User’s Guide — RefMerge for V8

Chapter 1 — Introduction

The problems

The job you’ve been working on for the past six weeks is ready to go to print. The customer has requested that it be output on “E” size paper but the best you can do in-house is “D” so you have to take it to a service bureau. You burn a CD, create a backup tape, or transfer files via the Internet. You arrive at the printer and start producing blueprints only to discover that none of the reference files are attached: Uh Oh! You forgot them!

You’ve archived a finished project to tape or burned it onto a CD. Six months later, the customer finally gets around to looking at it and decides to make a few last minute changes. So, you restore from tape and start to work but find that in the past six months you’ve reorganized your reference files and the new border files no longer fit the old drawings! Nothing looks right.

The engineer, in a different office, wants to see 3 sheets from your project. You don’t want to send him the whole project and packaging all the necessary references would be a real pain.

The wrong solutions

You can burn a CD, make a backup tape or even save to diskette all of your standard reference files. However, to be sure that you have them all, you’d need to run RefManager’s Cross-Reference Report.

When you archive a project, include all the MS_RFDIR’s and get ALL the reference files (whether you use them all or not).

Suffer.

The right solution

Use RefMerge to create a standalone composite file and take that file (the “.mer” file) to the service bureau.

Use RefMerge on all the design files in the entire project directory and archive the results.
Use RefMerge to create the three files your engineer needs and send them in an email.

Features

RefMerge merges the elements from a design file model and its reference files into a single model in a new output file.

RefMerge can optionally merge existing external reference files to internally referenced models in the output file.

RefMerge can be run on a single design file (and its reference files) or on a whole series of design files (and their reference files).

You can select reference files to omit from the merge and you can choose to have those files remain attached as references to the merged file or not.

Any view can be selected for the merge.

You can limit the merge to the active model, to design models, to sheet models or you can merge all models.

You can limit the merge to specific areas of your files by defining the areas with a shape, a fence or a view’s extents.

Graphic group numbers are properly handled so those graphic groups from different files and models that share the same graphic group number are not merged into a single graphic group.

Clipping boundaries, clipping masks, shared cells and other complexities resulting from merging design files are also handled smoothly.

RefMerge always creates a new design file with a default extension of “.mer”. Your original design file is not modified.

RefMerge gives you total control over how level symbology is used during the merging process. The symbology of each element in the output file can be forced to match 1) its original symbology, 2) the level symbology of the master design file or 3) the level symbology of the file from which it is copied.
RefMerge can place merged reference elements on an assigned level to keep them logically separated even though they are now part of the same file.

Chapter 2 — Installation

Before you install

This chapter will walk you through a typical Axiom product installation. These instructions apply to both MicroStation V7 and V8. V7 products are used in the examples.

To install one or more Axiom products, you need:

The latest Axiom product CD; and

A license file on floppy disk for the product(s) you are about to install.

Please shut down all MicroStation sessions on your computer before continuing.

Typical installation from CD

Insert the Axiom product CD into your CD drive.

The dialog box below should come up automatically. This may take a few moments depending on computer and CD drive speed.

CONDITIONAL: In some cases Windows® is set to suppress auto-running executables. If the installation process does not begin automatically when you insert the CD, you will need to start the process manually. From the Windows Start Menu, choose “Run…” and type in the following:

D:\Setup.exe

where “D” is your CD drive letter.

Click the [OK] button and the first installation dialog box (below) will appear.

Select MicroStation V7 or MicroStation V8 and click [Next].

Choose which type of installation you want to perform. The “Typical” installation is best for most situations and asks the user to make very few decisions.

These instructions will describe only the “Typical” installation path. Choose “Typical” and click [Next].
Choose the license file for this installation. Toggle on “I have a license file somewhere else.” And press [Next].

Browse to the “axiom.lic” file on the CD and click [Open]. The licenses in the specified license file will display in the next dialog box. Press [Next].

Although you have already selected the MicroStation family (V7 or V8) for which you want to install Axiom tools, it is common for one computer to have more than one instance of MicroStation installed on it. For example, you might have two versions of MicroStation/J installed (07.01.04.16 and 07.02.04.20). You must choose which of the two you want to associate your Axiom tools with.

Highlight the version of MicroStation you want to associate the Axiom tools with and click [Next].

Since this is a “Typical” installation, all programs for which an Axiom license was found will already be “checked-on” to be installed. Other items that are also automatically “checked-on” for installation are the product User’s Guides, individual product sample files and Axiom’s MicroStation pull-down menu.

To proceed with default selections click [Next].

You’ve now completed the Pre-Setup.

Click [Next] to proceed with the installation.
The [Next]button is grayed-out unless you accept the agreement.

If you accept the license and click [Next], the installation will begin. You can click [Cancel] at any time to abort the installation.

This is the final dialog box. It shows that the installation is complete. By default the

“View Readme.pdf” option is toggled on and will display the Readme.pdf document when you click [Finish].

Congratulations

That’s it! You have successfully completed the installation of your Axiom tools.

Chapter 3 — Uninstalling

Uninstalling Axiom products

Axiom products can be uninstalled easily through the Windows® Start Menu.

Go to [Start], Programs | Axiom.

Select “Uninstall V7 products” or “Uninstall V8 products” depending on the products you want to uninstall.

Choose “Select all.” or “Select components to uninstall.” If you choose “Select components to uninstall.” then each product in the list can be manually checked or unchecked. This allows for any combination of products to be uninstalled. Only installed products will be shown in the list.

Note: At the bottom of the list of products you also have the option to uninstall sample design files, user’s guides and even the Axiom pull-down menu.

Once you’ve made your selections, click the [Uninstall] button to complete the uninstall process.

Chapter 4 — Quick Start

Quick Start Objectives

The purpose of this Quick Start is to introduce you to the basic features of RefMerge so that you can immediately use the program.

This Quick Start should take less than 30 minutes.

Prerequisites

MicroStation version 8.1.2.15 or later.

RefMerge must be installed on your computer. You can verify this by selecting the

Axiom menu from MicroStation’s main menu bar, then select “RefMerge”. If “RefMerge” does not appear in the Axiom menu, follow the instructions in the Installation chapter of this User Guide.

You will need some design files to practice with. The sample files that are delivered with RefMerge are suitable: By default you will find them in the following directory.

...Program Files\Axiom\V8\refmerge\sample\*.dgn

Demonstration Version

The demonstration version of RefMerge works the same as the permanent version, except that the demonstration version will only work on files of size 100KB or less.

Licensed versions of RefMerge do not have these restrictions.

When should I use RefMerge?

RefMerge is most commonly used to:

Create a new design file consisting of elements or models merged from a master file and its attached references for plotting, archiving or transmission to others who do not have direct access to the design environment.

Merge a fenced or clipped portion of a file for plotting or presentation.

This Quick Start will introduce you to these common uses of RefMerge.

After installing RefMerge

To get started, in MicroStation, open refmerge.dgn. This sample file is a simple design file with attached reference files, it can be found in the following directory:

...\AXIOM\V8\REFMERGE\SAMPLE

On the MicroStation main menu bar, select “File | Reference”. You will see that the sample file has three reference file attachments.

Quick Start Step 1 — Run RefMerge with default settings

Let’s start with a simple “What you see is what you get” operation. RefMerge default settings produce this result.

Select “RefMerge” from the “Axiom” menu on MicroStation’s main menu bar.

The RefMerge main dialog box will display.

Under “Which files do you want to process?” it should show the current active design file name. If it does not show the currently opened design file, delete the entry that is in the field and <Tab> out of the field. That will change the filename to the active design file.

Select “Settings | Reset To Factory Defaults”. When the “Alert” box comes up saying “Are you sure you want to reload the factory defaults? This will clear all of your changes to RefMerge’s settings.” choose <OK>.

Now press the <Start> button. RefMerge will merge the design file with its attached reference files giving you an output file that looks the same as your original screen.

During processing you will see a message box displaying the original master file name and reference files for each model in the file as the different models are processed.

Note that the third reference file shows fewer elements added than were examined. All elements are examined. Only visible elements are processed when you use default settings. Because this file is clipped, all elements are not visible.

In some cases you may see more elements added than were examined. This could happen for example, if a shape is clipped. A clipped rectangle for example, may become one or more line strings in the merged file.

When RefMerge has completed its processing, the active design file will be a new composite file created by RefMerge. When you use default settings, this file will have the same filename as the original master design file, but it will have an extension of “mer”.

You have now run RefMerge using the default settings. All displayed elements in your master file and its reference files have been merged into the output file. You will see that the reference clip boundary remained valid, and the undisplayed portions of the clipped elements are not included in the merged output.

Tip: The default options for the output directory, file name and extension were used in the above merge. You can change the defaults by using the “Settings” menu and clicking the “Change Settings...” option to access the “RefMerge Settings” dialog box.

Quick Start Step 2 — Run RefMerge on a fenced area

The default settings will produce a design file that looks the same as the original design file in view 1. This may not be what is wanted. Many options are available that allow you

to control which elements you want to have included in the merged file as well as which view to use for the merge.

For example, RefMerge will allow you to create a border with a fence or shape or by setting the view extents to the desired limits. Then you can merge only the elements included in the border. In this Quick Start step, we show how to set up an additional clipping boundary using a shape that exists in one of the reference files and merge only the elements included in that boundary defining shape.

The previous Quick Start step left you with the merged file, refmerge.mer as the active file so you will need to open refmerge.dgn again.

refmerge.dgn contains a green shape on level 2 of the first reference file, ref1.dgn. It is the shape pointed to by the red arrow (see illustration below) and is the only shape on level 2.

We are going to select that green shape as the border to define the merged file. You can see that the border passes through several elements in the master file and the reference files. These elements will be clipped.

You can also see that the border passes through a clipped reference file, “clip 1”. The integrity of that clipping boundary will also be maintained.

Select “Settings | Change Settings....” This will open the “RefMerge settings” dialog box.

Select “Clipping Boundary” in the “Category” column on the left to display the “Clipping Boundary” options in the “RefMerge settings” dialog box.

Click the checkbox next to “Use shape to define final clip boundary” as in the example above. This will cause the “Identify shape by:” options to become available.

Click the checkbox next to “Level” to activate the level selection function.

The level field will accept multiple levels to search for the clip boundary. Use the <Select…> button to the right of the level field to open the “Select Levels” dialog box and select “Level 2”. Click <OK>.

You have now told the program to use the first shape found on level 2 as the clipping boundary. You can test to see if you have successfully identified the shape that you want by clicking the <Highlight Clipping Boundary> button. RefMerge will highlight the shape found.

Click <OK> on the “RefMerge settings” dialog box to close it.

Click <Start> on the RefMerge main dialog box. RefMerge will search for a shape on level 2 and select the first one it finds to use as a boundary for the output file. Your result should look like this:

The sample file contains several shapes that you can use to test clipping functions and you can draw your own shapes. Try using a fence to define the clip. Try selecting by color, style, or weight, or any combination.

Look over some of the other settings categories in RefMerge’s settings dialog box to see what is available.

Quick Start Step 3 — Run RefMerge to merge external reference files to internally referenced models.

RefMerge for V8 offers an optional mode for merging reference files. This optional mode takes advantage of MicroStation’s multiple model support in a single design file. When this mode is used RefMerge copies the entire referenced model, from the external reference file into the output file as a new internal model. It then changes the reference file attachment pointer to the new internal model. When the merge is complete the output “.mer” file contains all the geometry, displayed and undisplayed, in individual models

and the master model contains all the original reference file attachments, only they now point to the internal models.

The previous Quick Start step left you with the merged file, refmerge.mer as the active file so you will need to open refmerge.dgn again.

Click the “Mode” menu button on the main RefMerge dialog box and choose “Merge external references as internally referenced models.” as shown below.

Now click the <Start> button to begin processing. You will notice during processing that the “Messages” box shows the progress being made and displays the attachment file name and the model name it is copied to in the output file.

When RefMerge has completed its processing, the active design file will be the new output file created by RefMerge that contains all necessary geometry in internally referenced models. To check this open the “References” dialog box in MicroStation. Notice that the name of the reference file is the output file name, “RefMerge.mer”, for all references but the model names are different for each reference attachment.

The original “RefMerge.dgn” file only contained a single “Default” model. The new output file, “RefMerge.mer” contains four models. The original “Default” model and one model for each of the original three reference files.

To see this click “File | Models” from the main MicroStation menu. This will open the “Models” dialog box as shown below.

By double-clicking on any model in this dialog box you will make it the active model. Activate the model named “ref1-Default”. Notice that it contains the same geometry as the design file “Ref1.dgn” found in the sample directory.

“RefMerge.mer” can be archived, plotted or sent to anyone with MicroStation as a complete representation of the original design file but without the need of additional reference files or proper display.

Chapter 5 — Using RefMerge

Starting RefMerge

Select “RefMerge for V8” from the “Axiom” menu on the MicroStation menu bar.

The main dialog box

The RefMerge main dialog box displays when you start RefMerge.

The “File” menu

The “File” menu contains only “Exit”, which unloads the application.

The “Settings” menu

RefMerge settings may be saved and reloaded at a later time using the “Settings” pull-down menu choices. Settings are saved as “.ini” files (“.ini” stands for initialization). These files contain configuration data that is used by RefMerge to control the merging process. The “.ini” files are ASCII text files which can be edited with any text editor.

RefMerge uses the .ini file used the last time settings were saved. If this file doesn’t exist it will create a new settings file called “Refmerge.ini” in the %AppData%\axiom\v8\refmerge directory using the factory default settings.

Tip: The name or directory location of a default RefMerge settings file can be established using the environment variable, REFMERGE_INI. If this configuration variable is defined then RefMerge will use the settings file “refmerge.ini” found in the directory defined by this configuration variable as the startup settings file. If a complete path and file name are saved in this variable, then that exact file will be used.

Change Settings

“Settings | Change Settings...” opens up the “RefMerge settings” dialog box. The settings file is a “.ini” file. You can update or modify all of the settings for the different categories through this dialog or by editing the settings file (“.ini”) using a text editor.

The displayed categories will vary depending on the “Mode” button setting on the main dialog box. The image below shows the “RefMerge settings” dialog box and categories when the default “Merge reference elements into master model” mode is used.

Each category on the left side of the dialog box contains settings for controlling the merging process. You will find a chapter later in this guide devoted to each of the setting categories.

The image below shows the “RefMerge settings” dialog box and categories when the “Merge external references as internally referenced models.” mode is used.

Load Settings...

Use the “Load Settings...” menu choice to load alternate settings combinations saved in different .ini files.

It is recommended that you use a settings file named refmerge.ini to hold your default settings. If the last used settings file or the settings file defined in the optional configuration variable REFMERGE_INI can not be found, then the file refmerge.ini, located in the same directory as refmerge.ma will be used.

The format of the “.ini” files changes from time to time to include new features. If you have saved “*.ini” files with a previous version and try to open these you may receive a warning. If you receive this warning, simply use “Settings | Save Settings” to save your settings in the new format.

Save Settings

Use “Save Settings” to save all currently selected options into the active settings file.

Save Settings As...

Use “Save Settings As...” to save your current selections with a new or different filename.

Reset to Factory Defaults

This resets all settings to their factory default state.

The default settings are designed to produce an output design file that looks the same as the original file did in the view that the parameters were taken from. The output design file will be in the same directory as the original master file and have the same base file name with a “.mer” extension. This may not be exactly what you want. Many options have been added to allow you to specify which elements you want to have included in the merged file as well as where you want the output file to be located and what name you want to give it. Remember the displayed level settings are always taken from the view specified in the “Use parameters from view” option in the “Input View” category.

