Before you start: First, you have to attach the cell library that contains the cell you want to place, or the cell has to be in a cell library located in the directory defined in the user configuration variable MS_CELLLIST. For this tip, the cell we will be using is in the attached cell library.

Here’s how you add a cell to a tool box in MicroStation V8:
1. Locate the cell you would like to add to a button on a tool box. We will use “LT7″.

2. Go to Workspace|Customize to open the Customize dialog box. Under the Tool Boxes tab, select “Create Tool Box” from the Edit Tool Box drop-down menu.

3. In the Create Tool Box dialog box, enter the name you wish to give your custom tool box. For the example we used “MyFavoriteCell”. Press <OK> when done.

4. Now, click on <Insert>. This opens the Insert Tool dialog box.

5. This is the fun part! Create an icon for your new tool box command.

6. At the bottom of the Insert Tool dialog box, there are three text fields. In the Tool Tip field,

enter the message you want to come up when you hover your mouse over the button. In the Description field, enter a few words about what this button does. This is the text that shows up in MicroStation’s status bar when you hover over the icon. The third field, the Key-in field, is the one that does the hard work. Add the following key-in: “ac=LT7;place cell” ["ac=LT7" makes the cell we want to place the active cell. The semicolon separates the commands. "Place cell" is the key-in that allows you to execute the place cell command.]

7. Click <OK> to accept the information. The information about your custom button is added to the tool list under the Edit Tool Box drop-down and a tool bar is created. Click on your newly created icon and see the fruits of your work! Feel free to add more cells if you’d like.

As the first step in converting a 2D cell library into a 3D cell library, attach the 2D cell library to a 2D MicroStation file.

Now from MicroStation’s main menu bar choose “File | Export | 2D” if converting a 3D cell library to 2D or “File | Export | 3D” if converting a 2D cell library to 3D.

Select “File | Export | 3D” to convert a 2D cell library to 3D.

The “Save 2D as 3D” or “Save 3D as 2D” dialog box opens (depending on what you chose earlier). In the example below, we have chosen to convert a 2D cell library to a 3D cell library.

The “Save 2D as 3D” dialog box

Navigate to the directory you want to save your new 2D or 3D cell library to and give the cell library a name. If you use a different directory than the original cell library, you can give it the same name.

Now go to the section of the dialog box labeled “Selection Option”. Click the drop-down button next to the “Source” label. Choose “Attached Cell Library” from the drop-down list.

Select the “Attached Cell Library” option to convert the desired cell library.

Now click the <OK> button on the dialog box, and your cell library will be converted. Easy as pie.

MicroStation departments sometimes receive design files from external sources containing cells which do not exist in their cell libraries. Until now, getting these cells out of design files and into cell libraries has been a manual, painstaking process. For years, MicroStation users have been clamoring for a means to extract every cell from a design file and place them in a cell library automatically and without duplicates. When I was Axiom’s Director of Technical Support, I talked to many customers who needed to be able to do this.

CellManager’s “Extract feature” solves the above problem for you automatically. The following steps demonstrate how simple it is to do this with CellManager

1. From the main CellManager dialog box, click on <Extract…>.

   

2. When the “Extract” dialog box comes up, you simply tell CellManager which design file contains the cells you want extracted by clicking on the <Select> button next to the “Source Design File” field. You then select the name of a cell seed file and the name of the new cell library you’d like to create by clicking on the <Select> button next to their respective fields. After you’ve filled in the fields, press <Extract>.

   

   CellManager will do the rest automatically. CellManager will only extract one copy of each cell that has the same name. CellManager gives every extracted cell a description of “IMPORTED CELL”. Remember: cells in design files do not contain descriptions; MicroStation automatically removes descriptions from library cells when they are placed in design files.

3. Click on <OK> when the “Process complete” dialog box comes up.

   

1. From the Axiom menu in MicroStation, select CellManager.

   

2. Select the cell library from which you’d like to create a cell library notebook.

   

3. Depending upon whether the cell library is 2D or 3D, CellManager chooses the appropriate seed file to generate a “work” file — the design file in which CellManager draws your cell library notebook before printing or plotting.

   

4. Next, choose a work file or accept the default name that displays when you put the cursor in the “Work File:” field. The <Select…> button next to the field lets you do this graphically.

