These video tutorials will save you time.

Ed Mendoza, veteran CAD Professional and Axiom Learning Expert, provides tips from his storehouse of experience.

What if every time you had to work with MicroStation reference attachments you had a few tricks up your sleeve that made your work easier and could save you minutes or even hours of time? I’ve created ten free video tips that will show you time-saving tricks such as how to:

• Gray out your reference attachments to make your active file stand out.
• Apply 3D display styles to 2D reference views.
• Use selection handles to adjust your clip boundary and relocate your reference attachments.
• Correctly display both visible and hidden edges in 3D reference views.
• And much more.

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By Rick Sewell, Axiom Director of Customer Services

Rick Sewell, beloved CAD ace, lives to help CAD users get their projects done on time. He really lives for this stuff. Give him a call and put him to the test.

Busy MicroStation users are always on the lookout for faster ways to get work done. Covered here is a simple way to speed things up using your Function keys.

Have you ever noticed that the row of keys at the top of your keyboard that start with “F” never seem to get much use? Well, it just so happens you can make use of those F-keys (Function keys) to invoke dialog boxes or commands in MicroStation.

It’s really simple to assign commands to the Function keys. You can use Function keys by themselves or in combination with other keys. In this example, I’ll show you how to load AccuDraw using the key sequence {Shift+F12}.

1. Go to Workspace | Function Keys…



Figure 1. “Function Keys” is the dialog box that allows you to assign commands to your F-Keys.

2. Toggle on the “Shift” key by checking it in the upper segment of the box.
3. Select “F12” from the pull-down list.
4. In the “Action:” window, enter the MicroStation keyin command “AccuDraw Activate”. (See Figure 2.)



Figure 2. In addition to using the function key, you can also use any combination of {Ctrl}, {Alt} and {Shift} for a total of 96 different combinations.

5. Press {OK} to close the “Function Keys:” dialog box.
6. Now, try out your new trick by holding down the shift key and pressing “F12”.

Remember, you can enter any valid MicroStation keyin command you want. In case you’re wondering, MicroStation does publish their key-ins in “Help”. Go to Help | Contents.

Figure 3. Assigning function keys to the MicroStation key-ins that you use on a regular basis can save you time when working on a project. You can find a full list of MicroStation’s key-in commands by going to Help | Help Topics while in MicroStation.

MicroStation is the powerful CAD system that it is, because it can be made to work for you. Use this tip and get your projects done faster.

Want More MicroStation Know-how? Call Now!
For more information on cool tips and tricks, check out our LearningBay courses by visiting www.AxiomInt.com/microstation-training. You can also schedule a free demonstration about training solutions or talk with one of our MicroStation Consultants by calling 727-442-7774 extension 3418.

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By Rick Sewell
It seems that for every project that requires design work there are special menus that you have to use, certain palettes you need to keep open — not to mention the usual main menus you keep open all the time. Sometimes you cover more of your screen with menus than you do with your actual view window.

By default, MicroStation loads with the title bar at the top, a row of pull-down menus below that, then rows of docked menus (or at least one row) and finally your MicroStation View window. Did you ever notice that the row of pull-down menus usually spans across half or less than half of the MicroStation interface? You’ve got half a row of blank space after that! Seems like a bit of wasted real estate to me.

The typical user has at least one custom pull-down menu and a whole lot of space-eating menus and palettes.

1. Here is a great tip to get that space into use and to free up a bit more real estate for your view window.
2. From the main MicroStation menu, choose Workspace|Configuration. This opens the Configuration dialog box.
3. Along the left side, set the “Category” to “All (Alphabetical)”.
4. Scroll down the list of configuration variables until you find “MS_MAINMENUDOCKINGBESIDE”.
5. Double-click on the variable or select the name with a single data point and press the <Edit…> button. This opens the “Edit Configuration Variable” dialog box.

Use the “Edit Configuration Variable” dialog box to change the value for the MS_MAINMENUDOCKINGBESIDE variable. Changing the value to “1” (as shown here) will allow you to dock toolboxes right next to the Main Menu.

1. Type in the number “1” as the value.
2. Press the <OK> button to close the Edit Configuration Variable dialog box.



Using the secret “no mouse required” method, you can easily select all files with a “.dgn” or other extension in a folder and, optionally, all its subfolders and then add them to a list of files in one fell swoop. The list is now ready to process by many of Axiom’s software tools such as FileFixer.

3. Press the <OK> button to close the Configuration dialog box. You will be prompted to save the changes made. Press <Yes> to accept the changes.
4. Finally, close and restart MicroStation for the change to take place.Once MicroStation has been restarted, toolboxes can be docked right next to the Main Menu.

Want More MicroStation Know-how? Call Now!
For more information on cool tips and tricks, check out our LearningBay courses by filling out the form on the right. You can also schedule a free demonstration about training solutions or talk with one of our Consultants by calling 727-442-7774.