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CellManager
Take control of your MicroStation cell libraries!
Version 7.8 (for MicroStation/J and earlier)
Axiom
1805 Drew Street
Clearwater, Florida 33765
1-727-442-7774 voice
1-727-442-8344 fax
Info@AxiomInt.com
www.AxiomInt.com
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CellManager
This software and manual are provided as is without warranty of any kind, either
expressed or implied, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of
merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The entire risk as to the quality and
performance of this program is with you. You are advised to test the program thoroughly
before you rely on it. Should the program prove defective, you (and not the seller nor
manufacturer) assume the entire cost of all necessary servicing, repair or correction. Any
liability of seller or manufacturer of this software will be limited exclusively to product
replacement or refund of the purchase price. Venue for the resolution of any dispute
related to this license or the use of this product shall be Pinellas County, Florida.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction--------------------------------------------------------------------11
The problem----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11
Bad solutions---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11
The best solution ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11
Sample uses of CellManager --------------------------------------------------------------------- 11
The five main functions of CellManager ------------------------------------------------------- 12
Extract ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12
Manage ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12
Draw Pages------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12
Create Report ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13
Import ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13
Chapter 2 Installation----------------------------------------------------------------------14
System setup for Installation---------------------------------------------------------------------- 14
Disk space requirements -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14
Library size limitations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14
Windows filename size limitation --------------------------------------------------------------- 14
Before You Install ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14
Typical Installation from CD --------------------------------------------------------------------- 15
Congratulations------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22
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CellManager
Save Settings----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 43
Save Settings As ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 43
Restore default settings ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 44
Settings File: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 44
Local settings and network installations (CELLMGR_INI)----------------------------- 44
Help menu------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 44
Help | Contents ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 44
Help | About...---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 44
Cell Library ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 45
Table of Contents
Level --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 59
Font----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 59
Draw page border ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 59
Draw sheet border ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 59
Dont rotate-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 60
Page size ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 60
Plot Settings------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 60
Configuration File ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 61
<Select>..................................................................................................... 61
Paper --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 61
Plotting System --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 61
MicroStation.................................................................................................. 61
IPLOT............................................................................................................ 61
IPLOT Queue ................................................................................................ 62
IPLOT Settings --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 62
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CellManager
Element selection criteria: Color, style, weight, level and type ------------------------- 76
Element selection------------------------------------------------------------------------- 77
Element modification specifications: Color, style, weight & level --------------------- 77
<Modify Text>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 77
<Process>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 77
Modify Text ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 78
Only process text that fits Element Selection Criteria. ----------------------------------- 78
Editing Method -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 78
Search ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 79
Replace ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 79
Width & Height-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 80
Change font ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 80
<Clear> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 80
<Close> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 80
<Transform...>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 80
Scale--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 81
Rotation----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 81
<Process>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 81
<Convert> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 81
Point to Graphic ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 81
Graphic to Point ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 81
<Process>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 82
<Edit...> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 82
<Export...> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 83
Exporting to another MicroStation cell library -------------------------------------------- 83
Output Library --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 83
<Copy To> and <Move To> ----------------------------------------------------------------- 84
How to export cells --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 84
Handling Duplicate Cells on Export to another Cell Library --------------------------- 85
Cancel Copy/Move Operation....................................................................... 85
Export This Cell (create dup) ........................................................................ 85
Export All Cells Regardless .......................................................................... 85
Dont Export This Duplicate ......................................................................... 85
Dont Export Any Duplicates........................................................................ 86
