OpenBridge Designer CONNECT Edition V10.07 is now available for all users!

OpenBridge Designer CONNECT Edition is a unique application that combines modeling, analysis, and design into one comprehensive bridge product, as it creates a true bridge BIM physical model from the conceptual phase all the way through construction. The application utilizes the modeling capabilities of OpenBridge Modeler and the analysis and design features of LEAP Bridge Concrete, LEAP Bridge Steel, and RM Bridge Advanced to meet the design and construction needs of concrete and steel bridges.

With this latest release and the addition of RM Bridge Advanced, global users have the advantage of using a single comprehensive package from beginning to end of any bridge design project.

Please see the release notes and "What's New in OBD V10.07" document attached for further information.

communities.bentley.com/.../What_2700_s-New-in-OBD-V10.07.pdf

Got an idea for how to improve Design Review app? Share it with us. Or vote on other people's ideas.

Is there a new feature or improvement to an existing feature you would like to see us work on?  We have partnered with AHA, a third-party service, to create an ideas portal to submit, share and vote on suggestions to improve our iTwin Services.  We love hearing your feedback and our Design Review team regularly review the ideas and incorporate them into product planning discussions. While we can’t guarantee any specific features or timelines, we will read all suggestions and respond to every suggestion that gets at least 10 votes. We may also merge and rename suggestions for clarity. Once you have voted on an idea you will automatically receive email notifications when the status of the idea changes.  We may also reach out to you during development to get feedback on designs or participate in early access beta testing.

Click here to Submit an idea.

or if your are in Design Review you can click on the  located in the upper right corner of the application.

When trying to run a MVBA in PowerGeopak SS10 I get an error message

"VBA interface error: unable to run macro - 0x80040552" 

This is a reminder of our upcoming regularly scheduled patch and maintenance weekend - August 16 thru 18th for Bentley ProjectWise Managed Services. We apologize for any disruption in service you may possibly see but the maintenance of your servers is pertinent for system health and security.

Microsoft releases its security patches on the second Tuesday of each month. Bentley Managed Services patches all hosted servers on the following weekend during non-business hours per the location of the hosted servers. Please view the Microsoft Security Updates site for the release notes for this month's patching. 

During each patch weekend, Bentley strives to keep the planned outage to 30 minutes or less per server farm (FQDN).

To see a schedule of all 2019 patch weekends, please see the Bentley patch calendar  located within the Bentley Communities ProjectWise Hosting Services web site.

We are pleased to announce that ContextCapture CONNECT Edition - Update 13 is available!


Save time with the latest capabilities!

• Easily create April tags for automatic geo-registration of ground control points when you capture data using a drone. Create tags in ContextCapture Master and use these tags during the drone flight. Your reality data is automatically georeferenced during data processing, with no requirement for manually created ground control points. Watch tutorial video.
• Automatically detect scanner position when using static scan data to generate your 3D mesh.
• Achieve a smoother workflow for road and rail projects with native support of snake grid format.
• Leverage automatic detection thanks to latest machine learning improvements (Join early access program now).

Improve the accuracy of your 3D models!

• Quickly understand your 3D-scene immediately after aerotriangulation using the display of quality report metrics feature. Easily assess the quality of your acquisition and detect any flaws to determine requirements for additional images to improve the accuracy of your 3D mesh.
• Generate accurate 3D meshes with robust aerotriangulation for improved accuracy at the alignment stage.
  
  

Easily share your data and improve team collaboration!

• Directly publish your reality meshes, images and aerotriangulation results from ContextCapture Master to ProjectWise ContextShare. Securely manage, share, and stream reality meshes, and their input sources, across project teams and applications. Improve team productivity and collaboration in this connected data environment.

The much anticipated MicroStation CONNECT Update 13 (product) will be releasing very soon.  Literally, possibly: any moment now...

The MicroStation Platform/PowerPlatform Team has been very busy working hard to provide numerous quality and performance improvements and new features too.  If interested in some of the latest product changes consider taking a moment (now) to navigate to: MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 13 Help and see help topic: New and Changed in MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 13.

Likewise, expect a number of updates and improvements to the MicroStation CONNECT SDK.  The MicroStation SDK typically releases only a few days to a week after the MicroStation product becomes available. If you would like to keep current (or monitor) the latest MicroStation CONNECT SDK changes and releases keep tuned for new SDK Announcements where you are provided an executive-level set of SDK-specific changes/impacts. Some of the changes for this update (and future releases) will start to support and provide some new and exciting development options going forward.

