Chapter Three

Drawing in MicroStation
PLAY VIDEO
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter you will have a brief introduction to several fundamental aspects of MicroStation from
how to create a design file to how to use the mouse and drawing tools.

EXERCISE: FILE NAVIGATION

The first dialog you see after launching MicroStation V8i is the File Open. (You can also go to File menu,
then Open, to open this dialog when in MicroStation’s design environment.)

Note: The folder at the top, Look in or Save in, is where you find a file or where you store a new file.
Hold the cursor over different icons to get familiar with the functions.

Notice the “User,” “Project” and “Interface” buttons at the lower right corner of the dialog. MicroStation
V8i can be set up for specific users of projects with different user interfaces. To

Copyright © 2009 Bentley Systems, Incorporated Drawing in MicroStation 1

 keep things simple you will use “untitled” for the remainder of this so your first task is to change them
to “untitled,” if they are not already set to this value.

CREATE A NEW FILE

1. Create a new file by clicking on the New File icon.

2. Enter file name as “First.”

Note: The seed file name is seed2D.dgn. A seed file (or template) is just a file that contains settings. It is
used to start a new file by copying the contents into the file you now name.

3. Click Save. This will close the New dialog, saving a file with name you gave it, in the “Save In”
location, with contents copied from the seed file.

4. Click Open. This opens file named ‘First’ in the MicroStation V8i working environment.

FILE EXTENSION
The MicroStation V8i drawing files have an extension .DGN (similar to AutoCAD .DWG, VersaCAD .2D,
etc.)

Copyright © 2009 Bentley Systems, Incorporated Drawing in MicroStation 2

FILE SAVE/BACKUP/WORKFILE
Some CAD software such as VersaCAD or AutoCAD use a “Workfile” concept. The saved drawing is
loaded into the workfile then work is done. The drawing is then “saved” from the Workfile back to the
Saved file.

MicroStation V8i works on the saved file directly. So to create a backup, it is necessary to make a copy of
the MicroStation V8i file before starting a work session or, more likely, to save a backup copy at the end
of each successful session.

Loading a File
Use the File menu to load any of the last ten files used. These are located at the bottom of the menu.

DRAWING
There are several ways to display the main toolbox for adding elements and modifying elements after
they are added to a file. Normally, when MicroStation V8i is installed and first launched, the main task
frame will be displayed automatically.
The command icons on the top of task bar on the left are the ones which are used to modify a drawing.
The tool icons just below these are the ones used to place elements such as lines, circles, text, etc. These
are now divided into Tasks: Drawing and Drawing Composition.

Note: Older versions of MicroStation open with both drawing and modifying tools in one toolbox. That
approach can still be used by selecting Tools > Toolboxes > Main Classic from main menu bar.

TOOLS
The Main tools can be found in the Main Task Bar on the upper left hand side of the program.
MicroStation V8i has tools organized by Tasks. The Main Task Bar contains nine tools, outlined and
described below. The other tools, seen in the Task Bars, such as under Drawing or Drawing Composition,
will be discussed later.

1. Element Selection Used to select a tool

2. Place Fence Used to place, modify, and move the fence or delete the fence
contents
3. Copy Used to copy, move, resize, rotate, mirror, and create arrays of

Copyright © 2009 Bentley Systems, Incorporated Drawing in MicroStation 3


4. Update View
5. Change Element
Attributes
6. Drop Element
7. Modify Element
8. Delete Element
9. Measure Distance
elements
Used to update current view
Used to change an element(s) to the active element attribute settings
Used to drop or create complex elements from their component
elements
Used to modify element geometry
Used to remove an element
Used to perform measuring operations

Note: Several of the Main Task bar tool icons point to related tools. Look for the small arrow in the
lower right corner of the icon for accessing these additional tools. Clicking and holding the data point
(left mouse) button on any of these icons will reveal a list of the related tools.

DRAWING TOOLS
The Drawing tools are used to draw and modify elements.
There are nine main categories within the Drawing task.
These are outlined and described below.

Linear toolbox Used to create and place

linear elements

Polygons toolbox Used to create and place

polygonal elements
Circles toolbox Used to create and place
circular elements

Patterns toolbox Used to create and place

patterns in elements

Tags toolbox Used to create and attach

tags to elements
Text toolbox Used to write and place text
within a drawing

Cell toolbox Used to create and manage

cells within a drawing

Measure toolbox Used to perform measuring

operations
Dimensioning Used to perform
toolbox dimensioning operations

Copyright © 2009 Bentley Systems, Incorporated Drawing in MicroStation 4

DRAWING COMPOSITION TOOLS
The Drawing Composition tools are used to compose a finished presentation of your drawing. These
tools will not be dealt with in the rest of this manual, but you are free to explore their uses when you
have completed a drawing.

VIEW CONTROL TOOLS

The View Control tools located within each view and available from the Settings menu are used to
control the different options within your eight different views. There are seventeen tools within the
View Control toolbox which are outlined and described below.

