Guide to Generating Drawings
Guide to Generating Drawings
Guide to Generating Drawings

Visible Edges DGN Files

You can create a visible edges DGN file — a 2D or 3D DGN file that contains the edges visible in a 3D view (that is, with those edges that would be hidden, removed).

To export a visible edges DGN file
  1. From the File menu's Export submenu, choose Visible Edges.
    The Export Visible Edges dialog box opens.

    Export Visible Edges dialog box

      

  2. On the General tab, choose the view from the View option menu.

  3. On the General tab, choose Exact from the Method option menu.

  4. (Usually recommended) To create a visible edges DGN file, on the Output tab, turn Store in Active Design off.
    or
    To place the visible edges in the active DGN file, turn Store in Active Design on.

  5. If the visible edges are to be saved in a separate file (that is, Store in Active Design is off), on the Output tab, set File Dimension to choose if the visible edges DGN file will be 2D or 3D.

  6. Adjust other settings as desired.

  7. Click the Export button.
    The Save Visible Edges Design File As dialog box opens. By default, the visible edges file is given the same filename as the active design file but with the suffix “.hln.”

  8. (Optional) Change the filename and/or choose a different directory.

  9. Click OK.

    10. You can export multiple visible edges DGN files using key-ins. See To export multiple visible edges DGN files.

To export multiple visible edges DGN files
  1. Key in EDGES PROCESS <file_name> [switches]

Alternative Method — To export multiple visible edges DGN files
  1. Create an Input command file.

  2. Key in EDGES BATCH <input_command_file>
    In the above procedures:
    <file_name> is the DGN file from which the information for the visible edges file is obtained. The wildcard characters “*” and “?” can be used to specify more than one file. Unless a complete path is specified, the "Design Files "configuration variable (MS_DEF) is used to locate the DGN file(s).
    <input_command_file> is the name of the input command file containing the processing details, such as file names and switches.
    Unless a switch(es) is specified, the default settings set forth in the following table are used to control the conversion.

    Switch

    Effect

    Default (switch not present)

    -B[D|V]

    Process the entire DGN file (-BD), or the view only (-BV).

    In perspective views, all view boundaries (side, front, back) are always applied. For parallel views this option enables processing of the entire file without clipping to any of the view planes.

    -ED[2|3]

    Specifies whether a 2D or a 3D visible edges DGN file is to be created (if -D is not present).

    Create a 3D visible edges DGN file.

    -EF<edgesfile>

    Specifies the filename and path of the visible edges DGN file.

    Name is the same as the DGN file with the suffix “.hln” saved in MicroStation's “out/dgn” directory.

    -H, -HOFF

    Enables/disables output of hidden edges

    -HOFF

    -HC<color>, -HC

    Where <color> is specified, hidden edges are given that color. If no color is specified, they have the same color as the source.

    -HC

    -HL<level>, -HL

    Where <level> is specified, hidden edges are placed on that level. If no level is specified, they are placed on the same level as the source.

    -HL

    -HS<line_style>, -HS

    Where <line_style> is specified, hidden edges are given that line style. If no line style is specified, they have the same line style as the source.

    -HS

    -HW<line_weight>, -HW

    Where <line_weight> is specified, hidden edges are given that line weight. If no line weight is specified, they have the same line weight as the source.

    -HW

    -I, -IOFF

    Enable, disable, calculation of intersections between elements.

    -I

    -M[TRACE|EXACT|FAST|MODELER]

    Selects calculation method for edges. Corresponds to the Method settings in the General tab of the Export Visible Edges dialog box.

    -MEXACT

    -A[L|M|H]

    Selects low, medium, or high, accuracy for spline surfaces when -MEXACT is set.

    -AM

    -PAUSE, -NOPAUSE

    Activates/Deactivates the pause (for OK) dialog box between views.

    -NOPAUSE

    -R, -ROFF

    Enable, disable, spline surface rule lines.

    -ROFF

    -REMOVESMOOTH, -NOREMOVESMOOTH

    Removes/leaves edges between tangent faces when -MMODELER is set.

    -NOREMOVESMOOTH

    -RX<resolution>

    Sets the x resolution for Fast method (-MFAST).

    -RX1000

    -RY<resolution>

    Sets the y resolution for Fast method (-MFAST).

    -RY1000

    -S<saved_view>

    Select a saved view. This view is activated (“attached”).

    The view is used in its current position.

    -TCB

    Instead of using defaults, use settings from the DGN file.

    -V<view_number>

    Visible edges are created from the contents of the specified view.

    -V1, visible edges are created from the contents of View 1.

    -VC<color>, -VC

    Where <color> is specified, visible edges are given that color. If no color is specified, they have the same color as the source.

    -VC

    -VL<level>, -VL

    Where <level> is specified, visible edges are placed on that level. If no level is specified, they are placed on the same level as in the source.

    -VL

    -VS<line_style>, -VS

    Where <line_style> is specified, visible edges are given that line style. If no line style is specified, they have the same line style as the source.

    -VS

    -VW<line_weight>, -VW

    Where <line_weight> is specified, visible edges are given that line weight. If no line weight is specified, they have the same line weight as the source.

    -VW

    -W<working_memory>

    Sets working memory in KB. For example, to set 1 MB of working memory, enter -W1024.

    -W0 indicates that the application should use as much memory as needed to compute the entire picture in one step. For default resolutions of -RX1000 and -RY1000, this uses 4 MB.

    -W4000

    -T<mu:su>

    Sets the tolerance, in working units, for certain curved surface operations.

    -SHOWTEXT-PROCESSTEXT

    Forces all text and dimensions to show, even if hidden by surfaces.

    Processes text and dimensions like other geometry (may be hidden).

    -PROCESSTEXT

Input command file

The input command file is a text file in which each line consists of the filename of the DGN file to process followed by any switches. The syntax for each line is:


<dgn_file> [switch(es)]

dgn_file is the name of the DGN file. If the path is not specified, the file is searched for in the directory specified by the MS_DEF configuration variable.

The following sample input command file specifies that visible edges DGN files be created of views 1 and 2 of the DGN file “test1.dgn” and “test2.dgn” and of View 1 of the DGN file “test2.dgn:”


test1.dgn -V1 -EFc:/Bentley/Workspace/projects/examples/generic/out/testv1.hln
test1.dgn -V2 -EFc:/Bentley/Workspace/projects/examples/generic/out/testv2.hln
test2.dgn -EFc:/Bentley/Workspace/projects/examples/generic/out/test2.hln