Settings file:

The “Settings file:” line displays the name of the currently loaded .ini file. If you select “Save Settings”, your current settings will be saved to this filename.

Help | Contents...

Choose this to open the SpecChecker User’s Guide.

Help | About...

This displays the current product version, license type, copyright information plus contact information for Axiom Support, Sales and Licensing.

New! Merging “Mode:”

RefMerge for V8 now has two merging modes that can be used to create standalone output files.

<Merge elements into master models.>

This is the “Default” merging mode. This mode creates output “merged” files by copying elements from both the master model and any referenced models into the output design file’s master model. All elements in the resulting output file are contained in the master models processed. The original reference file attachments are detached after the requested elements are copied into the master model. Many settings exist to give you complete control over the element merging process. These settings will be described in detail later in this guide.

New! <Merge external references as internally referenced models.>

This is an optional merging mode introduced in RefMerge for V8, version 8.5a. When this mode is selected RefMerge creates the output “merged” file by copying the entirety of the externally referenced model from its source file into the output file as a new, internally referenced model. After the merging process, the output file can standalone because all required geometry is contained within a model in the same MicroStation V8 design file. Each reference file attachment still exists but they now point to the internal models instead of the external reference files. This method leverages the power of MicroStation reference files without the need of external reference files for proper presentation or plotting.

When this mode is active only a subset of the RefMerge settings categories apply to the merging process. The categories that still apply are the four “Output...” categories that deal with output file naming and post processing plus the “Reference Files” category.

When using this mode with nested reference files please ensure the MicroStation configuration variable MS_LEVEL_EDIT_NESTED_ATTACHMENT_LEVELS is set to a value of 1 to ensure that RefMerge can properly update the display symbology of nested attachment levels after the merge is complete. This is not required when nested references do not exist or when no adjustment has been made in the master files.

When using this new method to merge files you should be aware that all models within a single design file all use the same color table after the merge. When an externally referenced model uses a different color table than the master model you may experience some differences in color display after the merge. If this will create a problem then you should merge files using the default method of RefMerge which will map the colors from the reference file elements and levels to the closest match in the master file’s color table.

Which files do you want to process?

The ”Which files do you want to process?” field is where you tell RefMerge which master design files you want to process. You can enter the name of a single design file or you can use <Select...> to choose any number of files.

Master Models:

By default RefMerge uses the <All Models> setting. In this case, if a V8 design file contains multiple models, RefMerge will merge all models in output merged file.

All models

This is the factory default. When you select “All models”, RefMerge will process all models in all selected master files.

Active model

When you select “Active model”, RefMerge will limit its processing to only use the active model in all selected master files. If the original master file has more than one model, only the active model will be merged in the output file. The other models will still exist in the output file but they will not be processed by RefMerge and will retain the reference file attachments they had in the original master file.

Note: The active model is the model that is open when you “Save Settings” in MicroStation. The active model is saved when you either do a “File | Save Settings”, or when you exit the file if you have “Save Settings on Exit” turned “on” (checked) in the “Operation” category of your MicroStation preferences.

Default model

When you select “Default model”, RefMerge will limit its processing to only process default models in all selected master files. If the original master file has more than one model, only the default model will be merged in the output file. The other models will still exist in the output file but they will not be processed by RefMerge and will retain the reference file attachments they had in the original master file.

Note: The default model is the first and only required model in a MicroStation V8 design file. It is the only model that can’t be deleted. If your design files contain only one model that is the default model.

Design models

Select “Design models” to process only models whose model type is classified as “Design”. Design files may contain any number of design models. Using this option will prevent any models of type “Sheet” from being processed.

Sheet models

Select “Sheet models” to process only models whose model type is classified as “Sheet”. Design files may contain any number of sheet models. Using this option will prevent any models of type “Design” from being processed.

<Select...>

The <Select...> button opens a dialog box that allows you to create a list of design files, to save and restore such a list, and to add and remove filenames from a design file list.

See the chapter entitled “The File List Editor” for more information about this function.

<Start>

Clicking the <Start> button begins processing the selected design files, merging each with its reference files and creating a separate output file for each. By default the output file is in the same directory as the processed design file and has a “.mer” extension. If this is not ideal RefMerge offers many options described later in this manual to control output file naming and directory location.

<Close>

The <Close> button unloads RefMerge.

Chapter 6 — ByLevel Modification

The ByLevel Modification Settings

This settings category only applies to the "Merge elements into master models." merging mode.

The “ByLevel Modification” category contains settings that allow you to control the way elements assigned “ByLevel” for their color, weight or style are changed when copied into the output “.mer” file.

When an element is assigned “ByLevel” for color, weight or style, then the element displays based on the color, weight or style value assigned in the level table for the level the element resides on rather than a fixed value stored in the element.

Because reference and master files frequently use levels of the same name and those levels may have different byLevel color, weight or style settings, the merging process can cause the reference file elements with byLevel symbology, to display differently than they do before the merge. These options give you a way to prevent this problem by changing the byLevel symbology of an element to the actual value assigned in the level table when it is copied to the output file.

This is not necessary when the default “Element Modification” setting for “How should reference file element’s levels be modified?” is set to “Always copy reference file levels to master.” All other choices for this setting could produce the problem mentioned above.

Convert master elements’ ByLevel symbology to values

Option button choices for “Convert master elements’ ByLevel symbology to values”.

Never

Elements from the master file that have ByLevel symbology will always retain their ByLevel symbology in the output file. “Never” is the default setting for this option.

Always

With this setting, all elements from the master file that have a color, weight or style set to ByLevel will be assigned the specific color, weight or style value found in the level table, for the level the element resides on, when it is copied into the output “.mer” file. Using this setting the output “.mer” file will have no elements from the master file that have a color, weight or style setting of ByLevel.

Convert reference elements’ ByLevel symbology to values

Options button choices for “Convert reference elements’ ByLevel symbology to values”.

Note: RefMerge begins processing by copying the master file and all its elements to the output “.mer” file. This includes all the level table values for ByLevel and override symbology. It then processes each reference file. When a level with the same name is encountered during processing of a reference file’s elements, RefMerge will leave any existing level table values in the output “.mer” file for that level unchanged and based on the settings of this and other options, alter the symbology of the copied elements to achieve the desired display results. Any level name which doesn’t already exist will be copied into the output “.mer” file as defined in the level table for the attachment.

Only when ByLevel value is different for the same level name

This is the recommended choice when the “Element Modification” setting for “How should reference file element’s levels be modified?” is not set to the default of “Always copy reference file levels to master.” Using this choice means that when an element from

a reference file that has a color, weight or style setting of ByLevel is copied to the output “.mer” file it will maintain its ByLevel symbology settings as long as the level in the “.mer” file has the same ByLevel symbology setting as the level from the reference file attachment from which it is copied. If the ByLevel setting is different in the output “.mer” file then it will assign the copied element the actual symbology value from the level table for the reference file attachment.

This conflict can occur when levels with the same name exist in multiple files that are being merged together and the ByLevel symbology settings are different for a particular level name.

Always

With this setting all elements from a reference file that have a color, weight or style set to ByLevel will be assigned the actual color, weight or style value found in the level table for the element’s level when copied into the output “.mer” file. Using this setting the output “.mer” file will contain no elements from reference files that have a symbology setting of ByLevel. The ByLevel symbology assignment will be replaced with the actual color, weight or style value from the level table for that reference file attachment and level.

Never

This is the default setting. Elements copied from a reference file that have ByLevel symbology will always retain their ByLevel symbology assignment in the output “.mer” file.

Chapter 7 — Clipped Elements

Clipped Elements Category

This settings category only applies to the "Merge elements into master models." merging mode.

These settings control the handling of certain element types that cannot be clipped in the normal way when copied into the merged file.

Settings for the “Clipped Elements” category

Omit text overlapping clipping boundaries.

Activating this checkbox will cause RefMerge to omit text that overlaps clipping boundaries and voids from being copied to the output file.

Omit rasters overlapping clipping boundaries.

Activating this checkbox will cause RefMerge to omit raster images that overlap clipping boundaries and voids from being copied to the output file. This option refers to imported

raster images rather than raster reference file attachments. See the chapter named “Reference options” for controlling raster reference merging.

How should dimensions be processed?

Options for “How should dimensions be processed?”

The “How should dimensions be processed” option button, gives you three options for handling dimensions during the merge process. The different options are described below.

Clip component elements if they cross a clipping boundary

If any part of the dimension element crosses the clipping boundary (only part of the element is visible in the view from which the parameters are taken) then only the clipped component elements are copied to the merged file.

Include whole element if it crosses a clipping boundary.

If any part of the dimension element is inside the reference file clipping boundary (visible in the view from which the parameters are taken) then the complete dimension element is copied to the merged file.

Exclude whole element if it crosses a clipping boundary.

If any part of the dimension element is outside the clipping boundary (not visible in the view from which the parameters are taken) then the dimension element is not copied to the merged file.

How should solids and surfaces be processed?

The “How should solids and surfaces be processed?” setting applies to slabs, spheres, tori (plural of torus) and wedges. It does not handle cones (which include the cylinder as a special type) and cones are handled by a separate RefMerge option, which is fully described later in this User’s Guide.

You have three choices:

Clip component elements if they cross a clipping boundary.

Include whole element if it crosses a clipping boundary.

Exclude whole element if it crosses a clipping boundary.

In 3D files, there is the possibility to create and use solid and surface elements. If one clips a solid or surface element, one does not get two solid or surface elements. One in fact gets a number of elements created by the clipping of the solid/surface element’s component elements.

These clipped component elements will have different properties when rendering so an option has been included for you to indicate which preference is desired.

Clip component elements if they cross a clipping boundary

If any part of the solid/surface element crosses the clipping boundary (only part of the element is visible in the view from which the parameters are taken) then only the clipped component elements are copied to the merged file.

Include whole element if it crosses a clipping boundary.

If any part of the solid/surface element is inside the reference clipping boundary (visible in the view from which the parameters are taken) then the whole solid/surface element is copied to the merged file.

Exclude whole element if it crosses a clipping boundary.

If any part of the solid/surface element is outside the clipping boundary (not visible in the view from which the parameters are taken) then the solid/surface element is not copied to the merged file.

How should cones be processed?

The “How should cones be processed?” setting applies to cones and cylinders.

You have three choices:

Clip component elements if they cross a clipping boundary.

Include whole element if it crosses a clipping boundary.

Exclude whole element if it crosses a clipping boundary.

Clipped component elements will have different properties when rendered. Choose the setting most appropriate for you.

Clip component elements if they cross a clipping boundary

This option is the default. It gives a “What you see is what you get” result composed of circles and lines.

If any part of the complex element crosses the clipping boundary (only part of the element is visible in the view from which the parameters are taken) then only the clipped component elements are copied to the merged file.

Include whole element if it crosses a clipping boundary.

If any part of the complex element is inside the reference clipping boundary (visible in the view from which the parameters are taken) then the whole complex element is copied to the merged file.

Exclude whole element if it crosses a clipping boundary.

If any part of the complex element is outside the clipping boundary (not visible in the view from which the parameters are taken) then the complex element is not copied to the merged file.

Mode for tag handling

When using a clipping boundary, it is possible to have a situation where an element is inside the boundary but its tag is not. You may also have tags inside the boundary, whose associated element is not included in the clipping boundary.

Overlap – Only include tags that are inside or overlap the boundary.

All tags that are inside or overlap the clipping boundary will be included even if the associated element is not included. This is the default option.

All – include all tags with associated element inside the boundary.

With this option, whether tags are included in the merge file depends on the location of the associated element, not the location of the tag. If the associated element is located within the boundary, then the tag will be merged. If the associated element is outside the clipping boundary, its tags will be omitted whether they are inside the clipping boundary or not.

Inside – Only include those tags that are inside the boundary.

All tags that are inside the clipping boundary will be included even if the associated element is not included.

Chapter 8 — Clipping Boundary

Clipping Boundary Category

Settings for the “Clipping Boundary” category

This settings category only applies to the "Merge elements into master models." merging mode.

The clipping boundary settings allow you to limit your merged output to a portion of the design file defined by a boundary. This boundary can be a fence for the active file and model, a shape or a view’s extents. Use of this final clipping boundary is optional and is off by default.

Every element or part of an element that lies outside the boundary will be excluded from the merged file. In some cases this means changing the nature of elements that cross the clipping boundary. For example closed complex shapes may become line strings or arcs when clipped.

Text and displayed tag elements are never clipped however. They can only be included fully or excluded fully. See the “Clipped Elements Category” for more information.

Note: When processing multiple models in the same design file be sure “Stop process when clipping boundary not found.” is unselected, otherwise processing will stop as soon as RefMerge encounters a model that does not contain a clipping boundary.

Use shape/fence/view extents to define final clip boundary.

Selecting “Use shape/fence/view extents to define final clip boundary.” activates other settings in the dialog box. This setting is unchecked by default.

shape

When you select “shape”, you must define some selection criteria in the “Identify shape by:” section of the dialog box. These criteria enable RefMerge to locate the correct element to use as a final clipping boundary.

fence

If you are only merging the active model and its reference files, you can use the “fence” option. Use the MicroStation “Place Fence” tool to place a fence around the elements that you want to appear in the output merge file.

Note: You must select “Active model” on the “Master Models” option button when using “Fence” as your clipping boundary otherwise you will get an error dialog saying RefMerge can only use a fence on the active model.

view extents

Alternatively, you can use the “view extents” option. This option makes the input view’s limits act as the clipping boundary. All elements that cannot be seen in the target view will be deleted in the merged file.

Stop process when clipping boundary not found.

Select this option to cause the program to stop processing and display a message if the clipping boundary is not found in a processed model. The output merge file will still be created for this particular file and model but any remaining files in the selected list of design files will not be processed and the reference files for the model not containing the clipping boundary will not be merged. Use this option if your output files must be based on the final clipping boundary. If processing doesn’t stop then you know without checking that all files contained the required boundary.

Tip: When you have design files with both design and sheet models and you choose <All Models> from the “Master Models” option button, you may want to unselect “Stop process when clipping boundary is not found”. Otherwise the action will stop as soon as RefMerge detects a design model, for example, that does not contain a final clipping boundary shape that is only intended for the sheet models.

Identify shape by:

RefMerge will search for the final clipping boundary, when defined by a shape, using these settings. Select one or more of level, color, weight, and style that will be unique for the boundary shape you want RefMerge to use. The program will select the first shape found that fits all of the “Identify shape by:” criteria. Be sure to check the toggle to the left of the criteria name you wish to use.

Note: The border shape will be searched for in the master model first and then in its displayed reference files. Do not put the shape in a non-displayed reference file.

Level selection

Click the <Select...> button next to the level field to open the “Select Levels” dialog box where you can select one or more levels on which to search for the shape defining the final clipping boundary.

Color

Type in one or more colors to define the colors used to find the final clipping boundary. Separate individual colors using commas. A range of color numbers can be added by using a colon to separate the starting and ending number. You can also use the color picker activated by clicking the <Select…> button to the right of the “Color” field.

You can also use “ByLevel” without the quotation marks, as a color option or choose it from the color picker dialog box.

Example: 1,4:6 will find a shape that uses color 1, 4, 5 or 6.

Be sure to turn on the color checkbox when using color as part of the shape location criteria.

Style

One or more line styles may be used to identify the clipping boundary. Custom line style names, if used, must be enclosed in quotation marks and are case sensitive. Multiple line styles, when used, must be separated by commas. Click the <Select…> button to the right of the “Style” field to choose the styles using a style picker

You can also use “ByLevel” without the quotation marks, as a style option or choose it from the style picker.

Example: “Center”,4 will find a shape that has a custom line style of Center or a standard line style of 4.