So, please stay tuned for our pending MicroStation CONNECT Update 13 SDK announcement in the coming week.

Thank you,
MicroStation SDK Team

As a part of the user experience enhancements for better performance, enhanced speed and reliability for the CONNECT Edition, the Welcome Screen has been removed in Update 13. When you launch MicroStation for the first time, you will now see the Work page instead of seeing the Welcome Screen first. This change greatly impacts the performance of the Work page. The Work page includes another enhancement which is faster loading of the WorkSet list. When you have several WorkSets, it takes a while before the WorkSet list gets populated. Faster loading of the WorkSet list will save you significant time.

The contents of the Welcome Screen, like the delivered examples section and the social media links have now been made conveniently accessible from the new Help tab instead of the Welcome page.

The Help tab was previously called the CONNECT Services tab and is available in the Drawing, Modeling, Visualization and Admin workflows. This tab consolidates the following:

• Help Contents
• CONNECT Advisor
• Feedback
• Examples
• Social Media links

The Help tab acts as a unified location for multiple tools that were previously scattered in the interface. For users who are new to the CONNECT Edition’s user interface and the ribbon, changes like these are intended to ease their workflow and help them transition smoothly.

The MicroStation CONNECT Edition user interface is under continuous improvement and will benefit from many future design changes. The idea is to make your workflows smoother and more efficient. If you have suggestions on how we can further improve the user interface or if you wish to leave feedback on your experience with the above changes, feel free to comment.

Also, if you wish to speak with a Bentley expert about making the move to MicroStation CONNECT Edition, please complete this form to have someone from Bentley contact you to provide assistance and advice.

Improving the user experience has been a prime focus in each MicroStation CONNECT Edition update. Just like the Windows 8.1 desktop user experience, MicroStation CONNECT Edition leverages a ribbon interface. If you have recently migrated to the CONNECT Edition from V8i, you might find it difficult to navigate the ribbon initially. To simplify your workflow while maintaining your productivity, MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 13 introduces the V8i Task Theme.

The V8i Task Theme gives you a familiar V8i user interface for use in MicroStation CONNECT Edition, so you can access any tools with relative ease. This gives you time to explore the ribbon and gradually get a hang of using it. There is no need to set any configuration variable or preference, to enable the V8i Theme. You can turn it on in quick two steps.

To Turn on the V8i Task Theme:

1. Select Task Navigation in the workflow drop-down.

2. Select V8i Task Theme in the Select Task picker.

The V8i Tasks user interface is set and ready for use.

You can see the primary toolbars at the top and on the left you will find the V8i tasks along with other workflows and tool groups. To enable the Ribbon, you can select the desired workflow in the select task picker or in the workflow drop-down menu.

However, it should be noted that the V8i Task Theme is a close representation of the V8i user interface and not 100 percent the same as the original V8i user interface.

If you wish to use positional keyboard navigation you can turn on Position Mapping in Settings > Preferences > Position Mapping. The keyboard shortcuts will display on the left-hand side of the Tasks panel.
We look forward to hearing from you about how useful this enhancement is and if you have any suggestions for improvement. if you’re interested in speaking with a Bentley expert about making the move to MicroStation CONNECT Edition, please complete this form to have someone contact you to provide advice and assistance.

We at MicroStation are constantly working towards maintaining our efficiency, thus promising timely delivery. The measures taken to support the file open time for a .dwg format has substantially improved in MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 13 in comparison to Update 12.

In this blog, you will find a basic study conducted to analyze the file open time for a DWG file in MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 13 equated to Update 12. It is observed that Update 13 certainly shows positive results in opening the DWG file in fairly less time as compared to Update 12. Where the machine has multiple processors, the performance of the .dwg file open time has drastically improved.

Tests were conducted for multiple core processors. It was observed that MicroStation Update 13 achieves better statistics when run on a multiprocessor machine as compared to Update 12. The file opening time for a DWG file in Update 12 was trending at an average of 200 seconds and now with Update 13, it has been clocked at an average of 150 seconds which in return proves efficiency.

Following are the specifications that were used for the test.

We have made use of both MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 12 and Update 13 respectively.

Chart Content: The chart below represents the various datasets used from multiple verticals showing the time required to open a DWG file in Update 12 and Update 13.

These tests have been conducted multiple times and the average loading time was considered to obtain the graph below. The datasets used for the tests are from different verticals which help in gauging the performance. The objective of this study is to help our uses understand the difference in the .dwg file open time between MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 12 and Update 13.