Replace Cell In Output Library ..................................................................... 86
Replace All Duplicate Cells .......................................................................... 86
Rename Cell In Output Library..................................................................... 86
Export Cell With New Name ........................................................................ 86
Exporting MicroStation cells to AutoCAD blocks---------------------------------------- 86
AutoCAD block format------------------------------------------------------------------ 86
Maintain names of nested orphan cells. ----------------------------------------------- 87
Output Directory-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 87
<Copy To> and <Move To> ------------------------------------------------------------ 87
Exporting nested cells ------------------------------------------------------------------- 88
Handling Duplicate Cells on Export to AutoCAD ----------------------------------- 88
<Cell Selector...> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 88
<Rename...>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 90
Name and description------------------------------------------------------------------------- 90
<Duplicate...> Duplicate A Cell --------------------------------------------------------------- 90
<Un-nest> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 91
Table of Contents
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Chapter 10 <Import>--------------------------------------------------------------------94
Import AutoCAD blocks to a cell library dialog box------------------------------------------ 94
Input Blocks:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 95
Cell Seed File: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 95
Output Cell Library -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 95
Import Report File --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 95
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 97
-------------------------------------------- 99
------------------------------------------------------------------------ 99
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 99
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<Select> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------104
Supplied templates ---------------------------------------------------------------------------104
<Edit...> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------104
Note -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------104
Lines per page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------104
<Create>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------104
Cells to process -------------------------------------------------------------------------------105
<Display...> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------105
Key Strings-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------106
Sample key file (*.tpl) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------106
Keys and what they represent -------------------------------------------------------------------107
Text page layout keys ------------------------------------------------------------------------107
Keys not associated with any particular cells---------------------------------------------107
For each cell:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------108
For layout views ------------------------------------------------------------------------------109
Table of Contents
Chapter 18 Well make (almost) any enhancements you want ------------ 124
We welcome your suggestions ------------------------------------------------------------------124
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CellManager
Chapter 1 Introduction
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The problem
Most MicroStation installations use one or more large cell libraries that should be readily
shareable and reusable. However, a great deal of time and effort is wasted by operators or
supervisors recreating cells that already exist in a cell library. Trying to remember the
appearance, origin, or size of a cell. Resorting to using MicroStation to perform a trial
placement of the cell to determine its properties, and wrestling with oversized libraries.
Bad solutions
Creating all drawing components from scratch instead of using cell libraries.
Using CellManager to organize and streamline your libraries so cells are easy to find.
CellManager eliminates this wasted effort and allows operators and supervisors to
more efficiently utilize the hours, weeks, or months of work already performed and
stored in their cell libraries, thus allowing them to complete new projects faster.
Create a notebook showing the graphics of all your cells, complete with index.
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CellManager
Split commonly used cells out of a large library and into a separate library.
Create a list of cells found in a library that fit specific criteria and in description
order.
Create a new library from the cells used in a drawing then export them into a project
library.
Extract
Create a new cell library from the cells and shared cells existing in a drawing file.
Manage
Most supervisors and project leaders will find the Manage facilities useful in maintaining
their libraries. You can clean up, combine, modify, or split-out cells into new libraries.
Draw Pages
CellManager will create a design file that contains the graphics and descriptive
information about each cell. Each cell with its descriptive information is placed in an area
proportional to a piece of paper. The design file can easily be plotted as pages to create a
physical notebook of the librarys contents, complete with a detailed Table of Contents.
Chapter 1 Introduction
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Create Report
Using the Create Report feature a manager can generate a textual catalog of library
information. Reports can be anything from a simple Name/Description list to a report
detailing everything from size and levels occupied to nested cells and range.
Import
Select AutoCAD blocks to import into a cell library.
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CellManager
Chapter 2 Installation
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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.
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CellManager
5. 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.
6. These instructions will describe only the Typical installation path. Choose
Typical and click <Next>.
Chapter 2 Installation
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7. Choose the license file for this installation. Place the floppy disk that came with this
installation CD into your floppy drive now.
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CellManager
9. Highlight the version of MicroStation you want to associate the Axiom tools with and
click <Next>.
Chapter 2 Installation
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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 Users Guides, individual
product sample files and Axioms MicroStation pull-down menu.
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Chapter 2 Installation
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If you accept the license and click <Next>, the installation will begin. You can click
<Cancel> at any time to abort the installation.
