Managing Levels

The Level Manager dialog box is used to create and delete levels, modify level attributes, and define filters for controlling the display of groups of levels based on their attributes.

To open the Level Manager dialog box

1. Click the Active Level field on the status bar.
   or
   From the Settings menu 's Level submenu, choose Manager.

Creating and deleting levels

To create a new level

1. From the Level Manager dialog box Levels menu, choose New.
   or
   Click the New Level icon.
   A new level is created in the level list.

   Level Manager dialog box with new level displayed



2. Fill in the new level name.


3. Change any of the other attributes by clicking the appropriate column.


4. Press Enter.
   The new level is created.

Alternative Method — To create a new level

1. From the Level Manager dialog box, select the master file in which you want to add a level.


2. Right-click in the Level list section.
   A pop-up menu displays.


3. Choose New.


4. Fill in the new level name.


5. Press Enter.
   The new level is created.


6. Change any of the other attributes by clicking the appropriate column.

The MS_LEVEL_SEED_LEVEL_NAME configuration variable can be set to the name of a seed level. This can be a level in a the master file or a level in a DGNLIB library file. The MS_LEVEL_CREATE_FROM_SEED_ATTRIBUTE_LIST configuration variable can be set to control the attributes of the seed level that are copied into a new level.

In MicroStation versions prior to 8.1.2, when a new level was created in a design file, that level was automatically set to ON in all design files that referenced the original design file. From 8.1.2 on, the MS_REF_NEWLEVELDISPLAY configuration variable can be used to control how referenced files display in the master file. If the variable is set to 1, newly created levels appear in all files that reference the master file. If the variable is set to 0 or not set (default), newly created levels do not appear in any files referenced to the master file. Setting this variable only affects the behavior of levels of DGN files that are created in MicroStation V8.1.2 and later versions. DWG files and earlier versions of MicroStation DGN files do not store the necessary creation time of the level.

To copy levels to a different file

1. From the Level Manager dialog box, select the level(s) to be copied in the level list.


2. From the Edit menu, choose Copy.
   or
   Right-click and choose Copy from the pop-up menu.


3. Open a model in a different DGN file.


4. Open the Level Manager.


5. From the categories list, select the model.


6. Move the cursor to the level list, and right-click.
   A pop-up menu displays.


7. From the Edit menu, choose Paste.
   or
   Right-click and choose Paste from the pop-up menu.
   The level appears on the level list.

To delete a level

1. From the Level Manager dialog box, select the level to be deleted in the level list.
   Only levels in the open DGN file can be deleted.


2. Press the <Delete> key.
   or
   From the Edit menu, choose Delete.
   or
   Right-click and choose Delete from the pop-up menu.

To delete all unused levels

1. In the Level Manager dialog box, from the Edit menu, choose Select All.
   or
   Right-click in the level list, then choose Select All.
   or
   Press <CTRL-A>.


2. Press the <Delete> key.
   or
   From the Edit menu, choose Delete.
   or
   Right-click and choose Delete from the pop-up menu.
   All unused levels are deleted from the open DGN file. Used levels remain unchanged.

To delete all unused levels with a key-in

1. Key in DELETE UNUSED LEVELS.

To import levels

1. From the Level Manager dialog box Levels menu, choose Import.
   The Import Level Library dialog opens. This is a standard file selection dialog box.


2. Click the Level Library to import.
   You can import only “.dgn”, “.dgnlib” or “.csv” files.


3. Click OK.
   The levels in the library are imported into the open DGN file.

To export levels

1. From the Level Manager dialog box Levels menu, choose Export.
   The Export Level Library dialog opens. This is a standard file selection dialog box.


2. Enter a Level Library name to export to, or select an existing Level Library to overwrite.
   You can export only “.dgn”, “.dgnlib” or “.csv” files.


3. Click OK.
   The levels in the open DGN file are exported to the library. If you entered a new library name, it is given a “.dgnlib” extension.

Updating selected levels

You can update selected levels (instead of updating all levels) from a pop-up window in Level Manager.

To update selected levels

1. Select the target from the tree.


2. Select the level(s) to be updated in the level list.


3. Right–click in the level list.
   A pop-up menu opens.


4. Select Update Levels.
   All selected levels are updated in the selected target.

To update selected levels in multiple target files

1. Select the targets in the tree.


2. Select the level(s) to be updated in the level list.


3. Right–click in the level list.
   A pop-up menu opens.


4. Select Update Levels.
   All selected levels are updated in the selected targets only.

Level Usage tab

A Level Usage tab on the Level Properties dialog box provides information on where a level is used and an element count for each type of element that occurs in the level.