   

5. On the main CellManager dialog box, click the <Draw Pages…> button. You’ll see the “Draw Pages” dialog box appear.

   

6. From its “Configure” menu, select “Settings…”.

   

7. Then select the radio button for “Plotter” and click the <Select…> button next to the “Config File:” field to select a plot driver that will allow MicroStation to plot (or print) to the device of your choice.

   

8. Select the radio button next to “Page”. This lets you select the number of cells you’d like CellManager to plot per page. The choices are 1, 4, 9, 16 and 25. Once you’ve made your choice, click on the <Close> button.

   

9. From the “Draw Pages” dialog box, click on the “Draw Pages” button. In seconds, CellManager generates a design file containing all the cells in your cell library and any detail information you might want. Click the <OK> button on the “Process complete” box when CellManager is done with the process.

   

10. Now, from the “Draw Pages” dialog box, click on the <Create Plots> button. Click on the <OK> button when the “Process complete” box appears.

    

11. Next, click on the <Submit Plots> button. Once the submittal process is completed, click the <OK> button on the “Process complete” box.

    

12. In minutes, you will have a cell library notebook complete with detailed information about each cell including a table of contents showing each cell name, description and the page in the notebook which contains it.

    

CellManager boosts your MicroStation productivity in many other ways. It is capable of copying cells from one library to another without opening a single design file, rescaling some or all cells in a cell library at the touch of a button, quickly locating and eliminating duplicate cells in cell libraries, renaming, deleting and modifying cells while viewing them graphically and much more.

The first step is to open a MicroStation file with dimensions (either 2D or 3D) that match the cell library you want to convert. Then, attach the cell library you want to convert. For example, if you want to convert a 2D cell library to 3D, open a 2D design file and attach it.

As the first step in converting a 2D cell library into a 3D cell library, attach the 2D cell library to a 2D MicroStation file.

Now from MicroStation’s main menu bar choose “File | Export | 2D” if converting a 3D cell library to 2D or “File | Export | 3D” if converting a 2D cell library to 3D.

Select “File | Export | 3D” to convert a 2D cell library to 3D.

The “Save 2D as 3D” or “Save 3D as 2D” dialog box opens (depending on what you chose earlier). In the example below, we have chosen to convert a 2D cell library to a 3D cell library.

The “Save 2D as 3D” dialog box.

Navigate to the directory you want to save your new 2D or 3D cell library to and give the cell library a name. If you use a different directory than the original cell library, you can give it the same name.

Now go to the section of the dialog box labeled “Selection Option”. Click the drop-down button next to the “Source” label. Choose “Attached Cell Library” from the drop-down list.

Select the “Attached Cell Library” option to convert the desired cell library.

Now click the <OK> button on the dialog box, and your cell library will be converted. Easy as pie.

Press <OK> to convert the 2D cell library to a 3D cell library.

In this tip, I detail how to streamline the usually time-consuming task of editing cells in cell libraries. First, I’ll discuss how to edit a cell using MicroStation alone – tedious! Then I’ll guide you, step by step, on how to do it with Axiom’s CellManager — ridiculously fast and easy!

1. Using MicroStation, when you want to edit an existing cell in a cell library, the steps involved are numerous and, to me, costly in terms of wasted time. Here’s how it’s done using MicroStation alone:
2. Assuming the appropriate cell library is already attached, select the cell you wish to modify.
3. Place it in a design file.
4. Note down the cell’s description. You will need to know what the description of the cell is so that after you modify the cell and place it back in its cell library, it will have the same description as before (cells in design files don’t retain their descriptions).
5. Drop the cell.
6. Make your modifications – adding, deleting or modifying elements.
7. Define your cell origin again with the “Define Cell Origin” tool.
8. Place a fence around the elements that will comprise your new cell.
9. Open the Cell Library dialog box (Element | Cells).
10. Delete the old cell. Again, be sure to write down the cell’s description before you delete it!
11. In the Cell Library dialog box, click on <Create…>.
12. Name the cell and – from your notes – re-enter the old description.

I’ve always considered this 11-step process time-consuming and indirect.

Axiom’s CellManager simplifies this immensely. Here’s how easy it is to do with CellManager:

1. Start CellManager by selecting it from the Axiom menu. (Note: For your convenience, CellManager will work on your attached cell library by default, but you can always have CellManager work on any cell library you like by simply choosing that library from CellManager’s main dialog box.).

   

2. Click on CellManager’s <Manage…> button to display all the cells in the attached cell library.

   

3. Once the “Manage” dialog box appears, select the cell you wish to edit.

   

4. 4. Click on <Edit…>.