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13. 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
Thats it! You have successfully completed the installation of your Axiom tools.
Chapter 3 Uninstalling
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CellManager
Prerequisites
1. MicroStation SE or J.
2. CellManager must be installed on your computer. You can verify this by selecting
the Axiom menu from MicroStations main menu bar, then select CellManager.
If CellManager does not appear in the Axiom menu, follow the instructions in
the Installation chapter of this User Guide.
3. You will need some non-production design files to practice with. The sample files
which are delivered with CellManager are suitable:
\Axiom\V7\CellMgr\sample\
Note: You must have write permission so that you can modify your practice files.
CellManager for V7 processes V7 cell libraries.
Demonstration Version
The demonstration version of CellManager will randomly select cells from the cell
library being processed approximately 50% of a librarys cells will be processed.
Licensed versions of CellManager do not have these restrictions.
Copy or move cells from one cell library to another. Collect frequently used cells
from multiple cell libraries into a single lean and mean, compact cell library.
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Re-scale cells
Rotate cells
Delete cells
Edit cells
Generate a report about the cells in your libraries customize the content and
format to your requirements.
Create new cell libraries from the cells and shared cells in your drawings.
You will learn how to use CellManagers main features in this Quick Start.
2. Select a cell library to work with. In this exercise we will use the sample files
delivered with CellManager. By default, these files are installed to:
C:\program files\axiom\v7\cellmgr\sample\
Select cm2d.cel
Note: You can access the full CellManager User Guide from Help | Contents.
Note: As you perform the Quick Start steps, CellManager will display some
informational dialogs or ask for your confirmation before performing an action. For
simplicity, such dialog messages are not illustrated or mentioned in the Quick Start.
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CellManager
2. You can specify any report file name and location you wish. For the purposes of this
Quick Start, you can use the displayed default.
3. Select the fullrpt.tpl report template. By default, this file is located in:
C:\program files\axiom\V7\cellmgr\
This report template defines the content and format of the report we will see the
result of this shortly.
4. Enter whatever you wish into the Note: field. Shortly, well see where this note is
added to the report.
5. Specify 0 (zero) in the Lines Per Page field.
We will view the report on your computer monitor, so we dont need to worry about
the number of lines per printed page.
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6. Click the <Create> button. This generates your report file to the location and file
name you designated in the Report File: field.
7. Click the <Display> button to view your report.
We wont include the entire report here in this Quick Start, but heres an excerpt:
CELL LIBRARY FULL REPORT
===========================================================================
===========================================================================
===========================================================================
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CellManager
===========================================================================
This note will be added to your report.
Page #1
You now have a report of all the cells in that cell library!
You can modify the format of the report by editing the report template file (or create
your own), but thats beyond the scope of this Quick Start.
8. Close the displayed report and the Create Report dialog box to prepare for the next
Quick Start step.
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These examples were generated from the provided sample cell library cm3d.cel. This
cell library is delivered with CellManager and by default is saved to:
C:\program files\axiom\V7\cellmgr\sample\
Now its your turn.
The following steps build upon earlier Quick Start steps and assume you have selected a
cell library.
1. From CellManagers main dialog box, click the <Draw Pages> button.
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2. In the Note: field, enter a note to be included on each of your notebook pages.
3. On the main CellManager dialog box, select Settings | Change Settings.
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4. On the Change Settings dialog box, under Category, select Plot Settings.
For the purposes of our Quick Start, we will use the MicroStation plotter configuration
file for a generic system printer, printer.plt. This file is normally found in:
...\Workspace\system\plotdrv\printer.plt
5. Select the generic system printer by selecting printer.plt.
Note: CellManager may notify you that it did not find a paper size definition in
printer.plt. This is not serious.
CellManager uses the paper size parameter from plotter configuration files to scale
output. The file printer.plt does not include a size definition, so CellManager
defaults to 8.5 x 11 inches (letter size). Virtually all printers support letter size paper, so
this should work fine for this Quick Start.