Graph Content:

• X Axis: Number of Elements
• Y Axis: Time (In Seconds)

Fig 1: DWG File Open Time (Click on the image for a zoomed in view)

The general perspective of this graph is to show the overlapping results between MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 12 and Update 13. However, in the civil model dataset, the graph substantially increases in Update 13’s favor showing a difference of -21.43

These tests were performed specifically for time required to open a DWG File in MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 12 and in Update 13. With improved changes in the current update, we have a lot more in store for the next Update. Incase if you want us to test any specific datasets that you are working with or wish to suggest scenarios that we can test for similar performance study, please feel free to comment or connect with us.

The concept of better performance has always been a prime motive for us at MicroStation, giving our users a better performance with every subsequent update. With the recent development in the Element Properties Dialog, users will now experience higher productivity when using larger datasets with maximum number of elements.

This blog elaborates the study conducted for the Element Properties Dialog which shows significant enhancement in performance of MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 13 over Update 12. With improved fixes, update 13 helps in reducing the time required to open the Properties Dialog pop-up.

Following are the specifications that were used for the test.

We have made use of both MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 12 and Update 13 respectively.

Chart Content: The chart below represents the various datasets used from multiple verticals showing the time required to open the Element properties dialog pop-up in Update 12 and Update 13.

We repeated the test 5-6 times for each dataset and the average loading time was considered to plot the graph below. The dataset used for the tests include a large variety of properties for every element to yield higher output. For example, the dataset for Model with Item types has 4421 elements which includes 364 I-beams, 826 Nuts and bolts with a file size of 7.50 MB. This study clearly aims to educate our users on the Properties dialog pop-up loading time in both Update 12 and Update 13.

 Graph Content:

• X Axis: Datasets used
• Y Axis: Time (In Seconds)

Fig 1: Properties Dialog Open Time (Click on the image for a zoomed in view)

It is observed that in the Building Model 1 and IFC File dataset, the time taken was substantially less showing a difference. MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 13 shows better results as compared to Update 12. The advantage of Update 13 now comes up when the elements properties increase in the Building Model and Plant Model Dataset.

These tests were performed specifically for time required to execute Element Properties Dialog pop-up in MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 12 and in Update 13. In case you want us to test any specific datasets that you are working with or wish to suggest scenarios that we can test for similar performance study, please feel free to comment or connect with us.

Physically Based Rendering (PBR) is the latest enhancement to our QuickVision display system. This method of rendering promises photorealistic lighting in 3D environments and physically accurate distribution patterns of light and material definitions. PBR accurately represents a surface based on its interactions with light. Using PBR simplifies the process of creating realistic looking materials, resulting in a very accurate representation of surfaces that work well in all lighting environments.

MicroStation only supports the Metal/Roughness model for the time being. (PBR material samples found over the Internet generally provide both Glossy/Specular model and Metal/Roughness model formats.)

Motorcycle rendered in MicroStation using PBR settings

You can access the PBR material settings in the Material Editor dialog by selecting the blue PBR icon.

Maps for various settings like Height, Normal, Ambient Occlusion, Metallic, Roughness etc. can be used to achieve the desired effects on materials.

Image rendered in MicroStation. Diamond Plate PBR material using Base color map and maps for ambient occlusion, metallic, roughness, height and normal.

PBR uses mathematical equations to compute how a light source will diffuse or reflect when it interacts with two primary types of material: Metals (conductors) and non-metals (dielectrics). For Physically-based rendering of a material you don’t have to manually tweak every lighting condition like you would do for non-PBR implementations of light. You can conveniently adjust the sliders associated with each map to set its value and view the results without the need to render the scene. This allows for faster production of assets along with enhanced visuals. In short, a very realistic look with less effort.

Please go ahead and give the new PBR settings a try.

With MicroStation CONNECT Edition, we are constantly striving to ease our users’ workflows and continue to improve their productivity with every subsequent update. Better performance is one of the key areas of focus for MicroStation CONNECT Edition. Something as simple as the reducing the file open time significantly will greatly impact our users working with large datasets using integrated workflows.

In this blog we have put together a simple comparative study that exhibits the effectiveness of CONNECT Edition over V8i with respect to the File Opening Time, and we are pleased to announce that MicroStation CONNECT Edition is better equipped to open larger datasets, faster, as compared to MicroStation V8i.

Following are the specifications that we have considered for the test:

We have used MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 13 & MicroStation V8i SS4.

