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AutoCAD Access MicroStation AutoCAD Access allows you to open AutoCAD drawing ".dwg" files in MicroStation. A drawing file can be opened: * Interactively in MicroStation with the DWGIN MDL application. DWGIN is also used to adjust import settings. * Directly by specifying its filename when starting MicroStation or by using MicroStation's Open File dialog box. * By issuing commands from the system prompt. This feature can be used to automatically convert multiple drawing files to MicroStation design file format or convert a symbol library of AutoCAD block definitions to cells in a MicroStation cell library. This version of MicroStation AutoCAD Access allows you to open AutoCAD Version 2, 9, 10 and 11 drawing files. Opening AutoCAD Drawing Files Interactively with DWGIN To interactively open an AutoCAD drawing file in MicroStation: 1.In the MDL settings box, select DWGIN and click the Load button. or Key in MDL LOAD DWGIN. The AutoCAD Access dialog box opens. 2.Use the list box to select the directory and name of the drawing file. or in the Name field, key in the name of the drawing file. 3.Click the OK button or press <Return>. 4.Set the options as desired. See "AutoCAD Access dialog box." 5.Click the Open button or press <Return>. AutoCAD Access dialog box The AutoCAD Access dialog box and the dialog boxes that can be opened from its menus have items for setting AutoCAD Access options. AutoCAD Drawing File Displays the filename and other information about the input AutoCAD drawing file. Translation Units You can select whether AutoCAD drawing units are mapped to: * Master - equates drawing units to the master units of the active design file. * Sub - equates drawing units to sub-units of the active design file. Convert Blocks To In AutoCAD, a block is a set of entities grouped together into a compound object. Blocks in the AutoCAD drawing file can be converted to: * Library Cells - added to the active cell library (if one is attached) and added to the design file as unshared cells. If no cell library is attached, the cells are placed only in the design file. * Shared Cells - added to the design file as shared cell definitions and instances. * Components - added to the design file as their individual components. In other words, the blocks are dropped (exploded). Color Palette AutoCAD supports a fixed 256-color palette. Although this palette can be modified (usually with a program provided with the graphics hardware), the modified palette cannot be saved. MicroStation's default color table can be modified. The modifications can be saved as a color table file that can then be attached to a design file(s) as the active color table. See "Settings menu" (Color Palette) in the MicroStation Reference Guide for more information about color tables. The following items are in the Color Palette option menu: * AutoCAD - The design file's color table is redefined to match AutoCAD's color palette. - The colors of entities in the drawing file are translated exactly. - The colors of existing elements in the design file may be changed. * Design File - Each color in AutoCAD's color palette is mapped to the closest color in the design file's color table. - The colors of entities in the drawing file may be changed. (The closer the design file's color table is to AutoCAD's color palette, the smaller the changes.) - The colors of existing elements in the design file are not changed. Origin The coordinates of the design file's global origin in the x-, y-, and z- direction (usually 0,0,0) unless it is necessary to shift data from the AutoCAD drawing file to fit it in the design plane or cube. Frozen Layers If Frozen Layers is on, entities on frozen layers are imported. If Frozen Layers is off, entities on frozen layers are omitted from the design file. Shift Global Origin If Shift Global Origin is on and it is necessary to shift data from an AutoCAD drawing file to fit it in the design plane (2D) or design cube (3D), the design file's global origin is moved to the location of the origin of the drawing file. Existing elements in the design file are shifted so that they are correctly positioned relative to the elements from the imported drawing file. If Shift Global Origin is off, the design file's global origin is not moved. File menu/Settings File╔ AutoCAD Access import settings (all options in the AutoCAD Access dialog box and the names of translation tables) can be saved in an import settings file so that they can be retrieved as needed. The following Settings File sub-menu items are available: * Choosing Attach opens the Attach Settings File dialog box, which is used to attach an import settings file. * Choosing Save saves the import settings in the attached import settings file. * Choosing Save As opens the Save Settings File dialog box, which is used to save the import settings in a new import settings file. It may be useful to have a different import settings file for each client or project. The import settings file is pointed to by the MS_DWGINSET environment variable. If MS_DWGINSET is not set, the default import settings file is "dwgin.sfi" in MicroStation's "data" directory. File menu/Log File╔ Choosing Log File from the File menu in the AutoCAD Access dialog box opens the Log File dialog box, which is used to specify an alternate log file. A log file is an ASCII file in which translation statistics and diagnostics are saved. By default, the log file is saved with the same filename and directory as the DWG file with the extension ".log." Note: The Display>Text item in the Command Window's File menu can be used to view the log file. See "Menu Reference" (File menu) in the MicroStation Reference Guide for more information about Display>Text. Settings menu/Fonts Choosing Fonts from the File menu in the AutoCAD Access dialog box opens the Text Fonts dialog box, which is used to adjust the mapping between AutoCAD font or text style names and MicroStation font numbers. To change the MicroStation font that an AutoCAD font is mapped to: 1.In the list, select the font mapping to modify. 