Be sure to turn on the style checkbox when using style as part of the criteria.

Weight

Type in one or more weights to define the weights used to find the final clipping boundary. Separate individual weights using commas. A range of weights can be added by using a colon to separate the starting and ending number. You can also use the weight picker activated by clicking the <Select…> button to the right of the “Weight” field.

You can also use “ByLevel” without the quotation marks, as a weight option or choose it from the weight picker.

Example: byLevel,1 will find a shape that has a weight of byLevel or 1.

Be sure to turn on the weight selection checkbox when using weight as part of the shape location criteria.

<Match>

The <Match> function allows you to update the criteria settings in the “Identify shape by:” section using a shape selected with the mouse. Click the <Match> button and then click the desired shape element within the active design file. All symbology fields in the “Identify shape by:” section will change to match the selected shape.

Be sure to turn on the appropriate checkboxes for level, color, style and weight.

<Highlight Clipping Boundary>

RefMerge uses the first shape that matches the defined symbology as the clipping boundary.

You can check the shape it will be use in the active model, by clicking the <Highlight Clipping Boundary> button. RefMerge will highlight the first shape it finds matching the criteria. If no shape is found with the active criteria then an information dialog displays telling you that the clipping boundary could not be found.

Chapter 9 — Color Table Control

The Color Table Category

This settings category only applies to the "Merge elements into master models." merging mode.

It is possible for the master file and its reference files to use different color tables. This setting gives you better control over color assignment when merging reference elements from a file that use a different color table.

Map color to closest match in master file’s color table.

Turning the toggle for this setting on directs RefMerge to evaluate the color of each element from a reference file and find its closest color match in the master file’s color table. RefMerge will then assign the merged element this color value when writing it into the output merge file. If this setting is unchecked then RefMerge will write the element into the output merge file with the same color number value it had in the original reference file. This setting is on by default.

Chapter 10 — Dimension Elements

The Dimension Elements Category

This settings category only applies to the "Merge elements into master models." merging mode.

Most dimension elements merge correctly. Where problems occur with merged dimension elements, a good result can usually be achieved by turning on the option to remove associations from dimension elements.

Setting for the “Dimension Elements” category

Note: Settings for clipped dimension elements can be found in the “Clipped Elements Settings” chapter.

Always remove associations from dimension elements

Select this setting to remove the association between the dimension elements and the elements that they are dimensioning. This setting applies only to dimension elements that exist in a reference file. Dimension elements in the master file will retain associations.

You can see the result of removing associations when you move the element that is being dimensioned. The dimension element no longer moves with it.

This setting can be effective in producing a good result when there are problems with merging dimension elements.

Chapter 11 — Element Modification Settings

The Element Modification Category

This settings category only applies to the "Merge elements into master models." merging mode.

The “Element Modification” category contains powerful settings that allow you to modify the level of reference file elements and to chose how level symbology will apply to both master and reference file elements when copied into the merged file.

Important Note: The active setting for “How should reference file element’s levels be modified” will affect the best way to adjust other settings in this and other categories for the final output results you desire. If you change this setting from the default, which is carefully designed to produce accurate WYSIWYG results, be sure to carefully evaluate each setting having to do with “ByLevel Modification” and “Output Options”. In addition, you will probably want to change the settings for level symbology changes to copied elements in this category.

How should reference file element’s levels be modified?

Settings for “How should reference file element’s levels be modified?”

Always copy reference levels to master file.

This is the default setting in MicroStation V8. Selecting this choice activates and displays the “How should level name be copied to master file?” control in the settings dialog box. This control determines the manner in which RefMerge will rename each reference file’s levels in the output model’s level table. With this setting each reference file level, with a modified name, and its symbology settings will be copied into the output merge file. In this way all elements using byLevel symbology will always display the same in the output file as they did in the master file. In addition if level symbology is turned on in the master file for the view specified in the “Use parameters from view” setting then the override symbology settings for the copied level will be exactly the same and elements on this level will display as expected in the output file.

How should level name be copied to master file?

Default for “How should level name be copied to master file?”

All options for “How should level name be copied to master file?”

Prepend reference base file name

This is the default setting. In this case the level from the reference file will be copied with the reference file’s base file name, prepended to it. RefMerge uses a separator of “ – “ (<space><hphen><space>) between the base file name and the original level name.

For example, if the reference file “Contour.dgn” has a level named “Level 1” then the level when copied to the output merge file will be “Contour – Level 1” and the elements from this level would be copied to this modified level name.

In the case where the same reference file is attached more than one time there will be an incremented number, preceded by a space and the number sign (#) added to the base file name. In the example above, if the contour.dgn file was attached twice then the second attachment’s “Level 1” would be copied to “Contour #1 – Level 1” in the output file.

Prepend reference logical name

In this case the level from the reference file will be copied with the reference file’s logical name prepended to it. RefMerge uses a separator of “ – “ (<space><hphen><space>) between the logical name and the original level name.

For example, if an attached reference file with the logical name “topo” has a level named “Level 1”, then the level when copied to the output merge file will be “topo – Level 1” and the elements from this level would be copied to the modified level name.

If there is no logical name then the base file name of the reference will be merged as described above.

Append reference logical name

In this case the level from the reference file will be copied with the reference file’s logical name appended to it. RefMerge uses a separator of “ – “ (<space><hphen><space>) between the original level name and the logical name.

For example, if a reference file has a logical name of “topo” and it has a level named “Level 1” then the level when copied to the output file will be “Level 1 - topo” and the elements from this level would be copied to the modified level name.

If there is no logical name then the base file name of the reference will be merged as described below.

Append reference base file name.

In this case the level from the reference file will be copied with the reference file’s base file name appended to it. There is a standard separator of “ – “ (<space><hphen><space>) between the original level name and the base file name.

For example, if the reference file “Contour.dgn” has a level named “Level 1” then the level when copied to the output merge file will be “Level 1 - Contour” and the elements from this level would be copied to the modified level name.

Copy reference levels only if they don’t exist in master file.

With this option button choice reference levels which don’t already exist in the output file will be copied to the output file. If the level already exists then no change is made in the output file’s level table. Elements from reference files will be assigned to the same level name in the output file as they had originally. This option works well unless the same level name exists in more than one of the files being merged and the symbology or display settings are different between them. In this instance elements assigned byLevel symbology may display differently than they do in the original file unless you make adjustments to the default “ByLevel Modification” settings. With this setting if level symbology is likely to be turned on in the view used for merging files you will need to adjust the option buttons for level symbology changes later in this category as well.

Place elements on level name:

When you want to put all reference file elements on a single level, use the <Level picker...> button to select the appropriate level. On merging, all elements copied from reference files will be placed on this level.

Note: If you enter a level name that does not exist in one of the files that you select to process, then RefMerge creates the level in the V8 output file and places the reference file elements on it.

Because all reference elements are copied to the same level it is likely you will want to change the default settings in the “ByLevel Modification” category. You may also want to adjust the settings in this category for changing the symbology of reference file elements based on level symbology settings.

Place elements on level derived from list below

Perhaps you want to place elements from each reference file on a different level in the merged file.

When you select “Place elements on level derived from list below.” the text field directly below this option button activates. During the merge, elements from the reference files will be copied to the specified levels.

The format allows you to control the level on which reference file elements will be placed in the output file.

Because each reference file’s elements are all copied to the same level it is likely you will want to change the default settings in the “ByLevel Modification” category. You may also want to adjust the settings in this category for changing the symbology of reference file elements based on level symbology settings.

In the image above, the reference file with logical name border is copied onto level “Border”, and the reference file with logical name powergrid is copied onto level “Powergrid”.

Level names must appear in double quotes.

List format:

filespec,level [;filespec,level]

The format consists of a file specification followed by a comma then a level specification. This structure can be repeated many times. If repeated, you must place a semi-colon (“;”) between the entries. A final semi-colon is unnecessary. Spaces are ignored.

File specification

The file specification can be one of three types — number, number range or name. You can also enter combinations of file specifications.

The “number” format must start with a number sign (“#”) followed by a number. For example, “#7” means the seventh attached reference file. A reference file is considered matched to the file specification if its reference slot is the same one specified here.
You can specify a range of file numbers. Start with a number sign (“#”) followed by the first number then a dash and an ending number. For example, “#5-9” means the fifth attached reference file through the ninth attached reference file. A reference file

is considered matched to the file specification if its reference slot is in the range specified by the number range format.

The name format can consist of any valid ASCII characters (except for comma, semi-colon or spaces). A reference file is considered matched to the file specification if its full path name matches the name format, or its logical name matches the name format. You must have the full path included in order to use the file name specification.

You can use wild card characters in naming path and file name. In using wild cards, two characters have special meanings: an asterisk “*” means to match zero or more characters; a question mark “?” means to match one character. For example: “*car*” will get “c:\axiom\dgn\car.dgn”, but not “c:\axiom\dgn\bike3.dgn”. In addition “c:\axiom\dgn\car.dgn” doesn’t match “car*”. Another example is: “*ax??m\dgn\car.*” for “c:\axiom\dgn\car.dgn”

Level specification

The level specification can be one of the following:

an “S” or “s” meaning skip (don’t merge) elements in matching reference files Example: hvac*.dgn, S; electric*.dgn, S

“O”, “o” or “0” (a letter O or a zero) meaning don’t modify element levels from matching reference files

Example: base.dgn, O; land.dgn, 0

a level name in double quotes

Example: landscaping*.dgn, “Landscape”; irrigation*.dgn, “Irrigation”

More notes on this option

If a reference file does not match any of the file specifications then its elements are copied to the merged file with their levels unchanged. For example: “*123.dgn,”xyz”;*,O” is the same as using “*123.dgn,”xyz”.

Leaving this item completely empty is equivalent to selecting the “Copy reference levels only if they don’t exist in master file.” option.

If a reference file matches more than one of the file specifications then the first match is used.

“*,”Green”; #6-9, 44” is the same as “*,”Green”;” which happens to be equivalent to using the “Place elements on level name” option with ”Green” as the level name.

How should level symbology be applied to master file elements?

Definitions: See the terms Level Symbology, Override Symbology, Master File and Master File Elements in the Glossary.

This option menu controls the symbology of elements copied from the master file.

Apply master file level symbology based on view

Change the symbology of each element in the master file to match the override symbology indicated in the master file’s level table, but only do this if the master file’s “Level Symbology” view attribute is turned on in the view selected in the “Use parameters from view” setting, located in the “Input View” settings category.

If the level symbology view attribute is turned off for the master file in the selected view, it leaves the element’s symbology unchanged.

Apply master file level symbology

Change each master file element’s symbology to match the override symbology indicated in the master file’s level table regardless of whether the selected views level symbology view attribute is turned on or off.

Ignore level symbology

This is the default for this setting. This means: don’t use the override symbology settings from the master file’s level table. Copy each element from the master file to the output “.mer” file without changing its current element symbology.

How should level symbology be applied to reference file elements?

When an element is copied from a reference file, it can have one of the following symbologies:

Its own symbology (the color, weight and style stored in the element itself)

The symbology indicated by the override symbology in the level table, for the reference file attachment.

The override symbology for each reference file attachment is stored in the master file. To see examples of these settings, open the RefMerge.dgn sample file and then select “Settings | Level | Manager” from the MicroStation pull-down menu. The “Level Manager” dialog box opens. In the file tree on the left side of the dialog box click the “+”

next to RefMerge.dgn if the reference files are not displayed and then select one of the reference files shown. Make sure the “Symbology” option button under Level Manager’s menu bar is set to “Override” rather than “ByLevel”.

In the picture above, you can see that reference file “ref1” has its own override symbology stored within the master file. This level table is separate from the one stored within the reference file itself when you open it as an active design file and the override symbology settings may be different than those contained in the reference file itself.

This RefMerge option button controls which of those symbologies each element copied from a reference file will have.

Default for “How should level symbology be applied to reference file elements?”

All options for “How should level symbology be applied to reference file elements?”

Ignore level symbology

This is the default option button setting for this control. It means: don’t apply the override symbology in the level table of the reference file attachment. Copy each element from the reference file without making any changes to its original element symbology.

Tip: Don’t forget that an element will display using override symbology, if override symbology is set in the level table for the element’s level and the level symbology view attribute is turned on for the view in which the element appears.

Apply reference file level symbology based on view

Change each reference file element’s symbology to match the override symbology in the level table for that reference file, but only if the level symbology view attribute is turned on in the view selected in the “Use parameters from view” setting found in the “Input View” category of RefMerge’s settings.

If level symbology is turned off in the selected view, copy each reference file element using its own element symbology. (In other words, leave the element symbology unchanged.)

Note: Each reference file attachment has its own level table and symbology settings inside a master file.

Note: Each of the eight views in the master can have level symbology turned on or off separately.

Apply reference file level symbology

Change each reference file element’s symbology to match the override symbology setting in the level table for the reference file. Make this change regardless of whether or not the level symbology view attribute is turned on or not.

How should level symbology be set in the output file?

This option controls the level symbology “View Attribute” settings of the output “.mer” file.

Keep settings identical to original master file.

This is the default setting. Each view can have level symbology on or off. This option causes level symbology in each view in the output “.mer” file to be the same as it was in the original master file.

Set level symbology OFF in all views.

This option causes level symbology to be turned off in all views of the output “.mer” file. This option is used when RefMerge changes the merged elements color, weight and style value to match the level symbology setting during the merge.

Set level symbology ON in all views.

This option causes level symbology to be turned on in all views of the output “.mer” file.

Chapter 12 — Element Selection Settings

Element Selection Category

This settings category only applies to the "Merge elements into master models." merging mode.

Settings for the “Element Selection” category

The “Element Selection” category gives you settings that control which elements from the master and reference files are included in the output “.mer” file.

How should master file elements be processed?

Options for “How should master file elements be processed?”

Copy only displayed elements

This is the default setting. It will only copy elements found on the displayed levels in the master file to the merged file.

Copy all elements regardless of display levels

This option allows you to copy all elements in the master file to your merged file whether they are displayed or not. If they are not displayed in the master file, they will be present, but not displayed in the merged file.

How should master file cells be processed?

Options for “How should master file cells be processed?”

Only copy elements on displayed levels. (drop cells)

This is the default option button setting. Only displayed elements of cells will be merged. Complex cell status will be dropped when a cell contains elements on non-displayed levels or when the cell is crossed by the final clipping boundary.

Copy all elements in cell

All cell elements will be copied and the cell’s complex status will be preserved unless it crosses a final clipping boundary.

How should reference file elements be processed?

Options for “How should reference file elements be processed?”

Copy only displayed elements.

This is the default setting and it will only copy elements found on the displayed levels in the reference file to the merged file. Remember that each reference file may have different level display for each view.

Copy all elements regardless of display levels.

This option allows you to copy all elements in reference files to your merged file whether they are displayed or not.

Note: No matter which option you choose elements outside a reference file’s clipping boundary will not be copied into the merged file.

How should reference file cells be processed?

Options for “How should reference file cells be processed?”

Only copy elements on displayed levels. (drop cells)

This is the default option button setting. Only displayed elements of cells will be merged.

The complex cell status will be dropped.

Copy all elements in cell.

All cell elements will be copied to the merged file and the cell’s complex status will be preserved.

How should level display be set in the output file?

Sometimes elements in a reference file are on a level that is turned on in the reference file’s level display, but turned off in the Master file’s level display. These elements will be copied to the merged file. However, if the level settings were left the same as the original master they would not be visible. For this reason RefMerge offers several options for determining level display in the merged file.

Combine level display from master and reference files for all views.

This is the default option. This option combines the displayed levels from the master file and reference files for each of the eight views and sets the output files level display for each view accordingly.