Chart Content: The below chart depicts the size of files used, corresponding element count and the file opening time for CONNECT Edition and V8i

We repeated the test 5-6 times for individual datasets and the average file opening time was considered to plot the below graph. The dataset used in the test includes a large variety of element types.The elements were copied multiple times to create a substantial file size. This study explicitly intends to draw users’ focus to the File Open Time for DGN files in both applications.

Graph Content:

• X Axis: No of Elements
• Y Axis: Time (In Seconds)
  
  

Fig 1: Dataset (Click on the image for a zoomed in view)

Although the initial readings are mostly seen overlapping, the graph above speaks of the steadfast and rapid sustainability that CONNECT Edition shows while dealing with multiple elements and its performance taking off after a certain file size.

Fig 2: Dataset

The tides are noticeably turning when the axis hits a 5 Million elements count, the advantage of CONNECT Edition kicks in and the File Open Time radically reduces thereafter (Refer Fig 2.). With 10 Million elements, the time reserved is two folds more for MicroStationV8i SS4 as equated to CONNECT Edition Update 13. In addition, the cross over point in the in-set graph is shown for better understanding of the element count. This data gives you a broad overview of how CONNECT Edition compares to V8i with respect to the time taken to open a DGN. Nonetheless, each file is unique in its kind and the result may differ sometimes. With the 64-bit architecture, CONNECT Edition is stimulated to pitch higher tolerance to the file memory. All your extra file load time can now be put to rest.

These tests were performed specifically for File Open time. Incase if you want us to test any specific datasets that you are working with or wish to suggest scenarios that we can test for similar performance study, please feel free to comment or connect with us.

MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 13 integrates with Bentley's ProjectWise Components Center service via the Components Center Explorer and Components Center Upload dialogs.

Components Center is a cloud-based digital component library and catalog management service. It allows you to efficiently manage your organization’s digital component repositories while providing you with industry approved, proprietary components. The geometry and business data associated with the components is available for use in all phases of the asset’s lifecycle.

The Components Center Explorer dialog in MicroStation CONNECT Edition lets you browse the catalogs available in your organization and the Bentley Systems sample content.

You can search for a component by its name, use relevant filters, show properties and supporting information and quickly place any piece of content available in your catalogs.

The Components Center Upload dialog lets you upload DGN models to your organization's catalogs as components. You can select the destination catalog and define all the properties for uploading your components in the right location.

From this dialog components will be uploaded in "Draft" status and will follow the Components Center Service's review and publishing workflow.

You can check the below article for more information on this service and how you can benefit from it:

https://www.bentley.com/en/products/product-line/project-delivery-software/components-center

Please read the Components Center wikis to understand the various aspects of this service and how to create and use components in your workflows:

https://communities.bentley.com/communities/other_communities/sign-in_assistance_and_web_services/w/wiki/40188/components-center

Note: Components Center is a General Access Technology Preview feature and hence should be used for testing in non-production environments and we welcome your precious feedback.

As a MicroStation V8i user, aspiring to upgrade to the CONNECT Edition, you might find yourself stuck on projects consuming the stability and efficiency of MicroStation V8i and might not be comfortable upgrading to the CONNECT Edition midway through the project. At the same time, you do not want to miss out on the advantages that the CONNECT Edition has to offer.

There is good news for you!

MicroStation CONNECT Edition can coexist with MicroStation V8i on the same workstation and you can use V8i + CONNECT hybrid workflows to see your project through, with increased productivity. Such a parallel installation allows you to work on the version of your choice based on the features you wish to use. New projects can be delivered using CONNECT Edition while completing existing ones using both V8i and CONNECT.

How?

Installation of both versions on the same machine eases the adoption of CONNECT Edition allowing you to become familiar with the new user interface and capabilities while continuing productively on V8i. Many legacy V8i tools are also made available in the CONNECT Edition to provide you with further flexibility. Since all design files are forward and backward compatible, even if you must work with older-formats for project deliverables, CONNECT Edition can be used right away for faster, smarter work.

For steps to create a Hybrid WorkSet you can refer to the article below.

5 Easy Steps to Create a Hybrid WorkSet in the MicroStation CONNECT Edition.

Following are a few examples of how you can leverage MicroStation CONNECT Edition to further your projects on V8i using a hybrid set up:

Tables

Tables are crucial when you need to add information like bill of materials, schedules, legends, and other information in an organized tabular format in the sheets. Unfortunately, V8i lacks a proper tool for creating and placing tables making the simple task of table creation a tedious and time-consuming process. The CONNECT Edition’s Place Table tool is exactly what you need for this. You can create and place customizable tables which are almost Microsoft Excel like in behavior, saving you a lot of time.