Level Usage tab of the Level Properties dialog box

To view the Level Usage of a level

1. From the Level Manager level list, select a level.


2. Right-click on the level
   A pop-up menu opens.


3. Select Properties from the menu.
   The Level Properties dialog box opens.


4. Click on the Usage tab.
   Information about the select level displays.

Modifying level attributes

You can change the properties of a level using the Level Manager dialog box. This includes renaming levels, changing level symbology, and sorting information by column.

An asterisk (*) appears in the Level Manager for a library level or an attachment level, when one or more attribute is modified so it is different from its source.

In DWG workmode, the level symbology overrides are disabled. All elements are displayed with ByLevel element symbology.

To rename a level

1. In the Level Manager dialog box, select the desired level from the level list.


2. From the dialog box's Edit menu, click Rename.
   or
   Right-click the level list and choose Rename from the pop-up menu.


3. Enter the new level name.


4. Press <Enter> to change the name.

To control symbology by level

1. From the Level Manager dialog box Level list, select the desired level or range of levels.


2. From the Symbology options menu, select ByLevel.


3. Adjust the controls by clicking the desired column.
   The Color, Style, and Weight controls are similar to those in the Attributes tool box (see Setting the Active Element Attributes).


4. Click OK to accept the change.


5. Repeat steps 2–3 for each column you wish to change.

To override the display of level symbology

1. From the Level Manager dialog box Level list, select the desired level or range of levels.


2. From the Symbology options menu, select Overrides.


3. Change the desired attributes.


4. If Level Symbology is toggled on (Settings > View Attributes) , each changed level attribute (color, line weight, or line style) displays in place of the elements' own attributes.
   If Level Symbology is toggled off (Settings > View Attributes) , the attributes return to their normal state when Symbology is changed back to ByLevel.


5. Click OK.

To override symbology on levels that exist in multiple files, see Toggling Level Symbology in Level Manager.

To adjust level properties

1. From the Level Manager dialog box Level list, select the desired level.


2. From the Levels menu, choose Properties.
   The Level Properties dialog box opens. The General tab displays basic file information and symbology information (both ByLevel and Overrides). The Styles tab displays Custom Line Style information (both ByLevel and Overrides).


3. Click OK.

To sort levels by column headings

1. From the Level Manager dialog box, click the desired heading to sort the levels in ascending order.


2. Click the desired heading again to sort the levels in descending order.

Defining and deleting filters

Filters are a useful way to group associated levels for the purposes of viewing or not viewing as a group. For example, you might have a DGN file with several hundred levels. Within these levels could be filters for different disciplines such as Civil, Architectural, Mechanical. Within Civil there might be levels for Civil-Existing, Civil-Proposed, Civil-Annotation, etc. You could easily define a filter called Civil that would show only levels that had the word Civil as part of the description.

Filters can be named, saved, and recalled as needed or defined on-the-fly for immediate one-time viewing using the Filter Row in the Level Manager dialog box. Filters can be turned on or off using the Level Display dialog box. Filters can be used to turn on or off levels across a model and all of its attached models. Levels can be filtered by a number of attributes such as filename, color, style, line weight, and level groups, to name a few.

Filters use different expression types depending on the column in which the expression is input. There are three basic forms of expressions: string, integer and Boolean. A syntax is provided to filter attributes with wildcards (i.e., *, ?) similar to Windows Explorer search criteria. In addition, set based operations such as | (or), & (and) , and – (minus) have been added. String expressions are applied to string values. Integer and Boolean values use integer and Boolean expressions. A short description of each follows:

• The string expression format is similar to the format supported in the MS-Windows Explorer's Search dialog. In addition, set based operations such as | (or), & (and) , and – (minus) have been added. String expressions are valid for the Name, Description, File, and Logical columns in the Level Manager dialog box. The following table shows examples of string expressions.

  String Expression	Matches String(s)
  lev	with the substring “lev”
  “lev”	“lev” (exactly)
  *1	ending with “1”
  lev*	starting with “lev”
  1 | 2	with the character “1” or “2”
  1 & 2	with the characters “1” and “2”.
  1 – 2	with the character “1” but not “2”
  *1 | *2 | *3	ending with “1”, “2”, or “3”
  ((1 | 2) – 3)	with the character “1” or “2”, but not the character “3”
  “level 1” | “level 2”	“level 1” or “level 2” (exactly)

• Integer expressions are applied to integer numbers. For example, 1, 10, 15–20. The comparison operators >, >=, <, <=, and != are also supported on integer expressions. Integer expressions are valid for the Number, Color, Style, Weight and Elements in the Level Manager dialog box. The following table shows examples of integer expressions.