Combine level display from master and reference files

This option means that all elements copied to the merged file will be visible in the view specified in the “Use parameters from view” option. For example, if only the “G-ANNO-*” levels are displayed in the master file for the selected view and only the “A-FLOR-*” levels are set in the reference file display, then the merged file will have level display turned on for both the “G-ANNO-*” and the “A-ANNO-*” levels.

Keep settings identical to original master file.

This option does what it says. Reference file elements that are on levels that are not displayed in the master file will not be visible in the merged file.

Chapter 13 — Filled Area Elements Settings

Filled Area Elements Category

Settings for the “Filled Area Elements” category.

How should filled area elements that get clipped be handled?

Settings for “How should filled area elements that get clipped be handled?”

Note: These option button choices apply only to clipped shapes, circles, ellipses and complex shapes that contain fill. Shapes, circles, ellipses and complex shapes that are not clipped as part of the merge process will be merged as-is regardless of this option setting.

Create filled complex shapes when the fill view attribute is turned on.

Select “Create filled complex shapes when the fill view attribute is turned on.” to create filled complex shapes only if the “Fill” view attribute is turned on for the view set in “Use parameters from view:” setting and the element is clipped during the merge process.

This option button choice is the default and gives a “what you see is what you get” result in the merged file.

MicroStation “View Attributes” dialog with “Fill” turned on.

Always create filled complex shapes

Select “Always create filled complex shapes” to ensure RefMerge always creates filled complex elements regardless of whether the “Fill” option in the View Attributes dialog box was turned on or off. This only applies to shapes, circles, ellipses and complex shapes that are clipped and had fill before being merged.

Always drop to linear elements (don’t add extra lines to close shapes).

Select “Always drop to linear elements” if you don’t want RefMerge to create filled complex shapes but just the linear elements. For example, a clipped circle will result in an arc. A clipped shape may result in one or more lines or line strings.

Chapter 14 — Input View Settings

Input View Category

This settings category only applies to the “Merge elements into master models.” merging mode.

The “Input View” category allows you to select the source or input view to be used when creating the merged file. The view designated in this category is used to determine which levels are considered “displayed” and the view attribute settings to use when evaluating how to process master file and reference file elements. Your active view in source files will remain the same regardless of which view you choose to use with RefMerge.

Use parameters from view:

The “Use parameters from view” field allows you to set the numbered view that determines view attributes and displayed levels in the merged file.

The view set here will influence many other RefMerge setting categories and determine the ultimate result in the output “.mer” file. See the chapters in this manual for “Element Modification”, “Element Selection”, “Filled Area Elements” and “Output Options”

Only values from 1 to 8 will be accepted in this field.

Note: When processing 3D files, this option must be set to the appropriate view number or the results obtained may be undesirable. Best results are frequently obtained by selecting a view number that is set to “top” view.

Adjust parameters of above view to match saved view:

The item “Adjust parameters of above view to match saved view:” allows you to specify that the view selected should first be adjusted to match the parameters of a saved view before processing starts.

You can type in the name of a saved view, or if you intend to process the active design file, you can make use of the option button “Saved views” which allows you to select from a list displaying the saved view names found in the active file.

Note: If, when processing starts, a saved view cannot be found which matches the name in the text field, the process continues but without adjusting the view attributes of the defined input view.

Chapter 15 — Output File Directory

Output File Directory Category

Settings for the “Output File Directory” category.

Directory for merged files

Use same directory as master file.

By default, RefMerge builds merged files in the same directory as the original master files and gives the output file a “.mer” extension. See the “Output File Name” and the “Output Extension” chapters later in this manual for how the file name and extension, of the output file, can be controlled.

Use an alternate directory.

This setting allows you to specify an alternate directory for the output files. When you choose the “Use an alternate directory.” radio button, two directory selection choices become available to determine the output directory for your merged files. Choose a “Local Path” for non-ProjectWise master files you merge and a “ProjectWise Path” if you have access to ProjectWise and want your merged ProjectWise files to be saved back to ProjectWise in an alternate path location. Click the <Select…> button next to the appropriate field to select the appropriate path from a dialog box.

Tip: If you want to create a new “Local Path” directory, type in the desired path.

RefMerge will create the directory for you if it doesn’t exist.

<Test>

Use the <Test...> button to see the result of your output file naming choices if the active design file is processed. This feature takes into consideration all settings in the “Output File Directory”, “Output File Name” and “Output File Extension” categories.

Example:

Chapter 16 — Output File Name Settings

Output File Name Category

The “Output File Name” settings determine the base file name for the merged files that will be created by RefMerge.

Prefix and Suffix

The “Prefix:” and “Suffix:” fields and associated checkboxes allow you to add a fixed string to the beginning (prefix) and/or end (suffix) of every merged file’s base file name. The base file name is the portion between the last directory separator and the period used for the extension.

If a design file’s full path is “C:\axiom\Refmerge\sample.dgn” then “sample” is the file name portion. This could also be called the base file name for the output merged file if RefMerge were to merge “sample.dgn” with the “Output File Name” option button set to “Use the original filename as the output file name.”

The prefix and suffix settings will always be added to the base file name.

This setting works in conjunction with the other settings that define output file path, file name and extension to create the final output file full path.

The following image shows an example with both prefix and suffix selected and the results for an active file name when the <Test...> button is clicked.

Output file name option button

Options for the output file base name.

Use the original filename as the output file name.

The “Use the original filename as the output file name.” option button choice is the default. The output file base name will be the same as the input file base name.

Use text element contents as the output file name.

You can search for a text element in the active model that contains the name to be used as the output file name. This option can be used to identify a specific value in the title block or some other text element in the design file that identifies the file. In MicroStation V8 use of this option requires that the active model contain this text element. The active model is the model that is active when you first open the design file. In design files that contain multiple models the active model is the model that was active the last time settings were saved. If no text element is found RefMerge will display an error dialog and stop processing since it has no way to correctly name the output file.

When you choose this option, some additional settings appear in the dialog.

RefMerge will search for the target text element using these settings. You can turn on and set values for one or more of level, color, weight, and style that will be unique for your target text. The program will select the first text element found that meets all of the identifying criteria. Be sure to turn on the checkbox to the left of any symbology item you want to utilize in addition to adding the appropriate values.

The text will be selected from the master file or a displayed reference file only.

Tip: It is a good idea to use the <Test...> button after making these settings to ensure the correct text element is identified in the active model.

Level selection

Click the <Select...> button next to the level field to open the “Select Levels” dialog box where you can select one or more levels on which to search for the text containing the base file name.

Color

Type in one or more color numbers s to define the colors that will be used to find the target text element. Separate individual colors using commas. A range of color numbers can be added by using a colon to separate the starting and ending color number. You can also use a color picker, by clicking the <Select…> button to the right of the “Color” field.

You can also enter “ByLevel” without the quotation marks, as a color option or choose it from the color picker dialog box.

Example: “1,4:6 “ will find a text that uses color 1, 4, 5 or 6.

Be sure to turn on the color checkbox when using color as part of the text location criteria.

Style

One or more line styles may be used to identify the target text element. Custom line style names, if used, must be enclosed in quotation marks and are case sensitive. Multiple line styles, when used, must be separated by commas. Click the <Select…> button to the right of the “Style” field to choose the styles using a style picker dialog box

You can also use “ByLevel” without the quotation marks, as a style option or choose it from the style picker dialog box.

Example: “E-Gas”,4 will find a text element that has a custom line style of E-Gas or a standard line style of 4.

Be sure to turn on the style checkbox when using style as part of the text location criteria.

Weight

Type in one or more weights that will be used to find the target text element. Separate individual weights using commas. A range of weights can be added by using a colon to separate the starting and ending number. You can also use the weight picker activated by clicking the <Select…> button to the right of the “Weight” field.

You can also use “ByLevel” without the quotation marks, as a weight option or choose it from the weight picker dialog box.

Example: byLevel,1 will find a shape that has a weight of byLevel or 1.

Be sure to turn on the weight checkbox when using weight as part of the text location criteria.

<Match>

The <Match> button allows you to select an element from the active design file to update the symbology fields in the dialog. Click on <Match> and then click on a text element that has the symbology you want to use. All symbology values in the settings fields will change to match the selected text element.

After updating the values be sure to turn on the appropriate checkboxes for level, color, style and weight.

Use text node contents as output file name (TXN#, “” format)

With this option we add the ability to specify text node numbers for creating the base file name of the output file. The content of text nodes can be concatenated with text in quotes to create the output file’s base file name.

The format has the following syntax:

Specify text nodes using upper case TXN followed by the text node number as digits.

Specify literal text strings by surrounding them in double quotes.

Separate parameters with commas.

Example:

Use specified filename. (single file only)

With this option you can specify the name of a single output file. With this option you will not be able to process multiple files.

Example:

<Test>

Use the <Test> button to see the result of your selections if the active file is processed using them. This feature takes into consideration all options in the “Output File Directory, “Output File Name” and “Output File Extension” categories.

Chapter 17 — Output File Extension

Output File Extension Category

Settings for the “Output File Extension” category.

Use same extension as input file.

When you select “Use same extension as input file” you should also select a different directory for the merged files in the “Output File Directory” settings or select a new base file name from the “Output File Name” settings. Otherwise, merged files will overwrite the input files.

Merged file extension

In the “Merged file extension” box, you may type any desired extension for the merged file. The default is “mer”.

A special function is provided for those who want to create more than one merged file, from the same master file, without overwriting the previously created merged files that already exist in the output directory. To accomplish this we use the “?” (question mark) character in the extension field. You can use one or more “?” characters together in the extension name. The question mark characters during processing will be replaced by incrementing integer values beginning with “0” (zero) or “00” if two question marks are used, rather than overwriting earlier files with the same file name.

As an example, if the file, “axiom.dgn” were merged with its reference files multiple times, using the output extension of “m??”, the output merge files would be named axiom.m00, axiom.m01, etc. This would continue until the file axiom.m99 was created. If you attempted to merge “axiom.dgn” again, to the same directory, you would get an error message telling you that no more valid merge file extensions are available.

When using a fixed extension, like the default “.mer” extension, each subsequent run with RefMerge on the same master file will simply overwrite the earlier merged file without issuing a warning.

Append extension to filename (file.dgn.ext)

If you select this checkbox, the extension from the “Merged file extension” field will be appended to the existing extension of the master file. For example, if you are processing the file myfile.dgn and you have used the default file extension of “.mer”, the merged output file will be named myfile.dgn.mer.

Chapter 18 — Output Options

Output Options Category

Settings for the “Output Options” category.

Compress output file

Use the “Compress output file” setting to compress the merged file after processing. Whenever RefMerge has to clip elements or drop complex elements during processing, it is not unusual for there to be some quantity of uncompressed deleted elements left in the merged file. In MicroStation V8 and later versions there is also the possibility of unused levels in the level table, unused text and dimension styles, etc. Using the “Compress output file” setting directs RefMerge to run the MicroStation compress command to remove deleted elements, levels, etc based on the active compress options set in your copy of MicroStation. This setting is checked on by default.

Create log file

Check the “Create log file” option to have a log file created in the same directory with the merged file. Creating a log file is the default. One log file is created for each merged design file. It will have the same name and location as the output merge file with a “.log”

extension appended to the end. The log shows which define file and models were processed, the actions taken on each reference file and the active settings used by RefMerge.

Here is a sample log file:

RefMerge 8.5c

Wednesday, 9 July 2008 12:47 pm

Original Master Design File : C:\ProgramData\Axiom\V8\RefMerge\Sample

Files\RefMerge.dgn

Merged Design File : C:\ProgramData\Axiom\V8\RefMerge\Sample

Files\\refmerge.mer

Master Models:

All models

RefMerge settings File :

C:\Users\RickDi\AppData\Roaming\Axiom\V8\RefMerge\refmerge.ini

Merging Method:

Merge elements into master models.

Clipped Element Options

How should dimensions be processed?

Clip component elements if they cross a clipping boundary.

How should solids and surfaces be processed?

Clip component elements if they cross a clipping boundary.

How should cones be processed?

Clip component elements if they cross a clipping boundary.

Mode for tag handling

Overlap - Only include tags that are inside or overlap the boundary.

Clipping Boundary Options

NOT USED

Dimension Elements Options

Element Modification and Control Options

How should reference file element's levels be modified?

Always copy reference levels to master file

How should level symbology be applied to master file elements?

~Ignore level symbology.

How should level symbology be applied to reference file elements?

~Ignore level symbology.

Convert master elements' ByLevel symbology to values Never

Convert reference elements' ByLevel symbology to values Never

How should level symbology be set in the output file?

~Keep settings identical to original master file.

Element Selection Options

How should master file elements be processed?

Copy only displayed elements.

How should master file cells be processed?

~Only copy elements on displayed levels. (drop cells)

How should reference file elements be processed?

Copy only displayed elements.

How should reference file cells be processed?

~Only copy elements on displayed levels. (drop cells)

How should level display be set in the output file?

Combine level display from master and reference files for all views.

Filled Area Element Options (Shape, Circle, Ellipse and Complex Shape)

How should filled area elements that get clipped be handled?

Create filled complex shapes when the fill view attribute is turned on.

Input View Options

Use parameters from view: 1

Output File Directory Options

Output File Naming Options

Use the original filename as the output file name.

Output File Extension Options

Merged file extension=mer

Output Options

Compress output file.

Format for passing merged file name to batch command.

Pass short filename in DOS format.

Patterned Area Element Options (Shape, Circle, Ellipse and Complex Shape)

How should patterned area elements that get clipped be handled

when the view attribute pattern is turned ON?

Drop pattern to its component elements and clip all components.

when the view attribute pattern is turned OFF?

Remove pattern and only clip closed element to linear elements. Component elements of a single patterned element will only be added to the design file if there are less than 1000 component cells.

Reference File Options

Do not merge raster reference files.

Leave unmerged raster reference files attached to the merged file.

Copy all attached rasters to the same directory as the merged file.

Tag Element Options

Include tag elements which are not associated with another element.

Ref file #1, (ref1.dgn) 4 elements examined, 4 added (0 seconds)

Ref file #2, (ref2.dgn) 4 elements examined, 4 added (0 seconds)

Ref file #3, (clip1.dgn) 9 elements examined, 6 added (0 seconds)

Processing time for model 1 seconds

Total processing time for file 1 seconds

Command to execute after each merge

This option allows you to run an external program on the merged output file by passing the file specification as a command line argument to the selected .bat or .exe file.

This would allow you to run an external plotting program on each merge file after it is created or create a copy of the output to another directory using a command line script stored in a batch file. Click the <Select...> button to open a file selection dialog box to select the program or batch file to use.

For example, you could create a simple batch file called “CopyToArchive.bat”. In it you could have a simple DOS copy command, like the following, that would copy the merged output file to a network archive location:

copy %1 “n:\archive\my project\merged”

Now select the .bat file as the command to execute after each merge and RefMerge will pass it the output file name as %1 and it will be copied to the designated directory.

Format for passing merged file name to batch command

This option controls the manner in which the “filename” value is passed to the batch command as %1. The default choice is to use the long filename in Windows format to fully support the use of spaces and long file and directory names. The short DOS format, used in earlier versions of RefMerge, is also available for those who need or prefer it.

Pass long filename in Windows format

Using this option RefMerge passes the file name and path in the long Windows format. The Windows format passes spaces and doesn’t change file names over 8 characters. Because spaces are passed it may be necessary to surround the argument in double quotes in your batch file before passing it to another program. For example if RefMerge’s output file were “C:\Program Files\Axiom\V7\RefMerge\my file test 1.mer” then it would pass that exact string, including the spaces to the batch file as %1.