You will find the following articles useful:

Tables in V8i Vs Tables in CONNECT

Customizing Tables in CONNECT

Creating Templates for Tables 

Also watch – Place and Format a Table for Plan Sheet

Sheet Tracking and Ordering

In V8i the process of sheet creation and numbering is mostly manual and as you know any manual process is open to errors and time consuming.

If your project has drawings that are ready but pending only for sheet composition, CONNECT Edition has an efficient sheet tracking and ordering system that you can take advantage of. You can open your DGNs in CONNECT Edition and start composing sheets. The Sheet Index feature in CONNECT allows you to add sheets to the sheet index at the time of sheet creation, making sheet indexing automatic and hence quicker and more efficient.

In CONNECT Edition you can customize sheet numbering based on the standards of your choice. This article gives you an “apples to apples” comparison of the sheet numbering process between V8i and CONECT Edition.

You can read more on how to create a sheet index, add sheets to the index and customize numbering here.

3D Modeling

If you work on 3D modeling tools in V8i, CONNECT Edition has interesting parametric modeling tools which you can use for your new projects and work with smarter geometries. For your ongoing projects, you can still move to the CONNECT Edition smoothly and make use of our legacy solid modeling tools that are still available in the CONNECT Edition. So now you can work productively with your legacy data sets also enjoying the benefits of CONNECT’s 64-bit architecture and any other CONNECT features that you might find useful in your ongoing projects.

However, it is not recommended to use CONNECT solid modeling tools on legacy feature solids since the new CONNECT tools will upgrade the legacy solids into CONNECT parametric solids.

Here is how Parametric solids modeling is more efficient as compared to using Feature Solids.

CONNECT Services

The CONNECT Edition brings in a gamut of cloud based CONNECT Services that you can use to manage your projects. These services include Issue Resolution Service, Project Standards Sharing Service, Cloud Storage and Sharing, CONNECT Advisor, Components Center, ProjectWise ContextShare, and more to be added soon. These services provide you with a platform for enhanced collaboration between teams and expedite project delivery. By allowing teams to share data and information, entire workflows change for the better. For example, the Issue Resolution Service replaces the traditional markup workflow of paper and pencil with a fully digital workflow that allows for more information to be shared than through a simple note on a piece of paper. Using Components Center you can quickly share a library of parametric cells with any member of your CONNECTED team. 

Online Help

Finding help with features, tools and tasks is much easier and smarter with the CONNECT Edition. You have the option to choose between offline help which is installed on your machine and online help which offers the most up to date version of Help. The option to enable Online help which is continuously being updated instead of the static help that you see in V8i is a great help for quickly learning new tools.  

Read this article for more information on using Help in MicroStation CONNECT Edition.

As you use your legacy tools in the CONNECT Edition you may find some time to explore the new features and enhancements that CONNECT Edition has to offer. So please feel free to use the V8i – CONNECT hybrid work flow to get the best of both worlds.

If you need to speak to Bentley expert regarding how to set up the hybrid workset or need help moving to the CONNECT Edition please complete this form to have someone contact you to provide advice and assistance.

The MicroStation CONNECT Edition Team examined and resolved many issues across multiple areas for MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 13. In addition to resolving User defects that have been listed below, we would like to highlight a few key areas that were focused on for this release.

The key drivers were:

• Performance
• Usability
• Functionality

From a usability and functionality standpoint, you will see improvements in the time to open and list properties in the Properties dialog and the introduction of the V8i Task Theme to help with the user experience of users moving from V8i to MicroStation CONNECT Edition.

With regards to Performance, large files (~600MB and larger) will have improved opening times that can potentially be exponential when compared to MicroStation V8i SELECTSeries 10. Please keep your eyes on Bentley Communities for Blog posts on this and other performance related topics.

In the area of Visualization, improvements have been made to Material and Mapping handling, improvements to the LumenRT Exporter and a new PBR (Physically Based Rendering) content library.

RealDWG 2019 in MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 13 is now supported from a file open and save standpoint. In addition, performance improvements have been made when opening DWG files with ACIS Solids.

From the Modeling area, the MicroStation Team resolved critical issues with the legacy solids modeling tools resulting in smoother workflow and operation. Also improved interactions between Parametric Solids with normal solids manipulation tools. Please look forward to upcoming Blog posts on this topic

Support for Windows Server 2019 has also been added from a supported Operating System standpoint.

Below is the list of the resolved issues for MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 13, 10.13.00.48

Please feel free to get in touch with us in case you have any queries. We always welcome your valuable feedback to help up improve.