2.Key in the MicroStation font number or use the option menu to select a MicroStation font. The mapping between AutoCAD and MicroStation fonts is stored in a translation table. The File menu in the Text Fonts dialog box has the following items: * Choosing Attach opens the Attach Font Table dialog box, which is used to attach a font translation table. * Choosing Save saves the font mapping to the attached font translation table. * Choosing Save As opens the Save Font Table dialog box, which is used to save the font mapping to a new translation table. Settings menu/Levels... Choosing Levels from the File menu in the AutoCAD Access dialog box opens the Levels dialog box, which is used to adjust the mapping between AutoCAD layer names and MicroStation levels. If a layer name is not mapped to a specific MicroStation level, level numbers are sequentially assigned to layer names in alphabetical order. A MicroStation level name is created for each layer name so that levels can continue to be referred to by their layer names. To change the level that an AutoCAD layer is mapped to: 1.Select the layer to level mapping to modify. 2.Key in the MicroStation level number. The mapping between AutoCAD layer names and MicroStation level numbers is stored in a translation table. The File menu in the Levels dialog box has the following options: * Choosing Attach opens the Attach Level Table dialog box, which is used to attach a level translation table. * Choosing Save saves the level mapping to the attached level translation table. * Choosing Save As opens the Save Level Table dialog box, which is used to save the level mapping to a new level translation table. Settings menu/Line Styles... Choosing Line Styles from the File menu in the AutoCAD Access dialog box opens the Line Styles dialog box, which is used to adjust mapping between AutoCAD linetype names and MicroStation line styles. To change the line style that an AutoCAD linetype is mapped to: 1.Select the linetype to modify. 2.Use the option menu to select a line style or key in the line style number. The mapping between linetype names and line styles is stored in a translation table. The File menu in the Line Styles dialog box has the following options: * Attach opens the Style Table dialog box, which is used to attach a font translation table. * Save saves the line style mapping to the attached line style translation table. * Save As opens the Style Table dialog box, which is used to save the line style mapping to a new line style translation table. Settings menu/Weights... Choosing Weights from the File menu in the AutoCAD Access dialog box opens the Weights dialog box, which is used to set the mapping between the widths of polylines and MicroStation line weights. To specify the polyline width to map to a MicroStation line weight: 1.Select the row with the MicroStation line weight in the list box. 2.In the text field below the Polyline Widths column, key in the polyline width to map to that MicroStation line weight. Note: If a polyline segment is tapered, the weight mapping is ignored and the exact representation of the tapered segment is represented in the design file as a filled shape. This ensures that arrowheads and other tapered polyline segments are represented correctly. Note: AutoCAD polyline widths are specified by the actual line thickness in drawing units. MicroStation line weights are not associated with a specific thickness, but instead determine the relative line weight of a line with respect to other line weight values. This allows line weight display to be tailored to the display hardware. For hard copy output, the WEIGHT_STROKES record in the plotter configuration file defines the thickness at which a line of a given line weight is plotted. For more information about plotter configuration files, see "Plotting" in the MicroStation User's Guide. Opening AutoCAD Drawing Files Directly You can open an AutoCAD drawing file directly, either by specifying its filename when you start MicroStation or by using the Open File dialog box. This eliminates several steps required for interactive operation. To open drawing files directly in MicroStation, you must specify DWGINIT as the startup MDL application by redefining the MS_INITAPPS environment variable. Environment variables are defined in the Environment Variables settings box. See "Menu Reference" (User menu) in the MicroStation Reference Guide for more information about setting environment variables. When a drawing file is opened directly, a design file is created with the same filename as the drawing file with the extension ".dgn." The entities in the drawing file are copied to this design file. The settings stored in the default import settings file "dwgin.sfi" or the settings file indicated by the MS_DWGINSET environment variable are used. Note: It is not currently possible to run MicroStation Manager and directly open drawing files. In future versions this capability will be added to MicroStation Manager. Starting MicroStation with a drawing file as the active design file After you have specified DWGINIT as the startup MDL application, you can start MicroStation and specify a drawing file as the active design file the same way you specify a design file. For example, on a DOS-based system, enter at the system prompt: ustation <drawing_filename> Opening a drawing file using the Open File dialog box After you have specified DWGINIT as the startup MDL application, you can use MicroStation's Open File dialog box to open a drawing file. To open an AutoCAD drawing file directly in MicroStation: 1.Choose Open from the File menu. The Open File dialog box opens. 