Interoperability Enhancements

MicroStation V8, with its new DGN file format, provides unsurpassed interoperability with applications using the DWG file format.

Interoperability with DWG File Format

MicroStation V8 natively reads and writes both the MicroStation V8 DGN file format and the DWG/DXF file formats thus enabling lossless data sharing. You can also directly reference models in DWG files from models in DGN files. MicroStation V8's native DWG support extends to files created with AutoCAD 2002.

The MicroStation V8 DGN file format introduces various data constructs that make data sharing that much more seamless — for example, hatches and region, and meshes and indexed polygons. MicroStation/J (v7) data concepts such as text, tags (or ATTRIBs), dimensions, levels, cells (or BLOCKs), etc. are “expanded.” In fact, the MicroStation V8 DGN file format is a superset of the v7 MicroStation and DWG file formats, collectively.

In MicroStation V8's DWG Restriction workmode, certain functionality is disabled by default in order to restrict MicroStation V8 to creating only information that can be stored in DWG format. When you open a DWG file, DWG Restriction mode is automatically enabled

Open and save options

MicroStation V8 has numerous options that enable you to precisely control the manner in which DWG files are opened and saved and DGN files are saved. These options include the capability to remap design data to different values. While these options provide you with the much flexibility, the default settings should produce satisfactory results in many cases.

Batch Conversion utility

You can convert individual files, or entire directories of files from any of the design file formats supported by MicroStation V8 to any other supported format using the Batch Convert dialog box (Utilities > Batch Converter).

See also:
Using the Batch Converter

Remapping design data

When you save or batch convert files to different formats, you can control how design data such as levels, symbology, fonts, or cell names are remapped to different values. This remapping functionality is useful for:

file format conversion
standards conversion
bulk processing