If you are working in a hybrid modeling environment to combine the best of both MicroStation CONNECT Edition and V8i, then we have a few tips for you. 

Once you have installed MicroStation CONNECT Edition you can continue using the legacy 3D modeling tools, which are made available in the CONNECT Edition to ease your workflow.

communities.bentley.com/.../Video-1_2D00_Setup-Legacy-3D-tools.mp4

1. You can use the V8i Task theme in Update 13 of the CONNECT Edition to access the familiar V8i Feature Modeling tools in the user interface or access them from Tool boxes.
2. It is advised to use the legacy solid tools when working on legacy data. The CONNECT Edition Parametric Solid tools can be used on legacy solids but you should bear in mind that on doing so. these will then be converted to Parametric Solids. The legacy solid tools won’t work on Parametric Solids, unless these are manually dropped to smart solids.
   
   communities.bentley.com/.../Video-2-_2D00_Legacy-tool-on-Parametric-element.mp4
3. In case you happen to accidently use CONNECT 3D tools on a Smart Solid that transforms to a Parametric Solid, then this change can be reversed. You can convert this transformed Parametric Solid back to a Smart Solid using conversion tools available in CONNECT so that you can continue to use legacy feature modelling tools to complete your project. 
   
   communities.bentley.com/.../Video-3_2D00_Irriversible-Upgradation-By-New-Tools.wmv
   
   
4. You can start exploring the parametric tools in our CONNECT Edition so that you will be familiar with them when starting your new projects and you will be able to produce smarter, re-usable content.
    
5. Amongst the many advantages of our CONNECT Edition, are its 64-bit architecture, for faster and better handling of larger datasets, and Item Types, which allow far more extensive property driven workflows, closing the gap with the BIM world. 
   
   Please feel free to share your experience working in a hybrid modeling environment and if you are interested in speaking with a Bentley expert about making the move to MicroStation CONNECT Edition, please complete this form to have someone contact you to provide advice and assistance.

MicroStation CONNECT Edition offers advanced 3D modeling tools for enabling you to carry out your complex workflows with greater flexibility and ease than MicroStation V8i. 

If you are a V8i user working on 3D modeling and are reluctant to upgrade to the CONNECT Edition because you don’t have enough time to learn the new tools, then we can understand.

MicroStation CONNECT Edition has the perfect solution for you. All the legacy V8i 3D modeling tools are made available in the CONNECT Edition so that you can switch immediately, without any disruptions in your ongoing workflows and benefit from its 64-bit architecture. 

Accessing your familiar V8i tools in the CONNECT Edition is simple. You can take advantage of the V8i Task Theme in the CONNECT Edition or you can access the Legacy tools in the Tool Boxes dialog. You can see your ongoing V8i projects through in the CONNECT Edition, using the familiar legacy tools from V8i.

communities.bentley.com/.../7144.Video-1_2D00_Setup-Legacy-3D-tools.mp4

For your new projects you can use MicroStation CONNECT Edition’s parametric modeling tools and work with smarter data. MicroStation CONNECT Edition is better equipped to handle wide range of mesh, solid, surface, and parametric modelling capabilities and is used by many successful design teams across the world.

In MicroStation CONNECT Edition, whether you are using the legacy tools or the new 3D modeling tools, you will benefit from the 64-bit architecture, and enjoy much faster processing and better handling of large and complex datasets. 

The video shown below demonstrates the smoother and faster operations of the 64-bit CONNECT Edition and the use and creation of rich parametric data with Constraints and Item Types associated.

communities.bentley.com/.../7612.Video-2-_2D00_-64-bit-architecture.mp4

Please feel free to get in touch with us to ask questions, make suggestions or give feedback on how this works out for you.

If you need to speak to a Bentley expert regarding moving to the CONNECT Edition please complete this form to have someone contact you to provide advice and assistance.

The MicroStation CONNECT Edition is a continuously evolving application. With its frequent updates, CONNECT Edition introduces new features and enhancements that are driven mostly by user feedbacks and forum discussions to better serve the Bentley user community. Each new feature or enhancement serves to enhance workflows and speeds up project delivery.

However, it is undeniable that MicroStation V8i has proven to be a very stable platform for design and engineering projects for Bentley users for over 10 years now. Many users are reluctant to let go of the comfort of using their familiar MicroStation V8i and upgrade to MicroStation CONNECT Edition. But nonetheless, we should keep in mind that future development of V8i has ceased. With changing technologies, users need advanced features and services that increase productivity, ease workflows and cut down project delivery time significantly.