You can select and use any plotter configuration file with CellManager, but for the
purposes of this Quick Start, we are using printer.plt because it will work for the vast
majority of users.
There is much more about plotter configuration in the CellManager User Guide. Were
keeping this as simple as possible for the purposes of this Quick Start.
6. Click the <OK> button to close the Change Settings dialog box.
7. Now, click the <Draw Pages> button on the Draw Pages dialog box.
CellManager draws your cell notebook pages in your work file. You will be able to
see this on the screen during processing.
Note: If one of your colleagues did these Quick Start steps before you, cell library
documentation will already exist in the sample library. CellManager will warn you
before overwriting the pre-existing documentation. Go ahead and overwrite this file.
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10. Click the <Create Plots> button. When you use printer.plt, clicking the <Create
Plots> button automatically sends your notebook pages to your system printer.
Note: When printer.plt is selected, CellManager will disable the <Submit Plots>
button (because it is not needed). Plots are always automatically submitted as part of
the <Create Plots> processing.
When you select any other plotter configuration file, plot creation and plot
submission are done in two steps: Clicking the <Create Plots> button and, when
finished, clicking the <Submit Plots> button.
The preceding steps illustrate the basics of cell notebook creation. There is much more
about cell notebook creation, including how to customize output to your requirements, in
the Draw Pages section of the CellManager User Guide.
Theres much more to CellManager please continue with the next Quick Start step!
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The Manage dialog box will open with the cell library name displayed in the title
bar:
Scroll through the cell list with the up and down arrow keys.
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CellManager
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This will open the Select Cells dialog box, shown below:
Next, we want to select only those cells that begin with the letter L. We will do this
with the wildcard L*, this will match the letter L followed by any other
characters.
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CellManager
6. Enter L* in the Cell Name field. Click the <Apply> button and then the <Close>
button.
Note the cells that now appear in the Manage dialogs cell listing:
Note: This is just one example of CellManagers <Select Cells> feature. You can
use <Select Cells> with <Create Report>, <Draw Pages> and <Manage>
commands to control report content, to control which cells are included in your
cell library documentation and to control which cells are processed by the
<Manage> commands.
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7. Click the <TagAll> button on the Manage dialog box to tag all displayed cells:
8. Click the <Export> button on the Manage dialog box. The Export dialog box
displays:
Note: You have the option of exporting the cells to a MicroStation cell library or as
AutoCAD blocks. For the purposes of this Quick Start, we will just be exporting the
cells out to a MicroStation cell library.
9. Specify an output cell library name, for example NewLibrary.cel.
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CellManager
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2. Specify the name of the design file from which to extract cells. For the purposes of
this Quick Start, we will use the file HasCells.dgn that is delivered with
CellManager. This design file is part of CellManagers sample files which, by
default, are installed here:
C:\Program Files\Axiom\V7\CellMgr\sample\HasCells.dgn
3. Specify the name of the file you want to use as your cell library seed file. We can use
the default seed2d.cel, which is typically found in:
C:\Program Files\Bentley\Workspace\System\seed\seed2d.cel
4. Specify a name for your new output cell library.
5. Click the <Extract> button.
Easy as that the cells in the source design file are extracted into the specified output
cell library.
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CellManager
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Starting CellManager
Load CellManager from the Axiom menu on MicroStations menu bar and specify the
library to work with. Then select a CellManager activity to perform with the selected cell
library. The CellManager main dialog box is shown below:
Note: The MS_CELLLIST variable tells MicroStation where to search to satisfy missing
cell references. For this reason the library CellManager thinks is attached may become
detached and another library used in its place. To avoid this problem CellManager
temporarily blanks out MS_CELLLIST while it is running, then restores it on exiting.
Cell Library
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CellManager
Activity
The Activity section of the main dialog box presents the major functions of
CellManager.