   

5. You’ll notice that the “Manage“ dialog box temporarily disappears, and the cell you selected now appears in a temporary design file ready for you to edit adding and modifying elements as you please. When you’re done modifying the cell, click on <OK>.

   

Whammo! Your cell has been updated in your cell library. There’s no writing down cell descriptions, carefully placing new cell origins, placing fences, deleting old versions of cells, ad absurdum. All you need to do is open CellManager, select your library, click on <Manage…> and then click on <Edit…>. CellManager has made what should have been an easy process into an easy process!

Click here to find out more about CellManager.

Join the forum discussion on this post

By Eiren K. Smith,Vice President for Technology, Axiom

In this tip, I detail how to streamline the usually time-consuming task of editing cells in cell libraries. First, I’ll discuss how to edit a cell using MicroStation alone – tedious! Then I’ll guide you, step by step, on how to do it with Axiom’s CellManager — ridiculously fast and easy!

1. Using MicroStation, when you want to edit an existing cell in a cell library, the steps involved are numerous and, to me, costly in terms of wasted time. Here’s how it’s done using MicroStation alone:
2. Assuming the appropriate cell library is already attached, select the cell you wish to modify.
3. Place it in a design file.
4. Note down the cell’s description. You will need to know what the description of the cell is so that after you modify the cell and place it back in its cell library, it will have the same description as before (cells in design files don’t retain their descriptions).
5. Drop the cell.
6. Make your modifications – adding, deleting or modifying elements.
7. Define your cell origin again with the “Define Cell Origin” tool.
8. Place a fence around the elements that will comprise your new cell.
9. Open the Cell Library dialog box (Element | Cells).
10. Delete the old cell. Again, be sure to write down the cell’s description before you delete it!
11. In the Cell Library dialog box, click on <Create…>.
12. Name the cell and – from your notes – re-enter the old description.

I’ve always considered this 11-step process time-consuming and indirect.

Axiom’s CellManager simplifies this immensely. Here’s how easy it is to do with CellManager:

1. Start CellManager by selecting it from the Axiom menu. (Note: For your convenience,CellManager will work on your attached cell library by default, but you can always haveCellManager work on any cell library you like by simply choosing that library fromCellManager’s main dialog box.).
2. Click on CellManager’s <Manage…> button to display all the cells in the attached cell library.
3. Once the “Manage” dialog box appears, select the cell you wish to edit.
4. 4. Click on <Edit…>.
5. You’ll notice that the “Manage“ dialog box temporarily disappears, and the cell you selected now appears in a temporary design file ready for you to edit adding and modifying elements as you please. When you’re done modifying the cell, click on <OK>.

Whammo! Your cell has been updated in your cell library. There’s no writing down cell descriptions, carefully placing new cell origins, placing fences, deleting old versions of cells, ad absurdum. All you need to do is open CellManager, select your library, click on <Manage…> and then click on <Edit…>. CellManager has made what should have been an easy process into an easy process!

How do you convert a MicroStation V7 3D cell library to a V7 2D cell library and vice-versa? Easy! Just use MicroStation’s “Export” function.

The first step is to open a MicroStation file with dimensions (either 2D or 3D) that match the cell library you want to convert. Then, attach the cell library you want to convert. For example, if you want to convert a 2D cell library to 3D, open a 2D design file and attach it.

As the first step in converting a 2D cell library into a 3D cell library, attach the 2D cell library to a 2D MicroStation file.

Now from MicroStation’s main menu bar choose “File | Export | 2D” if converting a 3D cell library to 2D or “File | Export | 3D” if converting a 2D cell library to 3D.

Select “File | Export | 3D” to convert a 2D cell library to 3D.

The “Save 2D as 3D” or “Save 3D as 2D” dialog box opens (depending on what you chose earlier). In the example below, we have chosen to convert a 2D cell library to a 3D cell library.

The “Save 2D as 3D” dialog box.

Navigate to the directory you want to save your new 2D or 3D cell library to and give the cell library a name. If you use a different directory than the original cell library, you can give it the same name.

Now go to the section of the dialog box labeled “Selection Option”. Click the drop-down button next to the “Source” label. Choose “Attached Cell Library” from the drop-down list.

Select the “Attached Cell Library” option to convert the desired cell library.

Now click the <OK> button on the dialog box, and your cell library will be converted. Easy as pie.

Press <OK> to convert the 2D cell library to a 3D cell library.