As an early adopter you already understand of the benefits of using the CONNECT Edition of MicroStation. But, not everyone in your organization understands its advantages yet. You, as an early adopter, can evangelize CONNECT Edition in your organization. Here is how you can help your colleagues who are working on V8i benefit from and gradually make the transition.

As with any new technology or idea, getting colleagues on board is bound to trigger some resistance in the beginning. The intensity of resistance however depends on the skills they have, how they relate to each other and you in the organization and what the processes and principles are that influence their behavior.

Here are a few links and tools to help you understand your role and prepare a strategy that will work for colleagues in your organization:

https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/how-to-lead-change-in-your-organization.html

https://hbr.org/2015/03/convincing-skeptical-employees-to-adopt-new-technology

You must strategize your approach based on the different roles of colleagues:

1.    CAD managers:

Migration Plan:

To win over the CAD managers, you can help them learn how to build a successful migration plan. The Configuration Assistant (previously known as the Configuration Migration Wizard) that is built into MicroStation CONNECT Edition can really simplify and speed-up the process of migrating legacy V8i workspaces.

Understanding Configuration Assistant

No need to migrate all V8i projects in one go

Hybrid Installations:

MicroStation CONNECT Edition can coexist with MicroStation V8i on the same workstation. Such a parallel installation allows the user to work on the version required for each project or client. New projects can be delivered using CONNECT Edition while completing existing ones using V8i. As an early adopter of CONNECT Edition you can assist other V8i users to learn about and master advanced CONNECT Edition features.

        Installation of both versions on the same machine eases the adoption of CONNECT Edition allowing users to become familiar with the new user interface and capabilities while continuing productively on V8i.

5 Easy Steps to Create a Hybrid WorkSet in the MicroStation CONNECT Edition.

Subscription Entitlement:

The new Entitlement Management Service replaces the older SELECT Server License management system and provides enhanced security and optimized value for Bentley subscription. Things to be aware of include:

• It requires users to sign in to CONNECTION Client to activate and access MicroStation
• License activation keys are no longer required to activate MicroStation
• Account administrators will have the ability to receive notifications and create alerts to manage unintended use of term licenses
• Users can be alerted prior to reaching the product usage threshold in order not to generate a term license

         Subscription Entitlement Service

         Entitlement Management Service

2.    Colleagues:

Different colleagues will react differently to change. Irrespective of the personality type of a colleague, CONNECT Edition has something for everyone. Focus on discussing the most used features in V8i and their workflows in CONNECT. Evangelize features in CONNECT that are inferior in V8i or missing completely. The following are a few to consider:

• Sheet tracking and ordering
• Tables
• Item types and property- driven reporting and annotation
• Explorer
• Parametric modeling, parametric cells
• Reality modeling support for ContextCapture reality meshes
• CONNECT services like Issue Resolution Service, Standards Sharing, ProjectWise Share, and CONNECT Advisor
• Online help
• Bing Maps can be used as background images
• Expanded interoperability with support for multiple file formats and versions
  
  

For all colleagues, especially the reluctant ones, it is best to get them acquainted with CONNECT Advisor and the Help Tab in the CONNECT Edition. Along with Help, CONNECT Advisor will provide easy access to training content, blog articles, YouTube videos and a lot more to the new users and make them feel empowered.

Identify the pain points of the V8i users and assist them with your expertise in CONNECT Edition. For example, a colleague working on creating and maintaining bills of material and quantity take-offs will save time using the place tables tool in CONNECT Edition. If the project demands being on V8i you can assist them with the creation of advanced tables in CONNECT which they can import in their V8i DGNs and print.

You can give a brown bag presentation of ‘Top cool features in MicroStation CONNECT Edition’. You can also introduce users to a few features of CONNECT to start with, ask them to take advantage of the mixed environment on their workstations and get hands-on experience with the CONNECT Edition features in their spare time.

Tech Talk: 3 Steps to Upgrading to MicroStation CONNECT Edition

Best of MicroStation CONNECT Edition Updates

MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update13 - Improved Quality Release 

Lead by example– You can of course set an example for others with your own work on the CONNECT Edition. Share your experiences and wins with colleagues. Expect to be called for help when a colleague is trying out a feature in CONNECT.