File menu
The file menu contains a list of recently used cell libraries to select from and the Exit
option. Double click on one of the cell library names to select it.
The Exit option will close CellManager and works the same as the <Close> button on
the main dialog box.
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Settings menu
The Settings menu on the CellManager main dialog box gives you access to
CellManagers settings.
The CellManager settings may be saved and reloaded at a later time using the settings
menu. Settings are saved as .ini files. These files contain configuration data that is used
by CellManager to save and retrieve information about your preferences and operating
environment.
When you save settings without specifying a settings file name, the settings are saved in
the cellmgr.ini file. This file is loaded when CellManager starts up. If this file does not
exist, CellManager creates one using the factory default settings. CellManagers settings
file is saved in ASCII format so can be easily modified.
The individual menu items are described below.
Change Settings...
The Change Settings option opens the Change Settings dialog box, where you can
modify CellManagers settings as needed..
Load Settings
Use the Load Settings option to load settings from other .ini files that have been
previously saved. This option is disabled when the configuration variable
CELLMGR_INI is specified.
Save Settings
Use Save Settings to save all currently selected options into the active settings file.
This option is disabled when the configuration variable CELLMGR_INI is specified.
Save Settings As
Use Save Settings As to save your current selections with a filename of your choice.
This option is disabled when the configuration variable CELLMGR_INI is specified.
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CellManager
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 menu
Help | Contents
Help | Contents will display the CellManager Users Guide in Windows Help
format, reducing the need to locate the manual.
Help | About...
Help | About displays licensing and version information for CellManager.
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Cell Library
Once CellManager has been run, it opens with the previously selected cell library name
displayed in this field.
If the field remains blank, or you want to change to another library, enter the name or
click on <Select...> to browse for a cell library.
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CellManager
Confirmation
Use this settings category to set the display of Are you sure? message boxes when
performing different operations from the Manage dialog box.
If you want to confirm making changes to more than one cell at a time, but not when
changing a single cell, un-select options in the left column.
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General
The General category gives you access to general CellManager settings and options.
Each of the settings and options are covered in detail in the following sections.
2D Seed File
When accessing a 2D cell library, the 2D Seed File specified in this field is used to
create the work file that is opened and becomes the master file when the library is
attached.
You can tab out of this field. When you do so, the default seed file is taken from the
directory pointed to by the MS_SEEDFILES configuration variable.
3D Seed File
When accessing a 3D cell library, the 3D Seed File specified in this field is used to
create the work file that is opened and becomes the master file when the library is
attached. Tab out of this field to default to the 3D seed file provided with your
MicroStation in the MS_SEEDFILES directory.
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CellManager
Work File
When you tell CellManager to process a cell library, it must first attach the library to a
design file, the Work File:. First this file is created from the appropriate seed file (2D
or 3D), cleared of all graphics, then the library is attached.
Warning: CellManager will overwrite any drawing you specify in the Work File field.
By default, CellManager will warn you of this condition. You can click the <OK> button
to allow the file to be overwritten or click the <Cancel> button to abort this operation. Do
not specify the name of a valuable drawing file here.
Depending on whether or not the Update the Work File to match the Cell Librarys
name feature is activated, this field will be linked to the cell librarys full name. Then,
when the cell library is changed this field will (or wont, depending on the setting) be
changed to match.
By default, this option will inform you when you are going to be overwriting a cell
notebook that was generated by CellManager. You also have the option of being notified
when overwriting the work file or the cell notebook file.
This option is turned On (checked) and set to Cell notebook by default.
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When this option is turned On (checked) a backup copy of the of the current library
will be created with a .bak extension. The backup file will reside on the same drive and
in the same directory as the original. It is a good idea to backup the cell library before
you utilize the Manage dialog box clean up or re-organize the cell library.
This backup will overwrite an existing .bak file which resides in the same location and
that has the same name as the cell library you are working with.
This option is Off (unchecked) by default.