Pass short filename in DOS format

Using this option RefMerge passes the file name and path in the short DOS format. The

DOS format doesn’t use spaces and changes file names over 8 characters by truncating

them and then adding a tilde with a number to create a unique value. For example if

RefMerge’s output file were “C:\Program Files\Axiom\V7\RefMerge\my file test 1.mer”

then it would pass a string like the following to a batch file:

“C:\PROGRA~1\Axiom\V7\RefMerge\sample\MYFILE~1.MER”

Chapter 19 — Patterned Area Elements

Patterned Area Elements Category

This settings category only applies to the "Merge elements into master models." merging mode.

Settings for the “Patterned Area Elements” category.

How should patterned area elements that get clipped be handled?

Patterning is the repeated placement of a hatch line or cell through a closed area at a specified interval (spacing), scale, and angle. You may want to handle the clipping of these elements differently depending on your view settings for pattern. Therefore, we have supplied two sets of identical options for handling clipped patterns. One set applies when the view attribute, “Pattern”, is turned “On” and the other when the view attribute, “Pattern”, is turned “Off”.

RefMerge defaults give a “what you see is what you get” result, therefore, they are different depending on the View Attribute setting for patterns. You can change the defaults with the settings in this category.

Three options for handling clipped patterned elements

The following example shows three ways to clip a patterned circle. The original elements are shown in the image below. The black rectangle has been selected as the clipping boundary.

Drop pattern to its component elements and clip all components.

When you select this option, your result will look like the image below, and will consist of individual elements that are no longer associated. The results shown in the image below are actually an arc and a series of line elements. This option is the default when Pattern is selected in the view attributes.

Add extra lines to create a patterned complex shape.

When you select this option, your resulting merge will contain a patterned complex shape element as in the image below. This option uses the most system resources.

Remove pattern and only clip closed element to linear elements.

Select “Remove pattern and only clip closed element to linear elements.” to have RefMerge remove the pattern and only create linear elements from the closed area

element outline that is clipped. The image below shows the resulting arc when selecting this option for the sample element above. This option is the default when “Pattern” is not turned on in the view attributes of the view used for the merge.

Component elements of a single patterned element will only be added to the design file if there are less than 1000 component cells.

This option applies only to clipped patterns containing thousands of associated pattern lines. It handles the situation where a patterned element may seem to be a filled element but is actually filled with many association pattern lines. There may be thousands of these lines.

When clipping such patterned elements, you may see a MicroStation “Alert” window with content like, “Do you really want to place 72*4416 patterns?"

Dropping the association pattern into its component lines (when the parent shape is clipped) is going to generate a lot of lines and require a lot of calculation to clip these component lines.

This option checks for such a situation and prevents tying up the computer with these calculations. The default activates when a shape containing more than 1000 lines of pattern is clipped.

Chapter 20 — Reference File Settings

Reference file Category

Use the setting in this category to control how RefMerge deals with vector and raster reference file attachments during the merge.

Settings for the “Reference Files” category.

Vector reference file options

By default RefMerge will merge all displayed vector reference files. After the merge, all attachments are removed including non-displayed and missing attachments. The vector reference file options allow you to modify the default behavior.

Vector reference file merging choices

Merge all attachments

When this option button choice is selected all displayed vector reference file attachments are merged. This is the default setting.

Merge only specified attachments

Choosing this option activates the <Select…> button that opens the “Filter reference attachments” dialog box. Using this dialog box you can add one or more filter statements that limit the reference file attachments that are merged by RefMerge. See the “Filter reference attachments” section below for more information about setting up reference filters for use with this option button choice.

The default filter matches all reference attachments, therefore making this option choice without setting a specific filter causes RefMerge to function as though you chose the “Merge all attachments” option.

When you add one or more filter statements, an asterisk (*) will display on the <Select…> button to notify you of the fact. Click the <Select…> button to view the filter values.

Exclude specified attachments from merge

Choosing this option activates the <Select…> button that opens the “Filter reference attachments” dialog box. Using this dialog box you can add one or more filter statements to define the reference file attachments that are excluded from the merge by RefMerge. See the “Filter reference attachments” section below for more information about setting up reference filters for use with this option button choice.

The default filter matches all reference attachments, therefore making this option button choice without setting a specific filter causes RefMerge to exclude all reference file attachments from the merge.

When you add one or more filter statements, an asterisk (*) will display on the <Select…> button to notify you of the fact. Click the <Select…> button to view the filter values.

Leave unmerged vector reference files attached to the merged file.

RefMerge removes all reference attachments in the output “.mer” file by default. However, if you use one of the vector reference file option button setting, that limits which displayed reference attachments are merged, you can turn this option on to tell RefMerge to leave the unmerged vector reference files attached.

Do not merge internally referenced attachments.

By default RefMerge merges all-reference attachments including reference attachments that come from models that are part of the same design file. If you want to leave internally referenced models attached, turn this option on. In this case RefMerge will only merge external references and maintain the internal attachments.

Do not merge self-reference attachments.

A self-reference attachment is a special case of an internally referenced attachment. A self-attachment is a reference file attachment that references the same model it is attached to or more simply a model that is referenced to itself. AutoCAD does not support self-references. This option is turned on automatically when you select the “Do not merge internally referenced attachments.” Turning this option on leaves self-referenced attachments attached to the output merged file.

Retain all vector reference file attachments in the merged file.

Select this setting if you want to retain all displayed vector reference file attachments in the merged output file. This setting is off by default.

This setting is only available in the “Merge elements into master models.” mode. All elements from the reference files are merged in the usual manner but the displayed reference file attachments will not be detached as happens in a standard merge. RefMerge does however turn off each retained attachments display in the merged output file.

Missing reference files and reference files with their display setting turned off prior to the merge are not retained.

Reference Attachment Filter

The reference attachment filter dialog box allows you to control which displayed vector reference file attachments are merged by RefMerge when the option button is set to “Merge only specified attachments” or excluded from the merge, when the option button choice is set to “Exclude specified attachments from the merge”. The “Reference Attachment Filter” dialog box is opened by clicking the <Select…> button next to the vector reference file option button.

When the vector reference file option button is set to “Merge all attachments”, the reference attachment filter settings have no affect and the <Select…> button is grayed out.

Filter reference attachments dialog box.

The list box shows each filter statement and the values set for each column. When first opened, the default value for each of the first four columns, is the asterisk. This wildcard character matches all possible values set for any attachment, including no value. The “Slot” column, which accepts one or more integer values or ranges separated by commas, is empty. Unless you change one or more of these values the default filter statement will match all attachments.

Each filter statement combines the values from all columns to determine if a reference file matches. For example if you add the value “bdr*.dgn“ in the “File Spec” column, and the value “BDR” in the logical column then both the file name and the logical name would need to be true before that reference file attachment would match the filter statement. If you wish to create a match when either of those conditions is true then you would add one filter statement for the file name only and another filter statement for the logical name only.

String values are case-insensitive. You can make them case-sensitive by surrounding the string value in double quotes. For example a file spec value of “Ref1.dgn” (including the double quotes) would not match a reference file named ref1.dgn.

You can use the wildcard character “*” for zero of more occurrences of any character and “?” for exactly one instance of any character in any of the string fields.

String fields can contain multiple values separated by commas.

<Add>

Click the <Add> button to add a new filter statement to the list. The new filter will be added directly below the highlighted filter statement in the list.

<Remove>

Click the <Remove> button to remove the highlighted filter statement from the list.

<Up>

When more than one filter statement exists, the <Up> button can be used to move the highlighted filter statement up in the list order.

<Down>

When more than one filter statement exists, the <Down> button can be used to move the highlighted filter statement down in the list order.

File Spec

The File Spec option button allows you to designate the file name of the reference file attachment being filtered. The default is “File Name + Extension”. This choice will test the string against the reference file attachment’s file name and extension only and will disregard any relative or resolved path value.

The “Relative File Spec” matches the string you enter against the relative path, file name and extension of a reference file attachment. This is useful when the relative path is saved in the reference attachment you want to match.

The last choice is the “Resolved File Spec”. This tests your entry against the resolved full file specification. In other words against the drive, path, file name and extension of where MicroStation actually finds the reference file attachment.

In the field next to the option button enter the file spec value that will match the reference file attachments you want to filter. If no value is entered in this field then all attachments will be matched. A blank value in this field will display as an asterisk “*” in the list box in the “File Spec” column.

You can use the wildcard characters “*” for zero of more occurrences of any character and “?” for exactly one instance of any character in any of the string fields.

Model Name

Add a model name value that will match the reference file attachments you want to filter. If no value is entered in this field then all models will be matched. A blank value in this field will display as an asterisk “*” in the list box in the “Model Name” column.

You can use the wildcard character “*” for zero of more occurrences of any character and the character “?” for exactly one instance of any character in any of the string fields.

Logical Name

Add a logical name value that will match the reference file attachments you want to filter. If no value is entered in this field then all attachments will be matched. A blank value in this field will display as an asterisk “*” in the list box in the “Logical Name” column.

You can use the wildcard character “*” for zero of more occurrences of any character and the character “?” for exactly one instance of any character in any of the string fields.

Description

Add a Description value that will match the reference file attachments that you want to filter. If no value is entered in this field then all attachments will be matched. A blank value in this field will display as an asterisk “*” in the list box in the “Description” column.

You can use the wildcard character “*” for zero of more occurrences of any character and the character “?” for exactly one instance of any character in any of the string fields.

Slot Number

Add one or more slot numbers separated by commas that will match the reference file attachment you want to filter. If no value is entered in this field then all attachments will be matched.

<Match>

The <Match> button presents a list of reference files from the active design file that you can select. Selecting an attachment from this list and clicking the <OK> button on the selection dialog updates all the filter fields with the value from the selected reference attachment.

<Test>

Click the <Test> button to see which reference files, from the active design file, would be merged or excluded based on the filters entered into the list box. This is a quick way to test your filter statements.

<Clear>

Click the <Clear> button to reset each of the highlighted filter’s fields to the default value.

<Clear All>

Click the <Clear All> button to remove all filter statements and return the “Filter reference attachments” dialog box to its default state. Clicking this button activates an “Alert” dialog box that warns you that all filter rules will be deleted.

<Close>

Click the <Close> button to close the “Filter reference attachments” dialog box with all the defined filter rules active.

Raster reference file options

“Raster reference file options” on the “Reference Files” settings category dialog box.

Do not merge raster reference files.

By default this option is checked on and raster references are not merged into the output file. Uncheck this option if you want RefMerge to merge raster references into the merged output file.

To leave specific raster files unmerged, use the “Reference files that should not be merged...” option at the top of this options box.

Leave unmerged raster reference files attached to the merged file.

By default this option is turned on along with “Do not merge raster reference files.” By selecting this option RefMerge will leave unmerged raster reference files attached to the output merged file.

Copy all attached rasters to the same directory as the merged file.

By default this option is turned on along with the previous two options. If you uncheck “Do not merge raster reference files.” or “Leave unmerged raster reference files attached to the merged file” then this option will gray out as it won’t apply. If turned on it directs RefMerge to copy the unmerged raster files to the same directory as the output merged file.

Chapter 21 — Tag Elements

Tag Element Category

This settings category only applies to the "Merge elements into master models." merging mode.

Setting for the “Tag Elements” category.

Include tag elements which are not associated with another element.

This option is on by default. Leave this setting on if your design files may contain orphan tags not associated with any element and you want these merged into the output file without error.

Chapter 22 — Choose Files to Process

Using Axiom’s “Choose Files to Process” box

Use Axiom’s “Choose Files to Process” box to create a list of files to process. Here is an empty list (no files chosen yet):

The first button shown in this picture — — will only display if you have MicroStation connected to ProjectWise. When this is not the case, this button will not display.

Tip: You can find balloon help for almost any dialog item by holding your mouse over it.

Adding files to the list

There are up to five ways to add files to the list:

By browsing for them in a ProjectWise datasource with the “Browse ProjectWise”

button . This button is only displayed when MicroStation is connected to ProjectWise.

By browsing for them with the “Browse for files” button .

By searching for them with the “Search for files” button , which brings up the “Search for Files” box.

By dragging and dropping them from Windows Explorer into the “Files to Process”

list. You can open a Windows Explorer window using the button.

By importing an existing ASCII text file with files listed in it using “File | Import File List…”

File and Edit menus

Most of the options in the “File” and “Edit” menus are duplicated along the button bar or on the right-click menu in the “Files to Process” list.

Browse ProjectWise

Click on this button or press {Ctrl-P} to open the “Axiom ProjectWise Navigator” box.

You will be prompted to log into a ProjectWise datasource.

Browse your ProjectWise datasource, select the files you want and press {Add to List}. No files are shown in the above picture but you’ll see files once you log into a datasource.

Here you simply select the files you want to process and press {Add to List} to add them to your list of files to process. You can also right-click and choose “Add Files to List” to get the same result.

When you are done adding files to your list of files to process, press {Close}.

Browse for files

Click on this button or press {Ctrl+O} to open the “Browse for Files” box:

Select one or more files and press {Open} to add them to your list of files to process.

Search for files

Click on this button or press {Ctrl+F} to open the “Search for Files” box (with its “Basic” tab activated):

Search in:

Choose the folder you want to search for files in. Click the “Choose a folder to search”

button to browse to the folder you want to search.

Include subfolders.

Enable this if you want to search for files in subfolders too.

Search for files using:

Use this to restrict your search to files with certain names or extensions. Most users search by file extension, such as “*.dgn”.

Search for files by date:

Choose files to process based on their modification date. You can choose to search for files that were last changed before or after a specific date and time.

{Search Now}

Once you have made your file search choices, click {Search Now} to perform the search.

When the search is done, you will see a count of the number of files found. Press {Add

Files} to add the files to your list of files to process.

{Add Files}

After searching for files, press this button to add the found files to your list of files to process.

{Close}

Press this button to close the “Search for Files” box.

Search for Files: Advanced tab

If you want to search for files in more than one folder at a time, click on the “Advanced” tab of the “Search for Files” box.

Here you can choose any number of folders to search by checking them on in the folder tree.

Drag-and-drop files from Windows Explorer

Click this button or press {Ctrl+E} to open a Windows Explorer window from which you can drag and drop files or entire folders into your “Files to Process” list.

Dragging a folder into the list adds the files in that folder to the list, not the folders themselves.

Tip: You can drag files into your list from any Windows Explorer window, not just a Windows Explorer window opened by this button.

Dragging folders (not files) into the list

Dragging folders into the list is different than dragging files. Dragging files is direct — the files go right into your list. But since folders could include files you don’t want to process, dragging folders initiates a search of those folders. You can then fine-tune the search by adding or removing folders, choosing which types of files to include and limiting the search by file modification dates.

Once you’ve made your search choices, click {Search Now} to begin the search. When that’s done, click {Add Files} to add the found files to the list of files to process.

Tip: When dragging both files and folders into your list simultaneously, the files still get added to your list immediately and a search is initiated for the folders, as usual.

Remove selected files

Press this button to remove the selected files from the list.

Remove all files

Press this button to remove every file from your list.

Warning: This will clear your entire list of files. Use it with care.

Remove Missing Files

This removes any files from the list that cannot be found. This is available only from the Edit menu, there is no dedicated button for it.

ProjectWise Tip: You may be prompted to log into ProjectWise so this operation can determine if any files are missing. If you cancel the ProjectWise login, all ProjectWise files in the list are assumed to be not missing.

Save list to file

Press this button or {Ctrl+S} if you want to save the currently displayed list of files to a text file that you can reuse in the future.

Tip: Import a previously saved file list using the “Import File List...” choice on the File menu or by simply dragging one or more of these .LST files into the list of files to process from Windows Explorer.