2.Choose AutoCAD Drawing from the Type option menu. 3.Select the drawing file to open and click the OK button or double-click the drawing file to open. Note: To open a design file or sheet file while DWGINIT is the startup MDL application, choose Ustn Design or Sheet File from the Type option menu. Command Line Operation A DOS batch file ("msbatch.bat") or UNIX shell script ("msbatch") is provided to convert AutoCAD drawing files from the system command line. This feature is especially useful to convert multiple drawing files. A set of block definitions can be automatically included in a single MicroStation cell library. To convert AutoCAD drawing files from the system command line, enter: msbatch dwgin input:<drawing_file> [switches] drawing_file is the drawing file to import. The wildcard characters "*" and "?" can be used to specify more than one file. Unless a complete path is specified, the MS_DWG environment variable is used to locate the drawing file(s). Unless a switch(es) are specified, the settings that you last set interactively are used to control the conversion. Switch Description --------------------------------------- blocks:[component| Controls how blocks in the drawing file are library|shared] translated. See "Block Output" for details. createcell If present, a cell is created from the entire contents of the drawing file. This is useful when a series of drawing files containing block definitions are to be placed into a MicroStation cell library. createlib If createcell is specified, createlib specifies that a new cell library is always created; if a cell library with the same filename exists, it is overwritten. If createlib is not present, a new cell library is created only if a cell library with that filename does not exist. createdgn If present, a new design file is always created; if a design file with the same filename exists, it is overwritten. If not present, a new design file is created only if a design file with that filename does not exist. colors:[acadpalette|match] Controls the mapping between AutoCAD and MicroStation colors. See "Color Mode" for details. fonttable:<font_table> Specifies font_table as the font mapping table.Unless a complete path is specified, the MS_DXFDATA environment variable is used to locate translation tables. frozen:<on|off> Determines whether frozen layers are to be translated (on) or omitted (off). leveltable:<level_table> Specifies level_table as the level mapping table.1 outdgn:<design_file> Specifies design_file as the output design file. If design_file does not exist, it is created. If design_file exists, it is created only if the createdgn switch is present. The MS_DEF environment variable and the input filename are used to determine the output design file specification if outdgn is omitted or incomplete. outlib:<cell_library> Specifies cell_library as the output cell library. If cell_library does not exist, it is created. if cell_library exists, it is created only if the createlib switch is present. The MS_DEF environment variable and the input filename are used to determine the output cell library specification if outlib is omitted or incomplete. seeddgn:<seed_file> Specifies seed_file as the seed file used to create design files. If seeddgn is omitted or incomplete, the MS_DESIGNSEED and MS_SEEDFILES environment variables are used to select the seed file. seedlib:<seed_cell_lib> Specifies seed_cell_lib as the seed cell library used to create new cell libraries. If seedlib is omitted or incomplete, the MS_CELLSEED and MS_SEEDFILES environment variables are used to locate the seed cell library. settingsFile:<settings_file> Specifies settings_file as the import settings file. See "Settings File" for details. styleTable:<style_table> Specifies style_table as the line style translation table. See "Line Styles" for details. units:<sub|master> Specifies translation units. See "Translation Units" for details. Converting multiple drawing files Command line operation is particularly convenient when more than one drawing file is converted. For example, to convert all of the drawing files in the "\dwg" directory to design files in the "\dgn" directory: msbatch dwgin input:\dwg\*.dwg outdgn:\dgn\ createdgn frozen:off The createdgn switch tells DWGIN to always create a new design file and overwrite an existing design file with the same filename. The switch frozen:off specifies to omit entities on layers that are frozen (off). Converting a symbol library of block definitions into a MicroStation cell library A single command can be used to convert multiple AutoCAD drawing files that contain block definitions into cell definitions in a MicroStation cell library. For example, the command (entered as one line): msbatch dwgin input:\dwgblock\*.dwg outdgn:\tmp\blocks:library outlib:\dgn\dwgblock.cel createcell createdgn does the following: 1.Converts all drawing files in the "\dwgblock" directory to design files in the "\tmp" directory. 