CAD/BIM Tips & Tricks
MicroStation Key-In Commands Save You Time
80+ Shortcuts for MicroStation, OpenRoads, OpenBridge and GEOPAK
Published 9 November 2023
Updated 5 March 2024
Some folks call them keyboard shortcuts, others refer to them as key-ins. Regardless of what you call them, they’re huge, handy time-savers and are luckily supported in all past and present versions of MicroStation® such as V8i and CONNECT.
Although a graphical interface is great for many things, sometimes it’s faster to use two-letter MicroStation key-ins to adjust settings. For example, to set the active scale to 2.0, you can simply type “as=2” in the key-in browser. MicroStation has quite an extensive list of these two-letter key-ins for setting all manner of things from the active level and color, which just about everyone is familiar with, to saving or activating views.
The following is a helpful list of over 80 two-letter MicroStation key-in commands organized by category. (Do not use a space before the equal sign for these key-ins.)
Click here to download a PDF version of this list.
View Manipulation
| Key-In | Description |
|---|---|
| OF= | Turn off levels by number |
| ON= | Turn on levels by number |
| RV= | Rotate view(s) about center |
| WO= | Set view origin |
| SV= | Save view |
| VI= | Attach saved view |
| DV= | Delete saved view |
Text and Dimensioning
| Key-In | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| FT= | Active font | |
| DF= | Opens font dialog box | |
| TH= | Active height | |
| TW= | Active width | |
| TX= | Active height and width | |
| LL= | Active line length | |
| LS= | Active line spacing | |
| TB= | Tab spacing for importing text | |
| TI= | Tag Increment amount | |
| LD= | Dimension level | |
| TV= | Upper and lower dimension tolerance limits | |
Settings
| Key-In | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| AA= | Active angle | |
| AS= | Active scale | |
| XS= | Active x scale | |
| YS= | Active y scale | |
| ZS= | Active z scale | |
| GU= | Master/Grid | |
| GR= | Reference grid | |
| KY= | (Snap) Divisor | |
| UR= | (Unit Lock) Distance | |
Set Element and Pattern Attributes
| Key-In | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| AP= | Active pattern cell | |
| LV= | Active level | |
| CO= | Active color | |
| PA= | Active pattern angle | |
| LC= | Active line style | |
| PD= | Active pattern spacing | |
| WT= | Active line weight | |
| PS= | Active pattern scale | |
Precision Input
| Key-In | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| XY= | < x,y,z > from origin along design files axes | |
| DI= | < distance, direction > from last data or tentative point relative to view axes | |
| DL= | < Dx, Dy, Dz > from last data or tentative point in design coordinates | |
| DX= | < Dx, Dy, Dz > from last data or tentative point in view coordinates | |
| AX= | Distance from Auxiliary Coordinate System (ACS) origin | |
| AD= | Distance from last data or tentative point in ACS coordinates | |
Cells
| Key-In | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| AC= | Set active cell and select place active cell tool with relative off | |
| AR= | Set active cell and select place active cell tool with relative on | |
| CM= | Place active cell matrix tool | |
| PT= | Active point | |
| LT= | Active terminator | |
| TS= | Terminator scale | |
| CR= | Edit cell information | |
| CD= | Delete cell from cell library | |
| CC= | Create cell | |
3D Modeling
| Key-In | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| DP= | Set the display depth from 0.0 of view’s z-axis | |
| DD= | Distance to move display depth from current values | |
| AZ= | Set the active depth from 0.0 of the view’s z-axis | |
| DZ= | Distance to move active depth from current value | |
| SX= | Save ACS | |
| RX= | Attach ACS | |
| PX= | Delete ACS | |
File Management
| Key-In | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| RD= | Open design file | |
| XD= | Open design file with active design’s view configuration | |
| RC= | Attach cell library | |
| RF= | Attach reference file | |
| DR= | Displays contents of a text file | |
| CT= | Attach color table | |
| AM= | Attach and activate menu | |
| AT= | Activate tutorial | |
Database
| Key-In | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| AE= | Define active entry | |
| DA= | Displayable attribute type | |
| DB= | Attach control file | |
| DS= | Specify fence filter | |
| FI= | Set database row as active entity | |
| RA= | Set attribute review selection criteria | |
| RS= | Name report table | |
Digitizing
| Key-In | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| SD= | Active stream delta | |
| ST= | Active stream tolerance | |
User Command
| Key-In | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| UC= | Activate user command | |
| UCC= | Compile user command | |
| UCI= | User command index | |
| OX | Retrieve user command index | |
Other
| Key-In | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| EL= | Create element list file | |
| FF= | Copy fence contents to new design file | |
| GO= | Global origin | |
| SF= | Move fence contents to new design file | |
We hope this list helps you save a ton of time. To discover more time-saving tools for MicroStation, visit Axiom.com or call 727-442-7774 to chat with a knowledgeable Service Consultant about your specific situation.