Files to Process

The object of this entire box is to put files in the “Files to Process” list.

Right-clicking on the list

Right-click anywhere in the list to see this context-sensitive menu of available actions:

For ProjectWise-aware products (Delete this copy!):

Selecting files in the list

You might want to select one or more files in the list so you can remove them. There are multiple ways to select multiple files in the list.

Using {Shift-left-click}

You can select multiple adjacent files in the list by first left-clicking on the first file then holding down the {Shift} key while left-clicking on the last file in the series.

Using {Ctrl-left-click}

You can select multiple files arbitrarily by holding down the {Ctrl} while left-clicking on each one.

Removing files from the list

There are several ways to remove files from the list:

Select one or more files and click the {Remove selected files} button.

Select one or more files and right-click on one of them, then choose a removal option from the menu which appears.

Select one or more files and press the {Delete} key on your keyboard.

Click the {Remove all files} button.

Version

Right-click on the title bar and choose “About Axiom File List Processor” to bring up a box containing version information which is useful if you are calling Axiom for support.

{OK}

Once you have chosen all the files you want to process, press {OK} to close the “Choose Files to Process” box.

{Cancel}

If you change your mind, press {Cancel} and any changes you made to your list of files to process will be discarded.

Advanced Commands

The “Choose Files to Process” box is extremely powerful and easy to use. However, for those users who want more raw power, it is possible to create a list of files to process without even picking up your mouse.

Instead of opening the “Choose Files to Process” box, you can type wildcards and other special commands directly in the file specification field in the main dialog box of the host program (for example, FileFixer’s “Which Files:” field.)

Using these commands, your list of files to process will be created automatically when you start processing. Or you can open the “Choose Files to Process” box to view and edit your list of files before you begin processing them.

This table describes the most popular of these advanced commands.

Command	Examples	Description

*	c:\work\*.dgn	This wildcard will match
	c:\work\.	zero or more characters
	c:\work\project1.*	anywhere in the file name
	c:\work\project1.*	and extension. It does not
		and extension. It does not
		work on the path.

?	c:\work\project1.dg?	This wildcard will match
	c:\work\project?.d??	exactly one character
	c:\work\?project?.dgn	anywhere in the file name
	c:\work\?project?.dgn	and extension. It does not
		and extension. It does not
		work on the path.

/S	c:\work\*.dgn /S	This command causes
	c:\work\border*.dgn /S	subfolders to be searched for
	c:\work\project?.dgn /S	matching files. It is usually
	c:\work\project?.dgn /S	used with a wildcard.
		used with a wildcard.

/L	/L c:\work\list.lst	Follow this command with
		the name of a list of file to
		process, including its full
		path. The list file is a text
		file with one file per line,
		including full path on each
		line, usually with the
		extension “.LST”.

Chapter 23 — Running RefMerge from the command prompt

Using MSBATCH.BAT to run RefMerge

You can run RefMerge from the command prompt if you own a site or corporate license of RefMerge. Use the MicroStation supplied MSBATCH.BAT to do so.

Making MSBATCH runnable

Before MSBATCH can work from the command line, the PATH variable needs to be set to include the MicroStation main directory. This is where MSBATCH.BAT is normally installed. The way to do this, if you don’t have it built into your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, is to use the following command:

PATH=%PATH%;C:\Program files\bentley \Program\MicroStation\

Of course, you’ll need to modify this command for your system’s location of MicroStation.

Entering this at the command prompt will set up PATH for this session/window only and will need to be re-run at the start of each session.

If you don’t do this you will get “Bad command or file name” when you try to run MSBATCH. Even if you give it the full path to MSBATCH you will still get “Bad command or file name” when it tries to run the commands within MSBATCH.

Alternately you may change your working directory to the MicroStation directory where the MicroStation supplied msbatch.bat file resides:

CD\Program files\bentley\Program\MicroStation\”

Making REFMERGE.MA runnable

MicroStation must be able to find RefMerge in order to run it. There are four ways this can be accomplished: store RefMerge.ma in one of the MS_MDL specified directories, add its current location to the definition of MS_MDL, make its location the current working directory, or specify the full path to it.

The easiest of the four methods is to specify the full path. Therefore, if you have made the MicroStation directory your current working directory (see above) you would type a command like:

MSBATCH “C:\Program files

(x86)\AXIOM\V8\REFMERGE\REFMERGE”

A normal Axiom product installation doesn’t make the location of RefMerge.ma an MS_MDL defined directory, so you can copy RefMerge.ma to one of the already defined MS_MDL directories (like “...Bentley\Program\MicroStation \mdlapps\”). The easiest is to copy RefMerge.ma to the directory defined by the AXI directory, which is an MS_MDL directory.

Alternatively, you can add the location of RefMerge.ma to the list of directories defined by MS_MDL but that requires some involved work. If you know how and want to do so, go ahead.

There may be a third alternative: make the “...\Axiom\V8\RefMerge\” directory your working directory and run MSBATCH from there but then you need to add the MicroStation directory to the PATH directories.

The easiest and most direct way to accomplish all of this is to make the MicroStation directory the PATH variable and run from the RefMerge home directory. These commands show what needs to be done to set up and run like this:

PATH C:\Program files\bentley\Program\MicroStation\

CD\program files (x86)\AXIOM\V8\REFMERGE

MSBATCH REFMERGE c:\PROJECT\*.DGN

Specify the design files to be processed

You can specify a single file by path and filename or you can use wildcard notation including “/s” to specify a directory including sub-directories.

Additionally, RefMerge will accept a text file containing a list of files to process with one full path and file name per line. When entering such a list on the command line, precede it with the list file option /l.

Examples:

MSBATCH "C:\Program Files

(x86)\Axiom\V8\RefMerge\Refmerge.ma"

c:\project\myfile.dgn

MSBATCH "C:\Program Files

(x86)\Axiom\V8\RefMerge\Refmerge.ma" c:\project\*.dgn

MSBATCH "C:\Program Files

(x86)\Axiom\V8\RefMerge\Refmerge.ma" c:\project\*.dgn/s

MSBATCH "C:\Program Files

(x86)\Axiom\V8\RefMerge\Refmerge.ma"

/lc:\project\filelist.txt

Specifying a view override

When running RefMerge from the command line you can specify a view to be used for merging. This works the same as the “Use parameters from view __” field in the “RefMerge Settings” dialog box. This override, when used will take precedence over the input view contained in the settings file used. The command line syntax for the view override is:

View:<View_Number>

MSBATCH REFMERGE *.dgn View:3

Specifying an output path override

When running RefMerge from the command line you can specify an output path override to be used in place of the “Output File Directory” contained in the RefMerge setting file. Setting this to a valid path will cause RefMerge to output all merged files to the designated directory. The syntax is:

OutputPath:<Directory_Path>

MSBATCH REFMERGE *.dgn OutputPath:c:\dgn\out\

Using saved RefMerge settings

Another optional parameter that can be entered anywhere after “MSBATCH

REFMERGE” is a settings file name. The settings file parameter looks like this:

MSBATCH REFMERGE C:\axiom\*.dgn

c:\axiom\refmerge\topcar.ini

Another example:

MSBATCH c:\work\RefMerge\obj\RefMerge c:\work\RefMerge\obj\tst.ini c:\work\dgn\tst2.dgn

The settings file must use the extension “.ini” to differentiate it from the design files.

Note: If a view number parameter is given with a settings file after the “msbatch command”, the view used by RefMerge is taken from the view number parameter given on the command line. The view number override has a higher priority than the view number specified in the settings file.

Using MicroStation and operating system configuration variables

MicroStation configuration variables and operating system variables can be used anywhere in the command line argument after the “msbatch” statement. The syntax for using a variable is $(Variable_Name). The following are some examples:

Msbatch $(AXI)refmerge\refmerge.ma $(ARCHDIR)Dgn\*.dgn

Msbatch refmerge.ma $(ARCHDIR)Dgn\*.dgn

OutputPath:$(ARCHDIR)out\

In the above examples AXI and ARCHDIR can be either system or MicroStation variables defining an existing path location.

Chapter 24 — Running RefMerge without a dialog

Running RefMerge in graphics mode by key-in

You can also run RefMerge with a MicroStation key-in, without opening the RefMerge main dialog box. This ability allows you to launch RefMerge from a macro or function key if desired.

The key-in command syntax is very similar to the syntax described in the earlier chapter about running RefMerge from the command line with the addition of the mandatory “/nodialog” switch.

The syntax is as follows:

Mdl load refmerge.ma <Files_to_process> [<options> <settings_file>] /nodialog

In MicroStation V8 and later versions it is possible to utilize MicroStation configuration variables for paths where appropriate. To do this you must precede the mdl load statement with “expand key-in”. This tells MicroStation to expand configuration variables found in the key-in string that follows

Example:

Expand key-in mdl load “$(AXI)refmerge\refmerge.ma” ActiveFile /nodialog

Note: Whenever spaces are used in the path or file name of the application, the design files to process, the settings file or the options be sure to surround the argument with double quotes otherwise the space will act as an argument separator and will not work as you intend. Notice the double quotes around the application name used in the command shown above. Using double quotes when they aren’t needed will not cause any problems, therefore it is always better to use them when they are not needed than it is to forget them when they are.

Making REFMERGE.MA runnable

MicroStation must be able to find RefMerge in order to run it from a key-in command. There are several ways to accomplish this: store RefMerge.ma in one of the MS_MDL specified directories, add its current location to the definition of MS_MDL, or specify the full path to it.

The easiest method is to specify the full path.:

Mdl load "C:\Program files

(x86)\AXIOM\V8\REFMERGE\REFMERGE.ma" ActiveFile /nodialog

A normal Axiom product installation doesn’t make the location of RefMerge.ma an MS_MDL defined directory, so you can copy RefMerge.ma to one of the already defined MS_MDL directories (like “...Bentley\MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries)\MicroStation\mdlapps\”). You can also copy RefMerge.ma to the directory defined by the AXI configuration variable, which is an MS_MDL directory.

Alternatively, you can add the location of RefMerge.ma to the list of directories defined by MS_MDL but that requires some workspace alteration. If you know how and want to do so, go ahead.

Specify the design files to be processed

You can specify a single file by path and filename or you can use wildcard notation including “/s” to specify a directory including sub-directories.

RefMerge will also accept a text file containing a list of files to process with one full path and file name per line. When entering such a list on the command line, precede it with the list file option /l.

Finally you can designate the active design file with the keyword “ActiveFile”. The keyword is not case sensitive. Using this keyword in a function key definition is the most practical since a single command can be used to process any active file.

Examples:

Mdl load "C:\Program Files (x86)\Axiom\V8\RefMerge\ Refmerge.ma" ActiveFile /nodialog

Mdl load " C:\Program Files (x86)\Axiom\V8\RefMerge\ Refmerge.ma" "c:\project dgns\myfile.dgn" /nodialog

Mdl load " C:\Program Files (x86)\Axiom\V8\RefMerge\ Refmerge.ma" c:\project\*.dgn /nodialog

Mdl load " C:\Program Files (x86)\Axiom\V8\RefMerge\ Refmerge.ma" c:\project\*.dgn/s /nodialog

Mdl load " C:\Program Files (x86)\Axiom\V8\RefMerge\ Refmerge.ma" /lc:\project\filelist.txt /nodialog

Specifying a view override

When running RefMerge with a key-in command you can specify a view to be used for merging. This works the same as the “Use parameters from view __” field in the “RefMerge Settings” dialog box. This override, when used, will take precedence over the input view contained in the settings file used. The key-in syntax for the view override is:

View:<View_Number>

Mdl load REFMERGE *.dgn View:3 /nodialog

Specifying an output path override

When running RefMerge with a key-in you can specify an output path override to be used in place of the “Output File Directory” contained in the RefMerge setting file. Setting this to a valid path will cause RefMerge to output all merged files to the designated directory. The syntax is:

OutputPath:<Directory_Path>

Mdl load REFMERGE *.dgn OutputPath:c:\dgn\out\ /nodialog

Do not add a space between the override keyword, including its colon and the drive letter or the incorrect directory will be used for the output file. In addition the trailing backslash must be included to ensure the correct directory is used. If spaces are part of the output path location be sure to surround the entire optional statement with double quotes.

Example:

Mdl load REFMERGE *.dgn "OutputPath:c:\merged files\out\" /nodialog

If you are including an ini file in your key-in string as well as this option you must put the .ini file name before the OutputPath option in the key-in the string.

Example:

Mdl load REFMERGE *.dgn r:\axiom\refmerge.ini "OutputPath:c:\merged files\out\" /nodialog

Using saved RefMerge settings

Another optional parameter that can be entered anywhere after “Mdl load REFMERGE” is a settings file name. The settings file parameter looks like this:

Mdl load REFMERGE C:\axiom\*.dgn c:\axiom\refmerge\topcar.ini /nodialog

Another example:

Mdl load c:\axiom\RefMerge c:\axiom\RefMerge\tst.ini c:\work\dgn\tst2.dgn /nodialog

The settings file must use the extension “.ini” to differentiate it from the design files.

Chapter 25 — Working with .ini files

Format of .ini files

You may never find a reason to modify the .ini files that hold RefMerge settings directly, however an explanation for doing so is given here.

An ini file may be edited with any text editor.

When starting with an older version of an ini file, open it in the current version of RefMerge and then save settings. Your settings will all be saved to the newer format with any new options set to factory default values.

All of the ini fields match parameters in the “Settings” dialog box.

If any parameter in the “Settings” dialog box is a toggle button, its “On” state in the ini file can be specified by assigning the field a value of “1”. For example, CompressOutFile=1. The “Off“ state can be specified by a “0” value.

If any parameter in the “Settings” dialog box is an option button, its state in the .ini file can be given by assigning the field a numerical value.

Level mask can be given by typing the selected levels separated by commas. Level names must be in double quotes. For example: ShapeLevels=1,2,”Default”,60

If any field has not been described in the.ini file it will be set to the default value. If any field name has been typed with an error (for example DhapeLevel=1,2) it will also be set to the default value.

The line: “ViewId=0”, refers to View 1 and “ViewId=7” refers to View 8. MicroStation, in MDL, numbers views 0-7 whereas you, (the user), refer to Views with the numbers 1 through 8.

