Using multiple views

- [Instructor] In this chapter we are going to learn how to work with multiple views to control and change the display of the drawing file. Open the file for Chapter 3, Using Views.dgn, and, using View Groups, select the 2D-View-Controls model. AutoCAD users typically use a single viewport when working in model space. The availability of using multiple viewports does exist in AutoCAD, but most users only use one when working on a 3D model. The concept of working with multiple views has always been an integral part of working in MicroStation. MicroStation provides one of the best multi-view environments which allow you to make use of multiple monitors or the new large landscape screen sizes. Of all these views work independently of one another, they also allow you to work seamlessly between them. You can draw a line from one view to another with no intermediate clicks to control the focus. Think of the eight views as independently-controlled cameras that can be used to view different areas of the drawing. These views also allow you to view a design file using different variations of level display, level symbology, and view attributes. One of the benefits in MicroStation's multiple views is the ability to move from one view to another without having to manage the application focus. MicroStation views ignore the concept of focus, so all views are available all the time. The first thing you need to do is turn views on and off, as needed. As you can see when opening this design file, there are three views open by default in this file. You can turn them on or off using the View Groups toolbar located at the bottom of the application window. Select the number 4 to turn off view four, and select the number 3 to turn on view three. To rearrange the view windows, use the pulldown menu, Window, Tile, to tile all three views. Now we are ready to look at all the view-control tools located at the top of each view window. The Update-View command redraws or repaints the view window. It's exactly the same as using the Regen command in AutoCAD, but here in MicroStation you'll rarely have to use this command since the MicroStation view graphics rarely need to be refreshed. The zoom in and out commands are available here, as well, but most of us use the mouse controls to perform these commands, especially since the mouse view control's functionality is exactly the same as in AutoCAD. The Window-Area command allows you to zoom in to a specific area on the drawing, exactly as needed. By selecting a different apply-to window, using the tool settings, you can define the window area in view one, and display the results in any other view. I will select the Window-Area tool from view one, and draw a box around the stair area on the west side of the building in view one. The aspect ratio of the rectangle is determined by the aspect ratio of the view where I selected the command. If you select the Window-Area tool from view one again, by default, it's assumed you want to apply the result to view one. If you select the Window-Area tool from view two, it is assumed you want to apply the result to view two. Now let's execute the Window-Area command using two views. Select the Window-Area command from view three, but draw the box around this stair area on the east side of the building in view two. The result of the Window-Area command is displayed in the view where you selected the view command. So the result should end up in view three. Here's a tip. You can use a view as an overview of the entire design, and use it to perform viewing commands that apply to other views, very similar to using the old Aerial View in AutoCAD. Turn on view eight as the overview window, and, using view one, select the Window-Area command, and draw the Window-Area box using view eight. Pretty handy, right? The Fit-View command allows you to fit the entire drawing in a single view, similar to the Zoom-Extents command in AutoCAD. Select the Fit-View tool from view one. You should immediately see the entire drawing is now in that view. If I issue another datapoint or left-mouse button in view two, a Fit-View command will execute there, as well. This is an important concept, since you do not have to select the Fit-View command again from view two. If you're in the Fit-View command, you can execute that command in any open view window. One added benefit in MicroStation is the ability to control what elements are included in the Fit-View command. Using the Tool-Settings dialog, the Fit-View-command options allow you to control what elements are fit in the view. The All setting would fit all drawing elements in the view, including the active file, references, and raster files. The Active setting will fit just the active file elements and ignore any reference files or raster files. The Reference setting will fit just reference files and raster files and active files will be ignored. The raster files will fit just raster files. Because these tools are used so often, they are available in multiple locations, and they are also available on a right-click menu. Place your cursor anywhere in a view window, and hold down the Shift key on the keyboard, and right-click on the mouse. This should display the View-Commands right-click menu containing the previously-used commands. The Rotate-View command allows you to rotate your view of the drawing, but it doesn't actually rotate the elements in the drawing. You can rotate the view for easier viewing and manipulation of elements. There's nothing worse than sitting, looking at a drawing with your head tilted for a long period of time. The tool settings for rotating the view include 2 Points, which allow you to define two points; the first point is the pivot point, and the second point defines the angle. The Unrotated setting will restore the view back to its default orientation, similar to using UCS-World orientation in AutoCAD. The closest command equivalent in AutoCAD to rotating a view is probably the old dview-twist command. Here's a tip. You can use the RV equals shortcut key to rotate the view by a specific angle. Using the key-in browser, I can key-in RV equals 30 to rotate the view 30 degrees in a counterclockwise direction. There are several shortcut keys available in MicroStation, and the chart listing all of these has been delivered with the course exercise files, located here. The Pan-View tool allows you to move around the drawing without using the mouse wheel to access the Pan command. This is provided more as a legacy Pan command to allow users familiar with the old versions of MicroStation to use the wheel as a tentative snap button rather than for the Pan command. I wouldn't recommend using tentative this way, since using the wheel for the Pan command is much more efficient, and the old tentative is rarely used anymore. The View-Previous and View-Next commands allow you to go back and forth through previous views. Unlike AutoCAD, View-Previous and View-Next are not affected by the normal Undo and Redo commands. MicroStation provides these commands as separate View-Undo and View-Redo commands that apply only to view manipulations and will not affect any drawing manipulations. The Copy-View command allows you to copy an existing view and its settings to another view. All settings are copied, including the view area, view attributes, and level settings. If your screen real estate is limited and you want to turn off the view tools on each view, since they do take up a lot of space, I can turn off the view tools by selecting the pulldown menu, Workspace, Preferences, and then if I select the View-Option category, I can uncheck the Show-View toolbox setting, and pick OK to save and close the dialog. Now you notice that all the views are missing the view tools. For the purposes of this course, I will go back in, and turn that setting back on. Now let's take a quick look at the AutoCAD Comparison Chart for the view commands. You can see that most of the view commands you would've used in AutoCAD have a comparable command in MicroStation. Continue using the file for Chapter 3, Using Views.dgn. And using View Groups, select the Transparent Commands model. In the next few steps we will draw a line from box one to box two, and use the Zoom-in command in the middle of the Line-Placement command. First, select the Line tool, and snap to the keypoint or endpoint here. I can select the Zoom-in command using the view controls in view four, and issue a datapoint in the middle of box two to zoom in on that box. I can use a right-click to the complete the zoom command, and return back to the Place-Line command. Because all view commands can be run inside of all placement commands. Next, I will snap at point two, and issue a reset to complete the Line command. Let's try another one using the Line command. I will draw a line from box three to box four, and use the Window-Area command in the middle of the Line command to zoom in on box four. Again using the Line command, I want to snap to the point at point three, and select the Window-Area command using the view controls in view three. I will draw a window around box four to move the display closer to the box. Now I can issue a reset to complete the Window-Area command, and return to the Place-Line command, and snap at point four to complete the line, and Reset to end the Line command. Pretty cool, right? It takes a little practice, but this is much more productive than I ever found using viewports in AudoCAD, and well worth mastering. The next exercise will take a look at view attributes and how they can affect the drawing appearance on a per-view basis.