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MicroStation Issues
What the heck are you doing in MicroStation/J?
Why are you working in MicroStation/J?
Valid reasons:
- Macros, Plotting Quirks
- Ortho Photo shifts
I set up MicroStation v8 to open v7 files w/o messing them up. So "my
deliverable is ms/j, so I have to work in ms/j" is not a valid reason.
File Translation
WARNING: if you are upgrading a file from
MicroStation/J to v8 format you will be prompted for units: Metric,
International Foot or US Survey Foot. Make sure you pick the right Foot
definition as it does make a difference.
Microstation/J's integer-based coordinate system was unitless.
The folks at Bentley decided they wanted to have English and Metric scale
automatically so MicroStation v8 by default stores coordinates internally as metric. International
Foot and US Survey foot are defined differently and are translated differently
into metric. This can cause problems.
According to Caltrans,
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/oppd/cadd/rsc_files/webpage.php, "At Caltrans, the
MicroStation Units.def file has been edited for U.S. Survey Foot as the English
unit."
Verify your project seed file and unit prior to translating (the San Diego
seed files are linked below).
If your seed file is v8, referencing Ms/J and DWG files does require a
translation, Coincident and Coincident-World may lead to differing results (more...).
Using v8 in v7 Mode
MS_OPENV7=3 (allows automatic loading and writing in v7 mode; does not change
ms/j file format).
MS_WORKMODE=v7 (for working in v8 files, limits content to pre-v8 structure).
V8 MicroStation Environment
The MicroStation v8/XM Configuration Environment will be based on that in
Phoenix with enhancements as needed. Some specifics will include:
Site and Department wide setting will be put where they belong, which is out
of the .ucf files and in site-level files.
User Configuration Data will be server based rather than local. Users
will have folders on the server where their files are kept (current environment
effectively uses user settings to manage project settings).
Seeds
Seed dgn files are currently located at
M:/CADD/CA/SD/Road/ustn/seeds_Caltrans
Detail Links:
Text Styles for Caltrans | 