Sample .ini file with default settings

RefMerge=24

DATE_CREATED=Tuesday, 10 April 2008 12:31 pm

Clipped Element Options=24

OmitClippedText=0

OmitClippedRaster=0

DimensionClipping=2

SolidsClipping=2

ConesClipping=2

TagsMode=2

Clipping Boundary Options=24

UseFrame=0

FrameType=1

StopIfNoFrame=0

UseShapeLevel=0

ShapeLevels="Default"

UseShapeColor=0

ShapeColor=

UseShapeWeight=0

ShapeWeight=

UseShapeStyle=0

ShapeStyle=

Dimension Elements Options=24

DissociateDimensions=0

DropRotatedDimensions=0

DropScaledDimensions=0

DropAllDimensions=0

Element Modification and Control Options=24

PlaceLevel=0

PlaceLevelMode=4

PlaceLevelsList=

PlaceLevelName="Default"

MasterSymb=1

RefSymb=1

CopyLevelsMode=2

MasterByLevel=1

RefByLevel=1

Element Selection Options=24

MasterElems=2

MasterCells=2

RefElems=2

RefCells=2

Filled Area Element Options (Shape, Circle, Ellipse and Complex Shape)=24

FilledAreaElements=2

Input View Options=24

ViewId=0

ViewNumber(view-1)=0

SavedViewName=

Master Models=24

MasterModels=0

Remap=0

Multi-line Element Options=24

DissociateMultiLines=0

Output File Directory Options=24

UseGivenDirectory=0

MergedPath=

Output File Naming Options=24

MergedPrependAdd=0

MergedPrependText=

MergedAppendAdd=0

MergedAppendText=

MergedNameMode=0

UseDgnTextLevel=0

DgnTextLevels=

UseDgnTextColor=0

DgnTextColor=

UseDgnTextWeight=0

DgnTextWeight=

UseDgnTextStyle=0

DgnTextStyle=

MergedOutputTextNodeFormat?#.#=-?5.1-?2.1-?82.1-?1.1-?80.1-

MergedOutputTextNodeFormatTXN#,="-"TXN5,"-"TXN2,"-"TXN82,"-"TXN1,"-"TXN80,"-"

MergedOutputTypedName=

Output File Extension Options=24

UseTheSameExt=0

MergedExt=mer

AppendExt=0

Output Options=24

CompressOutFile=1

CreateLog=1

DisplayedLevelsSet=3

LevelSymbologySet=1

BatchFileName=

Patterned Area Element Options (Shape, Circle, Ellipse and Complex Shape)=24

PatternDropAssoc=0

PatternedAreaElementsON=2

PatternedAreaElementsOFF=3

PatternDropLimit=1000

Reference File Options=24

ExcludedSpec=

LeaveUnprocessedVectorRefsAttached=0

LeaveAllVectorRefsAttached=-1

CopyUnprocessedVectorRefsToMergeDir=0

DontMergeRasterRefs=-1

LeaveUnprocessedRasterRefsAttached=-1

CopyUnprocessedRasterRefsToMergeDir=-1

Tag Element Options=24

AllowOrphanTags=1

ColorMap=1

Description of .ini file options

Clipped Element Options

OmitClippedText	Omit text overlapping clipping boundaries. 0=no 1=yes

OmitClippedRaster	Omit raster element overlapping clipping boundaries. 0=no
	1=yes

DimensionClipping	How should clipped dimension elements be processed?
	2	– Clip component elements if they cross a clipping
	boundary.
	1	– Include whole element if it crosses a clipping boundary.
	3	– Exclude whole element if it crosses a clipping boundary.

SolidsClipping	How should solids and surfaces be processed?
	2	– Clip component elements if they cross a clipping
	boundary.
	1	– Include whole element if it crosses a clipping boundary.
	3	– Exclude whole element if it crosses a clipping boundary.

ConesClipping	How should cones be processed?
	2	– Clip component elements if they cross a clipping
	boundary.
	1	– Include whole element if it crosses a clipping boundary.
	3	– Exclude whole element if it crosses a clipping boundary.

TagsMode	Mode for tag handling
	1	– All - Include all tags with associated element inside the
	boundary.
	2	– Overlap - Only include tags that are inside or overlap the
	boundary.
	3	– Inside - Only include those tags that are inside the
	boundary.

Clipping Boundary Options

UseFrame	Define a final clipping boundary? 0=no 1=yes

FrameType	Frame Type:
	1 – shape.
	2 – fence.
	3 – view extents.

StopIfNoFrame	Stop process when clipping boundary not found. 0=no 1=yes

UseShapeLevel	Use level in locating clipping boundary? 0=no 1=yes

ShapeLevels	If used, find boundary on one of the specified levels
	example: =4,5,43-49,51

UseShapeColor	Use color in locating boundary shape?	0=no 1=yes

ShapeColor	If used, shape must be in the specified color.

UseShapeWeight	Use weight in locating boundary shape? 0=no 1=yes

ShapeWeight	If used, weight of boundary shape must match weight given.

UseShapeStyle	Use style in locating boundary shape?	0=no 1=yes

ShapeStyle	If used, style of boundary shape must match style given.

Dimension Element Options

DissociateDimensions	Always remove association from dimension elements. 0=no
	1=yes

DropRotatedDimensions	Drop dimension elements in rotated reference files. 0=no
	1=yes

DropScaledDimensions	Drop dimension elements in scaled reference files. 0=no
	1=yes

DropAllDimensions	Drop all dimension elements into component parts. 0=no
	1=yes

Element Modification and Control Options

PlaceLevel	Level to place elements on (1..63)

PlaceLevelMode	How should reference file element's levels be modified?
	1	– Place elements on their original level.
	2	– Place elements on level specified in PlaceLevel
	3	– Place elements on levels specified in PlaceLevelsList
	4	– Always copy reference levels to master file

PlaceLevelsList	Place elements on level derived from list.

PlaceLevelName	V8 only – Place elements on level name. Enclose name in
	quotes. “”

CopyLevelsMode	How should level name be copied to the master file?
	1	– Prepend reference logical name.
	2	– Prepend reference base file name.
	3	– Append reference logical name.
	4	– Append reference base file name.

MasterSymb	How should level symbology be applied to master file
	elements?
	5	– Apply master file level symbology based on view.
	4	– Apply master file level symbology.
	1	– Ignore level symbology.

RefSymb	How should level symbology be applied to reference file
	elements?
	3	– Apply reference file level symbology based on view.
	2	– Apply reference file level symbology.
	5	– Apply master file level symbology based on view.
	4	– Apply master file level symbology.
	1	– Ignore level symbology.

ByLevel Modification

MasterByLevel	Convert master elements ‘ByLevel” symbology to values
	(V8-Only)
	1	– Always
	2	– Never

RefByLevel	Convert reference elements ‘ByLevel” symbology to values
	(V8-Only)
	1	– Only copy elements on displayed levels. (drop cells)
	2	– Copy all elements in cell.
	3	– Only when necessary

Element Selection Options

MasterElems	How should master file elements be processed?
	1	– Copy all elements regardless of display levels.
	2	– Copy only displayed elements.

MasterCells	How should master file cells be processed?
	1	– Only copy elements on displayed levels. (drop cells)
	2	– Copy all elements in cell.

RefElems	How should reference file elements be processed?
	2	– Copy only displayed elements.
	1	– Copy all elements regardless of display levels.
	3	– Copy only elements on first reference file's display levels.

RefCells	How should reference file cells be processed?
	1	– Only copy elements on displayed levels. (drop cells)
	2	– Copy all elements in cell.

Filled Area Elements

FilledAreaElements	2 – Create filled complex shapes when fill view attribute is on
	3	– Always drop to linear elements
	1	– Always create filled complex shapes

PatternedAreaElementsON	2 – When view pattern is ON, drop pattern to component
	elements
	3	– When view pattern is ON, Drop pattern
	1	– When view pattern is ON, Create a patterned complex
	shape

PatternedAreaElementsOF	2 – When view pattern is OFF, drop pattern to component
F	elements
	3	– When view pattern is OFF, Drop pattern
	1	– When view pattern is OFF, Create a patterned complex
	shape

Input View and Reference File Options

ViewId	Use parameters from view number - values from 0 to 7

ViewNumber	Used parameters from saved view – Enter a saved view
	number

SavedViewName	Used parameters from saved view – Enter a saved view name

Model Options (V8 only)

MasterModel	0=all models, 1=active model, 2=default model, 3=design
	models and 4=sheet models

Remap	Sets merging method:
	0=Merge elements mode, 2=merge models mode

Multi-line Element Options

	DissociatedMultiLines	Always remove associations from multi-line elements. 0=no
		1=yes

	Output File Directory Options

	UseGivenDirectory	Use same directory as master file. 0=no 1=yes

	MergedPath	Directory for merged files (example:
		“c:\axiom\V8\RefMerge\”)

	Output File Naming Options

	MergedPrependAdd	Add a prefix to the output file name. 0=no 1=yes

	MergedPrependText	Text to be added as a prefix to output file name: (example:
		abc-)

	MergedAppendAdd	Add a suffix to the output file name. 0=no 1=yes

	MergedAppendText	Text to be added at the end of the output file name: (example:
		-rev3)

	MergedNameMode	0 – Use the original file name as the output file name.
		1 – Use text element contents as the output file name
		2 – not used
		3 – Use text node contents to create the output file name.
		4 – Use specified filename. (single file only)

	UseDgnTextLevel	For option 1 above – use level to identify text. 0=no 1=yes

	DgnTextLevels	For option above – specified levels

	UseDgnTextColor	For option 1 above – use color to identify text. 0=no 1=yes

	DgnTextColor	For option above – specified colors

	UseDgnTextWeight	For option 1 above – use weight to identify text. 0=no 1=yes

	DgnTextWeight	For option above – specified weights

	UseDgnTextStyle	For option 1 above – use style to identify text. 0=no 1=yes

	DgnTextStyle	For option above – specified styles “

	MergedOutputTextNodeFo	For option3 above – the list of text nodes and fixed text
	rmatTXN#,	specified for the output file name. (example: TXN5,
		“myname”,TXN8, “end”)

	Merged outputTypedName	For option 4 above – specified name for single merged file

	Output File Extension Options

	UseTheSameExt	Use same extension as input file. 0=no 1=yes

	MergedExt	Merged file extension – enter desired extension

	AppendExt	Append extension to filename (file.dgn.ext) 0=no 1=yes

Output File Options

CompressOutFile	Compress output file 0=no 1=yes

CreateLog	Create log file 0=no 1=yes

DisplayedLevelsSet	How should level display be set in the output file?
	2	– Combine level display from master and reference files.
	1	– Keep settings identical to original master file.
	3	– Combine level display from master and reference files for
	all views.

LevelSymbologySet	How should level symbology be set in the output file?
	3	– Set level symbology OFF in all views.
	2	– Set level symbology ON in all views.
	1	– Keep settings identical to original master file.

BatchFileName	The name of a program to be run after each merge

BatchArgMode	Format for passing merged file name to batch command.
	0	– Use short DOS filename format
	1	– Use long Windows filename format

Reference Files

ExcludedFiles=;	List raster and vector files to not merge. Which reference files
	do you not want to process? (semicolon used as delimiter)

LeaveUnprocessedVectorR	Leave unprocessed vector files attached. 0=no 1=yes
efsAttached

CopyUnprocessedVectorR	Copy unprocessed vector files to the same directory as the
efsToMergeDir	merge file. 0=no 1=yes

DontMergeRasterRefs	Do not merge any raster reference files. 0=no 1=yes

LeaveUnprocessedRasterR	Leave unprocessed raster files attached. 0=no 1=yes
efsAttached

LeaveAllVectorRefsAttach	Leave all vector reference file attachments attached in the
ed	merged file. 0=no 1=yes

CopyUnprocessedRasterRe	Copy unprocessed raster files to the same directory as the
fsToMergeDir	merge file. 0=no 1=yes

Tag Elements

AllowOrphanTags

Process orphan tags. 0=no 1=yes

Color Table

ColorMap

Map color to closest match in master file’s color table. 0=no

1=yes

Controlling setting with MicroStation configuration variables

REFMERGE_INI

The name or directory location of a default RefMerge settings file can be established using the environment variable, REFMERGE_INI. If this configuration variable is defined then RefMerge will use the settings file “refmerge.ini” found in the directory defined by this configuration variable as the startup settings file. If a complete path and file name are saved in this variable, then the named file will be used.

Example:

REFMERGE_INI = R:\Project\axiom\refmerge.ini

REFMERGE_RSC

This configuration variable was used in earlier versions of RefMerge that utilized a compiled form of settings files. This configuration variable works in exactly the same way as REFMERGE_INI and is still supported for backward compatibility.

REFMERGE_LOCK_SETTINGS

Adding this MicroStation configuration variable with a value of “YES” or “1” will prevent a user from being able to change or alter the settings used by RefMerge. This is most frequently used in conjunction with the REFMERGE_INI configuration variable to ensure users only use a network defined .ini file when creating output merge files. If this configuration variable is undefined or has a value of “NO” or “0”, a user will be able to load and adjust RefMerge settings in the usual manner.

Chapter 26 Technical Details

Graphic group numbers

Graphic group numbers in reference files are adjusted to ensure that graphic groups from separate files, which have the same graphic group numbers, are not incorrectly merged into a single graphic group in the output file. In other words, RefMerge adjusts all graphic group numbers so that each file’s graphic groups remain separate and distinct.

Text node numbers

Text node numbers are adjusted to ensure that each text node in the output “.mer” file has a unique text node number.

Reference file attachments

In the “Merge elements into master models” mode, reference file attachments in the master design file are replaced by the actual elements (scaled, clipped and rotated) from the reference file.

Reference file attachments after merging are automatically deleted from the output “.mer” file. It is possible however to retain specific reference files by adjusting settings in the “Reference Files” category.

In the “Merge external attachments as internally referenced models” mode, external reference file attachments in the master design file are modified to point to the new internal models RefMerge creates rather than the external files they pointed to before.

Clipping boundaries and voids

RefMerge, in “Merge elements into master models” mode excludes elements that are completely outside clipping boundaries or completely within masks as defined for the reference file attachments. RefMerge also correctly clips elements that fall across these boundaries.

There are exceptions to this. Raster and B-Spline elements would be corrupted if clipped. Therefore RefMerge does not clip them but includes them by default if they fall across the clipping boundary. Text elements would also lose meaning if clipped so they too are included in whole if lying across clipping boundaries. Options are provided to omit clipped text or raster elements, and to handle clipped dimension elements, solids, surfaces, and tags.

The output “.mer” file

The output “.mer” file is created in the same directory as the original master design file unless another directory is specified in the output file options. The filename is the same except for the “.mer” file extension by default, but another extension can be specified in output file options. If a file with the same name as the output “.mer” file already exists, it is overwritten.

Chapter 27 — Frequently Asked Questions

How to make your output file look the same as before it was merged

To make your output merged file look the same as what you were looking at before it was merged, apply the “Settings | Reset to Factory defaults” function, which adjusts all settings to their default values. Be sure to save settings after making any changes if you them to be active the next time you start RefMerge.

Why does the report say “3 elements examined. 96 added” etc.?

3 “elements examined” is the number of reference file elements lying inside or crossing the reference clip boundary.

If a single 100 vertex, zigzag line string crosses the clip boundary 100 times (each one of the line segments cross the clip boundary) then one 2-vertex line and forty-nine 3-vertex line strings will be “added” to the merged file.

When a cell (which only counts as one “element examined”) crosses the clip boundary, many elements can be “added” to the merged file.

Element is missing from the merged file

The default settings use View 1 and will only copy displayed elements. If the element is not visible in the selected view, the element will not be included in the merged output file. Use the “Input View” settings to select a different view or change and save the level display of View 1 so the element is displayed. You can also change the options in the “Element Selection” category to copy all elements regardless of displayed levels.

Other difficulties

If you have questions or problems with RefMerge, contact Support@AxiomInt.com. Please include as much information about your operating system, the problem that you are experiencing and exactly what you did when this problem occurred. Also, make sure to include the version number of MicroStation and RefMerge that you are running.

Chapter 28 — We’ll Make (Almost) Any Enhancements You Want

We welcome your suggestions

RefMerge is already a powerful program. Nonetheless, we realize that you, a skilled and creative MicroStation user, will think of ways in which it can be improved. We invite you to tell us your ideas.

We’d like RefMerge to have every feature you could ever imagine such a product having. We intend to make you such a satisfied customer that you can’t wait for the next user group meeting so you can tell your friends and associates how much you like Axiom products and how strongly you recommend them.

Your suggestions on how to improve our products are most welcome.

Chapter 29 — New Features and Fixes

Version 8.9c — 28 May 2021

This release includes a number of bug fixes.

Help | Contents now opens the PDF version of the user’s guide. We no longer deliver the Windows Help (.chm) version of the user’s guide.

Version 8.9b — 16 June 2016

Fixed a problem that would incorrectly merge a scaled raster reference image.

Fixed a problem that would cause merged elements to display at the wrong priority if the active priority was set to a value other than zero.