3.    Management

Some pointers to bring to the attention of management:

• No additional costs involved
• CONNECT Edition tools can be used to boost productivity and greatly reduce delivery time
• Since all design files are forward and backward compatible, even if we must work with older-formats for project deliverables, CONNECT Edition can be used right away for faster, smarter work
• Take advantage of new valuable CONNECT services and be leaders in the industry
• With Entitlement Management Service, you can more effectively monitor and manage license usage and utilization.

If you are or wish to be a MicroStation CONNECT Edition evangelist in your organization, and you find this article helpful, please connect with us for more information or assistance with MicroStation CONNECT Edition. Please find a template email you can use to communicate with key people in your organization and a slide deck that can be used for brownbag presentations in your organization.

With MicroStation CONNECT Edition, we are constantly striving to ease our users’ workflows and continue to improve their productivity with every subsequent update. Better performance is one of the key areas of focus for MicroStation CONNECT Edition. Something as simple as the reducing the file open time significantly will greatly impact our users working with large datasets using integrated workflows.

In this blog we have put together a simple comparative study that exhibits the effectiveness of CONNECT Edition over V8i with respect to the File Opening Time, and we are pleased to announce that MicroStation CONNECT Edition is better equipped to open larger datasets, faster, as compared to MicroStation V8i.

Following are the specifications that we have considered for the test:

We have used MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 13 & MicroStation V8i SS4.

 Chart Content: The below chart depicts the size of files used, corresponding element count and the file opening time for CONNECT Edition and V8i

We repeated the test 5-6 times for individual datasets and the average file opening time was considered to plot the below graph. The dataset used in the test includes a large variety of element types.The elements were copied multiple times to create a substantial file size. This study explicitly intends to draw users’ focus to the File Open Time for DGN files in both applications.

Graph Content:

• X Axis: No of Elements
• Y Axis: Time (In Seconds)

Fig 1: Dataset (Click on the image for a zoomed in view)

Although the initial readings are mostly seen overlapping, the graph above speaks of the steadfast and rapid sustainability that CONNECT Edition shows while dealing with multiple elements and its performance taking off after a certain file size.

Fig 2: Dataset

The tides are noticeably turning when the axis hits a 5 Million elements count, the advantage of CONNECT Edition kicks in and the File Open Time radically reduces thereafter (Refer Fig 2.). With 10 Million elements, the time reserved is two folds more for MicroStationV8i SS4 as equated to CONNECT Edition Update 13. In addition, the cross over point in the in-set graph is shown for better understanding of the element count. This data gives you a broad overview of how CONNECT Edition compares to V8i with respect to the time taken to open a DGN. Nonetheless, each file is unique in its kind and the result may differ sometimes. With the 64-bit architecture, CONNECT Edition is stimulated to pitch higher tolerance to the file memory. All your extra file load time can now be put to rest.

These tests were performed specifically for File Open time. Incase if you want us to test any specific datasets that you are working with or wish to suggest scenarios that we can test for similar performance study, please feel free to comment or connect with us.

The concept of better performance has always been a prime motive for us at MicroStation, giving our users a better performance with every subsequent update. With the recent development in the Element Properties Dialog, users will now experience higher productivity when using larger datasets with maximum number of elements.

This blog elaborates the study conducted for the Element Properties Dialog which shows significant enhancement in performance of MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 13 over Update 12. With improved fixes, update 13 helps in reducing the time required to open the Properties Dialog pop-up.

Following are the specifications that were used for the test.

We have made use of both MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 12 and Update 13 respectively.

 Chart Content: The chart below represents the various datasets used from multiple verticals showing the time required to open the Element properties dialog pop-up in Update 12 and Update 13.

We repeated the test 5-6 times for each dataset and the average loading time was considered to plot the graph below. The dataset used for the tests include a large variety of properties for every element to yield higher output. For example, the dataset for Model with Item types has 4421 elements which includes 364 I-beams, 826 Nuts and bolts with a file size of 7.50 MB. This study clearly aims to educate our users on the Properties dialog pop-up loading time in both Update 12 and Update 13.

Graph Content:

• X Axis: Datasets used
• Y Axis: Time (In Seconds)

Fig 1: Properties Dialog Open Time (Click on the image for a zoomed in view)

It is observed that in the Building Model 1 and IFC File dataset, the time taken was substantially less showing a difference. MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 13 shows better results as compared to Update 12. The advantage of Update 13 now comes up when the elements properties increase in the Building Model and Plant Model Dataset.

These tests were performed specifically for time required to execute Element Properties Dialog pop-up in MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 12 and in Update 13. In case you want us to test any specific datasets that you are working with or wish to suggest scenarios that we can test for similar performance study, please feel free to comment or connect with us.