2.For each drawing file, adds a cell definition that consists of all entities in the drawing file to the "dwgblock.cel" cell library. Tip: To save disk space, after this procedure was finished, you could delete the design files that it created in the "tmp" directory. AutoCAD to MicroStation Entity Conversions Entities in the AutoCAD drawing file (left) are translated to the related MicroStation elements (right). AutoCAD Entity MicroStation Element --------------------------------------------------- Line 3. Line Point 3. Line (zero length) Circle 15. Ellipse (circular) Text 17. Text Arc 16. Arc Trace 6. Shape Solid 6. Shape Block 1. Cell (in cell library) 34. Shared Cell Definition Insert 2. Cell (in design file) 35. Shared Cell Instance Attribute Definition Not currently supported Attribute 17. Text PolyLine 12. Complex Chain 4. Line String 6. Shape 16. Arc 24. B-Spline Surface (Mesh) 27. B-Spline Curve (Spline Fit) Line (3D) 3. Line Face (3D) 6. Shape Dimension Component elements Viewport 5. Reference File Attachments (in sheet file) Note: Extruded entities are converted to surfaces of projection. Note: If paper space and viewport entities are encountered in a drawing file, a separate sheet file is created. The paper space entities are added to the sheet file rather than the active design file. Paper space viewports are translated to reference file attachments in the sheet file. The sheet file name is the same as the active design file with the extension ".s01." DWG Table Conversions DWG Tables MicroStation ----------------------------------------- APPID Not Currently Supported DIMSTYLE Not Currently Supported LAYER Named Levels LTYPE Line Styles VIEW Active View Configuration Saved Views VPORT Active View Configuration UCS Auxiliary Coordinate Systems (ACS) Limitations Conversions between AutoCAD ".dwg" and MicroStation format cannot be exact because the two formats define elements differently. In general, MicroStation has more element types and stores much more information about each element. These differences may affect the accuracy of the conversion: * MicroStation allows elements to be placed on 63 levels and in eight line styles. Line styles are numbered. Cell names are limited to six characters ("A-Z" capital letters only, "0-9," "$," and "."). The design plane is finite. In AutoCAD, the names of linetypes and blocks can all be up to 31 characters long. The design plane is infinite. * AutoCAD does not support the following MicroStation element types: - multi-line text (text nodes). - true ellipses, non-circular arcs (partial ellipses), curves, and B-splines. - true complex shapes and chains. Special cases of the polyline entity are the closest AutoCAD equivalents for MicroStation non-circular ellipses and arcs, B- splines, curves, and complex chains. * AutoCAD has no equivalent for MicroStation graphic groups. * AutoCAD supports line widths only for polylines and cannot represent line weights. Translation Tables The default translation tables used by AutoCAD Access define the mappings between names and codes in AutoCAD and MicroStation for: AutoCAD MicroStation Translation Table layers levels "level.tbl" text styles fonts "font.tbl" linetypes line styles "linecode.tbl" widths line weights "weight.tbl" Translation tables are ASCII files. AutoCAD Access uses the same translation tables as MicroStation's DXF translator. The MS_DXFDATA environment variable is used to locate translation tables. Translation tables can be edited in dialog boxes or with a text editor. For more information about translation tables, see "Maximizing Efficiency" (DXF Files) in the MicroStation User's Guide." Ensuring That Coordinates Remain Correct AutoCAD and MicroStation store coordinates differently - AutoCAD stores coordinates as floating-point values on an infinite design plane while MicroStation stores coordinates as 32-bit integers on a finite design plane (2D) or design cube (3D). Therefore, it may be necessary to shift or even scale a drawing so that it fits in the design plane or cube. MicroStation's working units can be adjusted so that the design plane (cube) has enough "room" to store even drawings with widespread coordinates with sufficient accuracy. Seed files are supplied with MicroStation as design file templates with settings, including working units, set to appropriate values for disciplines such as architecture, mapping, and mechanical design. In most cases, using a design file with appropriate working units ensures that a drawing file is converted with no need for shifting or scaling. See "Key Concepts" at the end of Lesson 2 in the MicroStation User's Guide for information about the design plane and working units. See "Maximizing Efficiency" (Choosing the Right Seed File) in the MicroStation User's Guide for information about the seed files included with MicroStation. When you open a drawing file, if the drawing does not fit in the design plane (cube), it is centered. * If you open the drawing file interactively, a warning and the new origin is displayed in the AutoCAD Access dialog box. If Shift Origin is on, the global origin of the design file is shifted to match the origin of the drawing file. The coordinates of entities in the drawing file remain the same, but the coordinates of elements in the design file are changed. * If you convert the drawing file by entering a command at the system prompt or using the Open File dialog box, the global origin is shifted if a new design file is created. If the drawing does not fit in the design plane (cube) after it is centered, a warning is displayed and the drawing is scaled to fit into the design plane (cube). The scale factor is displayed in the AutoCAD Drawing File section of the AutoCAD Access dialog box and a warning is included in the log file. Data that is scaled no longer has correct real-world dimensions.