Version 8.9a — 30 October 2015

New: Added support for Windows 10!

New: To prevent files from being quietly redirected to the “VirtualStore” folders of Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8, RefMerge and its installer have new default locations for the following files:

License files (“axiom.lic”) now get installed to “%programdata%\Axiom\”.

Sample files are now installed to

“%programdata%\Axiom\V8\refmerge\Sample Files\”

Settings files (“refmerge.ini” and “settings.dat”) now default to “%appdata%\Axiom\V8\refmerge\”.

Log files (*.log) now default to the active design file’s directory.

Version 8.8c — 16 May 2014

Fixed an occasional problem that caused MicroStation to abort when processing certain files.

Fixed a problem that caused duplicate raster attachments to be created in MicroStation XM and later.

Fixed a problem with raster references that were attached to nested references that were scaled differently than the master file.

Version 8.8b — 24 March 2014

Added support of Windows environment variables when defining REFMERGE_INI. This MicroStation configuration variable can be used to define the settings file used by RefMerge when it is loaded.

Updated the Axiom licensing system. This release requires a new axilib.dll (2.2.3.1 or later) from Axiom (included in installation).

Fixed the “Choose Files to Process” dialog so it only displays the ProjectWise file selection icon when ProjectWise is loaded.

Version 8.8a — 22 December 2011

New! Added an option to the “Reference Files” settings category of RefMerge that maintains internally referenced models while merging elements from external references into the output merge file.

Fixed a problem where text overlapping a clipping boundary was not correctly handled when processing was done in MicroStation XM or V8i.

Version 8.7a — 26 January 2010

RefMerge can now exclude reference file attachments, from the merge, based on one or more filter statements. Filter statements can use wildcards and can include a reference’s file specification, model name, description, logical name, slot number or any combination of these.

RefMerge can now limit reference file attachments to be merged, based on one or more filter statements. Filter statements can use wildcards and can include a reference’s file specification, model name, description, logical name, slot number or any combination of these.

A new option was added that works in conjunction with the new filter options described above. It lets you leave attached any reference file excluded from the merge in the output file.

A new option was added to control, “self-reference” merging. By default RefMerge will merge self-references and remove the attachment from the output file. The new option allows the user to exclude merging self-references. When this option is used the self-reference attachment is not detached in the output file.

RefMerge was enhanced to overcome a problem when attempting to merge locked elements created by other applications like TriForma.

Fixed a problem with ByLevel custom line style scaling when added from a nested reference that is also scaled.

Version 8.6a — 29 April 2009

RefMerge has been fully tested and certified for use in MicroStation V8i.

RefMerge has been upgraded to process master design files directly from ProjectWise.

Added support in the “Output Directory” category to select and save output .mer files to a selected ProjectWise Path provided the original master file is selected from ProjectWise or is opened through ProjectWise.

Version 8.5c — 11 July 2008

Added an option button to determine the way in which the output filename is passed to the “Command to execute after each merge.” It can pass a short DOS filename or the new default, a full Windows filename that includes spaces and all characters used in filenames and directories over 8 characters.

Fixed several problems related to front and rear clipping planes when merging some 2D reference files into 3D models.

Version 8.5b — 23 May 2008

Added the ability to run RefMerge with a MicroStation key-in, without displaying the main RefMerge dialog box.

Added the keyword “ActiveFile” as means to run RefMerge by key-in on the active design file.

Added the ability to lock the settings by means of a configuration variable so that only a standard settings file can be used to create output files.

Added a customer requested option to retain displayed vector reference file attachments in the output merge file. With this option the output merge file is created in the usual manner but the original vector reference files are not detached as they are at the end of a standard merge.

Version 8.5a — 29 February 2008

New! Added a new optional method for creating merged output files. Instead of copying elements from reference files into one model in the output file, this new method copies external reference files as complete models into the output file. It then changes the reference file attachments in the master model so they point to the new internal models. This new method maintains a standalone file (no external reference files needed) and maintains the full display capability of the original vector reference files.

Added a new “Mode:” button to the main dialog. The “Mode:” button determines the merging method used by RefMerge. “Merge elements into master models” is the default setting. “Merge external references as internally referenced models” activates the new, optional merge mode.

Moved the “How should level symbology be set in the output file?” setting to the “Element Modification” setting category because the correct choice is dependent upon how elements are modified during the merge.

Moved the “How should level display be set in the output file?” setting to the “Element Selection” setting category because the correct choice is dependent upon how elements are selected during the merge.

Version 8.4c — 13 December 2007

Improved the color, weight and style symbology selection dialogs used to establish several of RefMerge’s settings.

Fixed a problem where the fill and pattern symbology of copied elements was not being changed when the closed element’s symbology was changed.

Added a handling for dimensions that did not display correctly after merging. This problem could occur when the master and reference files used different working units.

RefMerge no longer compresses the original master file before processing when a final clipping boundary is defined in the settings file.

Added some new alert dialogs that activate when required settings are not made at the time the user attempts to leave the category or save the settings.

Improved the messages displayed on the screen or written to the logs file so they are easier to understand and more beneficial.

Improved the starting directory locations when using the file selection tools in Axiom’s “Choose Files to Process” dialog box. The starting directory now matches the first file in the list when one or more files are already chosen or the active design files directory if the list is empty.

Increased the total number of design files one could select to keep attached in the merged output file.

Fixed a problem that prevented selected design files from staying attached in the output merge file when the option to do so was turned on.

Added support for MicroStation and operating system configuration variables when site and corporate license holders use the command line interface to merge files.

Added an “OutputPath:” command line override for the output directory of merged files.

This override will take precedence over the .ini file used in the merge.

Added support to RefMerge’s msbatch command line implementation, to recognize all the file specification syntax and switches that are described in the “Choose Files to Process” chapter of this manual.

Version 8.4b — 18 October 2007

Extensive behind-the-scenes enhancements were made for the handling of clipped elements that used associated patterns and filled elements when holes were created by clipping masks. These conditions are now handled smoothly with excellent results.

Fixed all aspects of scaling custom line styles and patterns during the merge process.

As a result of fixing custom line style and pattern scaling several settings in the “Element Modification” category were no longer required and therefore removed.

Version 8.4a — 12 July 2007

The tool used to create a list of design files to process has undergone a dramatic improvement — it has been completely rewritten. Its user interface is easier to use than ever and it now supports drag and drop of files from Windows Explorer. It is also faster at searching for files to process.

Added the ability in RefMerge for V8 to copy all reference levels and their symbology to the output merged file with the reference file’s base file name or logical name used as a prefix or suffix to the original level name. This new merging method creates exceptional results in merged output with minimal element symbology adjustment being needed.

RefMerge for V8’s default settings have changed to take advantage of its new level copying functionality. After loading this new version of RefMerge for V8 we recommend using the “Restore factory defaults” menu choice to establish the new defaults in your .ini files. The defaults are designed to give you an output file that looks just like the original view used to define the merge.

Added a new settings category called “Color Table” that provides support for color mapping when merging elements from a reference file that uses a different color table than the master file. When this occurs RefMerge will find the closest color match based on a RGB matching algorithm.

Fixed a bug which prevented proper scaling of custom line styles in scaled reference file attachments

Added many enhancements to the processing of nested and clipped reference files.

Made numerous improvements that increased processing speed dramatically and improved final results in merged output.

Version 8.3a — 23 February 2007

New: Added support for merging 3D master and reference files.

New: RefMerge for V8 now properly remaps levels when a dgnlib is attached to a reference file.

New: Fonts in V8 are now merged using their names rather than a font number.

Fixed: Fixed a problem with associative patterning.

Fixed: Fixed a problem where, in certain circumstances, shared cell instances were not copied to the merged output file.

Fixed: Fixed an issue that prevented certain types of raster reference files from merging.

Fixed: Nested reference files are now clipped properly.

New: Added support for front and back clipping planes in 3D reference files.

New: Improved handling of custom line styles from DGN, DWG and DXF reference files.

Version 8.2a — 11 December 2003

In this version we added the ability to merge raster reference files that are not clipped or rotated. A separate option allows you to leave rotated and clipped raster files attached to the merged file with rotation and clipping intact.

As part of this feature, we added a new category of options for handling both vector and raster reference files. Now you have more discretion in selecting files to merge or keep attached or copy to the same directory as the merged file.

We also enhanced the handling for rotated reference files.

We added the ability to specify a UNC path in the output directory field.

Version 8.1a — 4 April 2003

RefMerge now has enhanced processing for tag elements related to clipping boundaries.

For example:

In this picture, the clipping boundary is the rectangle. The word CIRCLE is the tag and the circle shape is the drawing element. The CIRCLE tag is associated with the circle element. Similarly, the ELLIPSE tag is associated with the ellipse element.

Because the tags are associated with “parent” elements, merging design files together raises questions such as “because the circle is outside the clipping boundary, should the CIRCLE tag be included in the merge? Similarly, since the ellipse element is inside the clipping boundary, we should really allow the ELLIPSE tag to be merged. Or maybe we just want what is shown inside the clipping boundary.

RefMerge now allows you to control which tags are merged based upon their location in relation to the clipping boundary and their “parent” element(s)—which may or may not be inside the clipping boundary.

RefMerge now has enhanced processing of dimension elements. Associations are now maintained for most commonly used dimensions when they are associated with simple elements. When the same dimensions are associated with complex elements, the associations are dropped during the merge process.

Additionally, the following associations are now maintained:

Associations between dimension elements and multi lines in a reference file are carried through to the merged file.

Associations between multi lines in the master file and an element in a reference file are carried through to the merged file.

Associations between length and diameter dimensions in the master file and an element in a reference file are carried through to the merged file.

A new option in the “Output options” category allows you to specify a batch file to be run automatically after each merge. The name of the merged file is passed to the batch file. You can use this feature, for example, to archive or plot each merged file automatically.

RefMerge includes new options for naming the output merged files including the use of prefix, suffix, text node contents or a user-defined name.

The previous version of RefMerge introduced the option to leave unmerged files attached, however, it changed the “not merged” reference file attachment to full path. The current version leaves the path unchanged.

Version 8.0a — 1 August 2002

This release includes both a V7 and V8 version of RefMerge. The V8 version is assigned “8.0a” to distinguish it from the V7 version.

Most of the V7 enhancements also apply to the V8 version, plus there are a number of V8-specific enhancements. All enhancements are described below.

The development of a new version of RefMerge for MicroStation V8 has given Axiom the opportunity to review and improve some of the underlying logic of RefMerge. The end result is that the new V7 version is much more robust and reliable.

Some of the enhancements include improved handling for:

Orphan tags

Clipped point cells

Clipped nested cells

Multi-line association IDs

Graphic group numbers

Text node numbers

CANODE

Clipped filled closed shapes

merging non-displayed elements

3-D holes

Grid lines

Clipped, rotated or scaled dimension elements

We had many requests for an option to leave unmerged reference files attached to the merge file. This selection can be found in the “Input View” options.

RefMerge will no longer load non-displayed reference files. This can speed processing when there are many of these files.

RefMerge will no longer display a MicroStation Text Window when running in Batch Mode.

Two enhancements to the clipping boundary options were added. A level picker to define levels on which to search for the boundary and a button to highlight the boundary to check if your selection finds the correct element.

Some CAD users were getting an error message, “Error creating file (drawing

name).tmp_merge_file” when they had read-only access to the drawings. We modified RefMerge to create its temporary files only in directories that are read-write.

We handled a problem with raster images sometimes being shifted to the lower right after merge.

We implemented new clipping options in V7 for processing filled and patterned complex shapes. Now you can choose to drop pattern and create linear elements or create new closed filled shapes.

We added a new Settings category for special handling of dimension elements. While most dimension elements in reference files merge correctly, a special handling is sometimes needed for dimension elements in files that have been scaled or rotated.

We changed the sequence of settings categories to display in alphabetical order.

RefMerge now processes all options correctly when run from the command prompt.

In rare instances, merging files with clipped boundaries on text elements was not working properly. This was handled.

In some cases, there was a problem with the handling of clipping masks. This is now handled.

The “Which reference files do you not want to process option?” was not working properly. This was handled.

Version 8.0a only

Version 8.0a is the version that runs on MicroStation Version 8. This first edition of RefMerge for V8 processes 2D files and includes most of the features available in the V7 version.

New V8-specific features

Option to process active model only or all models including sheets.

Each model is treated as a separate design file.

Reference files can be 3D, (3D master files are not yet supported).

Ability to merge attached DWG and DXF files.

Supports live nesting of reference files.

Handles long view names and long level names.

“Place elements on level name” option, including level picker.

Levels in reference files not present in the master file are added to the merged file.

Identify clipping shape using “ByLevel” values as well as previous options.

Features not yet supported in RefMerge 8.0a for V8:

3D master files

rasters attached to reference files

orphan tags

maintaining association of dimension elements
maintaining fill and patterns on clipped elements

Chapter 30 — Glossary

Definitions to help you get the most out of RefMerge

We’ve provided a number of definitions and helpful hints here to help you fully understand the capabilities of RefMerge. Your MicroStation documentation contains additional information about these subjects.

Master file

A master file is simply a design file that contains reference file attachments. In MicroStation V8 a master file would contain at least one master model. See the definition of master model below. In fact all reference file attachments to MicroStation V8 files are a combination of the design file’s name and the specific model’s name containing the geometry being referenced. In this user’s manual “master file” and “master model” usually refer to the same thing, however it is not unusual in MicroStation V8 for a master file to contain more than one master model.

Master model

Beginning with MicroStation V8 each design file contains one or more uniquely named models. Each model contains it’s own geometry and can be used as a reference file or can reference other models. A master model is simply a model that contains reference file attachments.

Master file element

A master file element is simply an element stored in a master file or master model.

Reference file

A reference file is a model from a design file, which is being displayed, in a read-only mode. It is attached to a master file or model, and is viewed whenever the master file is the currently opened file.

Reference file attachment

A reference file attachment is a design file element that contains the name of a reference file and other information about how elements in that reference file should be displayed. A reference file attachment is said to point to its reference file.

Reference file element

A reference file element is simply an element stored in a reference file.

Symbology

When we talk about an element’s own symbology (not level symbology), we are talking about the symbology (color, weight and style) stored within that element. MicroStation will display an element with either its own symbology (level symbology off), with it’s ByLevel symbology (level symbology off and ByLevel assigned to the element) or with the override symbology indicated in the level table (level symbology on). It is also possible in a MicroStation V8 file for the override symbology of a level to be undefined. In this case the elements own symbology or ByLevel symbology will display even when level symbology is turned on in a view.

Level Symbology

When the level symbology view attribute is turned on in a particular view, all the elements on a particular level of the design file can be displayed with the override symbology associated to that level, rather than the individual symbology stored in the element itself. For example, with level symbology turned on, all the elements on level 1 might be displayed as red, dotted, weight 4 elements. All the elements on level 2 might be displayed as blue, dashed, weight 2 elements. When level symbology is turned off in a particular view, each element in that view is displayed with its own symbology. Level symbology may be turned on or off for each view via MicroStation’s View Attributes dialog box.

Override Symbology

In MicroStation V8, each level in a model can be assigned, in addition to its ByLevel symbology, an optional override symbology for color, weight or style. The override symbology settings will determine the way color, weight and style display for all elements on that level when the “Level Symbology” view attribute is turned on in a view. Unlike level symbology in MicroStation V7 and earlier versions of MicroStation, override symbology settings are optional for each level, making it possible for some levels to have, for example, a color and weight override set and others to have no color or weight override set. When no override symbology is defined for color, weight or style on a level, the elements on that level will display with their individual symbology even when the “Level Symbology” view attribute is turned on.