1. View Attributes Allows you to see and edit which attributes are viewable in the
selected view.
2. View Display Mode Changes how the view window is viewed. (examples: transparent or
opaque)
3. Adjust View Brightness Changes the brightness within the view window.
4. Update View Updates (redraws) the contents of a view window(s).
5. Zoom In Increases a view window’s magnification, making elements appear
larger.
6. Zoom Out Decreases a view window’s magnification, making elements appear
smaller.
7. Window Area Prompts you to draw a rectangular area in the design that is to be
displayed in a view.
8. Fit View Adjusts the view magnification so that the entire design is visible in
the view.
9. Rotate View Rotates the current view.
10. Pan View Views a different part of the design without changing the view
magnification.
11. Walk Used only in 3D drawings to walk in and out of the different parts of
the drawing.
12. View Previous Shows the previous view.
13. View Next Comes back after seeing the previous view.
14. Copy View Copies the contents of an entire view and its corresponding
attributes into another view or views.
15. View Perspective Changes the perspective within the view window.
16. Clip Volume Used only in 3D designs, selects a portion of the drawing to work on
while hiding the rest of the drawing until the clip is cleared.
17. Clip Mask Selects a portion of the drawing to mask, or hide, so that changes
can be made to smaller portions of the drawing.

Copyright © 2009 Bentley Systems, Incorporated Drawing in MicroStation 5

THE DATA POINT, RESET AND OTHER MOUSE FUNCTIONS

There is one more thing to learn before beginning to draw in earnest. MicroStation V8i is set up for a
minimum of a 2-button mouse. The left button is referred to as the “data point.” This button used for
selecting a menu or tool as well as graphically entering coordinate pair (X&Y) locations.

The right button is called the “reset button” (Reset for short) and is used for different operations
including: to reset to the starting point of a tool operation, reject a highlighted element selection or
reject select a snap point.

These days, most mice have a center scroll-wheel. The scroll-wheel is used to zoom and pan. Roll the
scroll wheel forward to zoom in and back to zoom out. Press and hold the scroll-wheel to pan.

“Snapping” is one of the fundamental features of any CAD system. MicroStation V8i offers a number of
different types of snap. Right now, it is set up to snap automatically on grid points (every inch) or to a
keypoint on an object.

To snap to a keypoint, the reset and data buttons are pressed simultaneously. A large cursor will appear
showing the tentative location you snapped to. If it is where you want it, press the data button once
more to accept it. If you don’t like it, press the reset button and try again.

Snapping can be done automatically with “AccuSnap.” You will learn more about AccuSnap later.

EXERCISE: DRAWING A FEW ELEMENTS

Now you are ready to start drawing or creating our design file. Start by making a scratch pad drawing of
one each of most of the drawing tools.

1. Draw a line between 3 dots (grid reference points).

2. Draw a box (Place Block tool).

3. Draw an arc.

4. Draw a circle and other elements until you have drawn one of each.

Note that MicroStation V8i is always in continuous draw mode. For example, when drawing lines, after
drawing one line, MicroStation is ready to draw the next line and then the next, etc. There are several
ways to stop drawing lines and other elements:

1. To stop drawing lines and begin another tool such as a circle, click on the circle tool.

Copyright © 2009 Bentley Systems, Incorporated Drawing in MicroStation 6

 2. To stop drawing lines but stay within the line drawing tool, press the Reset button.

3. To stop drawing lines and exit all commands, click on the Element Selection tool.

One exception to the above: when drawing curves, you must first accept the desired curve using the
reset button before terminating the drawing tool.

TOOL SETTINGS
The Tool Settings dialog opens automatically when you select a tool. The Tool Settings contents and
heading will change depending on which Tool is in use. It contains all of the settings available for that
particular tool. Note the colored ball at the top of the screen. This is called Popset. If green, the Tool
Settings will appear right next to the tool you select. It disappears when you move the cursor beyond it.
If red, the Tool Settings dialog is always displayed.

HOW TO SEARCH FOR A NEEDED TOOL

If you’re not sure what tool or function an icon represents , simply move the cursor over it and the short
description of the tool or function displays at the bottom right corner of the icon (also known as the tool
tip.) Or, if the icon is part of a sub toolbox, hold the left mouse button down as you slide over the icons.

INPUT FOCUS
Just like any Windows software, you must have the “input focus” on the dialog where you want to direct
keyboard input or select options. For example, if you have the Tool Settings window open, and some
other dialog at the same time, MicroStation V8i needs to know which dialog you want to enter data into.
Just data point on the top bar of the dialog to make it active.

In addition you can use function keys to move the focus where you want it to be. Pressing the function
key <F10> will move focus to the Tool Settings window, <F11> moves it to AccuDraw, and <F12> back to
Home. Focus on Home is required if you are using Keyboard mapped commands, such as “Q1” for Place
SmartLine.

< RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS GO TO CHAPTER FOUR >

Copyright © 2009 Bentley Systems, Incorporated Drawing in MicroStation 7