a design file, only the models within the design file, the model is what is being referenced. So, what we have now is reference models, not reference files.

Question 10: Why, when referencing a model, are there multiple Saved Views listed, when no Saved Views were created?

Answer: This is new to MicroStation V8. When referencing a 3D design model, there are nine orientation choices. Coincident is the non-saved view attachment choice from previous versions, and this will allow for the model to be aligned with the Master File. The remaining eight orientations are called Standard Views -- very helpful for drawing composition.

When referencing a sheet model or 2D design model, there are two orientation choices, coincident and top. The reason for the difference is that the additional views are not applicable to 2D space.

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Question 11: Other than using reference models, how could I include a model from another design file into my current design file?

Answer: Using the Import Models tool button in the Models dialog box will bring a model from another design file into your current design file. The Import Models tool requires a choice of the Model to Copy, as well as other standard model properties.

Beginning with WIP Build 08.00.03.15, the Import Models tool supports the ability to select and import multiple models. However, beginning with this version, models cannot be renamed by the user when they are imported. There are now four options to handle the possibility of duplicate naming:

• Automatically rename the incoming model
• Overwrite the existing model
• Skip the conflicting incoming model
• Cancel all remaining model imports

Because this will be particularly useful when managing cell library contents, File > Merge has been removed from the Cell Library dialog box.

In addition to importing a model using the GUI, you can also accomplish this via keyin. The keyins are as follows:

MODEL IMPORT [FileName] [Model1] [Model2... ]

Import a model from another file into the current file. If no arguments are supplied, the file selection and model selection dialog boxes will open in that order. If only file name is supplied, then the model selection dialog will be the only dialog to open. If both file name and model are supplied, the model will be imported immediately.

Multiple models can be supplied, but all models must be in the same file.

If file name is provided without the full path, the program will search for the file first in the path of MS_DEF and second in the path of _DGNDIR.

MODEL IMPORT ALL [FileName]

Import all the models from another file into the current file. If file name is not supplied, the File Selection dialog box will open. If file name is supplied, and the file can be found, all models in the file will be imported immediately.

If file name is provided without the full path, the program will search for the file first in the path of MS_DEF and second in the path of _DGNDIR.

Question 12: When would it be applicable to use Reference Models versus placing the model as a cell?

Answer: When using Reference Models, a dynamic link is created between the active model and the reference model. This provides an updated representation of the referenced model, as well as any live nested models, when the reference model is altered in any way. If the model is placed as a cell, the representation is static, and is also not subject to any live nesting. That is, if the model that was placed as a cell is altered, the cell contents will not reflect that change.

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Question 13: For every Model that is loaded the View Groups dialog adds an entry to the list but it doesn’t always save after closing & reopening the drawing. Why?