  Integer Expression	Matches Integer Value(s)
  1,10	1 and 10
  10, 15–20	10, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20
  <20	less than 20
  <=20	less than or equal to 20
  >10, <20	greater than 10 or less than 20
  >10, <20, !=15	greater than 10 and less than 20 but not equal to 15

• Boolean expressions are applied to check boxes. Boolean expressions can take a value of 0 or 1. Boolean expressions are valid for the Global, Lock, Used, and Library in the Level Manager dialog box. The following table shows Boolean expressions.

  Boolean Expression	Matches Boolean Value
  0	off
  1	on

In the next-to-last sample string expression above, notice the use of “(” and “)” to combine the set operators.

To define a named filter

1. In the Level Manager dialog box, select Filters in the tree view.
   Existing filters are listed.


2. Click the Create Filter icon.
   A new filter appears in the filter list.


3. Type the name of the new filter in the Filter field, and press <Enter>.


4. Click any category and fill in the desired values to define the filter criteria.
   This defines a named filter.

To define a filter “on-the-fly” using the Level Manager dialog box

1. In the Level Manager dialog box, click the List Filter icon.
   A list of filters displays.


2. Click Untitled.
   A blank filter line appears at the top of the filter list.

   Level Manager with blank filter line showing



3. Click any category and fill in the desired values to create the filter criteria.


4. Press <Enter> on each category to accept the entered value.
   The filter is defined. You can toggle on/off this filter by clicking the List Filter icon. The filter remains until you exit MicroStation.


5. (Optional) To name and save the filter, from the Filter menu in the Level Manager dialog box, choose Save As.
   or
   (Optional) Right-click the Level list and choose Save Filter.
   The Filter Save As dialog box opens.


6. (Optional) Enter the name of the filter to be saved in the New field.


7. (Optional) Click OK.
   The filter is saved.

To combine filters using a filter group in the Level Manager dialog box

1. In the Level Manager dialog box, select Filters in the tree view.
   Existing filters are listed.


2. Click the Create Filter icon.
   A new filter appears in the filter list.


3. Enter the name of the new filter in the Filter name field and press Enter.


4. Select the new filter name.


5. Right-click and select Filter Group from the pop-up menu.
   The Filter Groups dialog box opens.

   Filter Groups dialog box



6. From the Edit menu, select Insert Filters.


7. From the Select Filters dialog box, select an existing filter, and click OK.

   Select Filters dialog box



8. In the Filter Groups dialog box, key in a set-based operator: | (or), & (and) , or – (minus).


9. Select another filter.


10. If desired, continue to select filters and operators. Click OK when finished.

    The & (and) can also be used as the intersection of two sets. For example, if Set A contains 1, 2 and 3 and Set B contains 3, 4 and 5 then Set A & B would contain 3.

    The | (or) union of two sets. For example, if Set A contains 1, 2 and 3 and Set B contains 3, 4 and 5 then Set A | B would contain 1,2,3,4,5.

    Level Groups created in MicroStation V8 2004 Edition are not backward compatible to earlier versions of MicroStation. For example, if you create a group to a DGN in MicroStation V8 2004 Edition and a group by the same name that was created in a earlier version already exists, the group will only exist during the current session and will not overwrite the old group.

To define a filter “on-the-fly” using the Level Display dialog box

1. Click the Level Display icon on the Primary Tools tool box.
   The Level Display dialog box opens.


2. Click the List Filter icon (if necessary) to display the filter row. This icon is only active when Show is set to Levels.

   Level Display dialog box with filter row displayed



3. Enter the desired filter criteria in the appropriate categories.


4. Press <Enter> on each category to accept the entered value.
   This creates a filter on-the-fly. You can toggle this filter on/off by clicking the List Filter icon and selecting none. The filter remains until you exit MicroStation.

To save an on-the-fly filter to a named filter from Level Display

1. Right–click the filter row of the Level Display dialog box.
   A pop-up menu displays.


2. Choose Save Filter.
   The dialog opens.


3. Enter the name of the filter to be saved in the New field.


4. Click OK.
   The filter is saved.

To delete a named filter

1. From the Level Manager dialog box, select Filters.
   A list of filters displays in the filter list.


2. Select the filter to be deleted.


3. Click the Delete Filter icon.
   or
   Right-click in the filter list and choose Delete from the pop-up menu.
   or
   From the Edit menu, choose Delete.
   The filter is deleted from the list.

Showing/Hiding columns of information

You can control the types of information that displays on the Level Manager and Level Display dialog boxes. Columns of information can be toggled on or off from the column headings.

To toggle on/off columns of information

1. From the Level Manager dialog box, right-click the column heading row.
   A pop-up list of available columns appears. A check mark appears next to columns that are displayed.


2. Toggle on/off the columns of information you want to display/hide.