When this option is turned On (checked), CellManager restores dialog boxes that were
previously open.
For example, with this option activated, if you had the Manage and View dialogs
open when you last exited CellManager, then the next time you reload CellManager both
the Manage and the View dialogs will re-open.
Continuing with the example, if you then closed the Manage dialog, the View dialog
(being a child window to Manage) would also close. But whenever you open
Manage, View will automatically open. If you close the View dialog box, this tells
CellManager to no longer do this.
This option is On (checked) by default.
When this option is turned On (checked), it allows you to define a string that is output
in reports and notebook documentation rather than a blank. In the example below, the
References: and Nested Cells: shows <none>, instead of just being blank:
Name: ANSI31
Description: ANSI31 AREA PATTERN
References: <none>
Nested Cells: <none>
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CellManager
Cell Edit
Cell Edit gives you two options for handling complex elements when editing cells with
CellManager.
<OK>
When you click the <OK> button, any settings that you have changed will only be
retained for the current session of CellManager. You can save your changed settings
using three different methods:
Use Settings | Save Settings to save the changed settings to the currently loaded
settings file.
Use Settings | Save Settings As to save the changed settings out to a different
settings file.
If you have the option Settings | Change Settings | Automatically save settings on
exit turned On (checked), when you exit the current session of CellManager, your
changed settings will be saved in the currently loaded settings file.
<Cancel>
By clicking the <Cancel> button, any changes you made to CellManagers settings
without saving them, will be discarded.
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Notifications
CellManager checks for potential error conditions during processing and notifies you
when the condition is encountered. Possible solutions are also presented. You may not
want to be notified about each condition all the time. Use this dialog to control conditions
that are reported and ignored.
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CellManager
The Exporting Duplicate Cell dialog box displays the graphic of the exported cell
(From Cell) and the cell with the matching name in the output cell library (To Cell).
This makes it easy to compare the graphics of the cells to determine if their graphics (as
in addition to their names) are duplicates. You also get a number of button options for
handling the possible creation of a duplicate cell.
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CellManager
Output Settings
The Output Settings category gives you options for controlling the printing of your cell
notebooks. Each option and field is covered in detail in the following sections.
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Highlight fence
Turn this option On (checked) to cause CellManager to highlight the sheets as they are
being processed while plots are being created and submitted. This gives you some
immediate feedback on the progress of the plot creation and submission.
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CellManager
Page Settings
Use the Page Settings dialog box to set the method for setting the cell size on the
notebook pages, number of cells per page, how the cell origin is designated, text
attributes, borders, rotation and page size.
CellManager supports three scaling methods to suit your needs. Each scaling method is
described in this section.
Fit method
The Fit scaling option enlarges or reduces the size of each cell as needed to make it fit
within the page. Calculations are made to determine the scale factor needed to fit the cell
within the box with a small margin. Fit is the easiest CellManager scaling method to
use, but has one drawback cells which only differ by size will appear identical in the
output pages.
For example, in an automotive cell library, the cell CAR might be automatically scaled
down by a factor of 0.081, while the cell TIRE might be enlarged (scaled up) by 2.1,
but both cells would fit in the page. The same library might also contain a cell
representing an 11 mm hex head bolt. This bolt cell would also be re-scaled to fill the
box on its output page. Using the Fit scaling method all cells from this example
automotive cell library would be visible on the printed page, despite the wide difference
in their real-world size.
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Actual method
The Actual method places your cells at actual (real world) scale. For example, if the
cell STAPLER is 4.5 inches long, it can be drawn on the page 4.5 inches long. The
Actual scaling method uses the Page Width and Unit fields to scale each cell. You
define the pages width and cells are scaled to match.
For example, if you are using letter size paper, the Page Width is 8.500 units the
units can be Master units (MU), Sub-Units (SU) or Units of Resolution (UOR).
Lets say your Sub-Units are set to inches. So, if you specify 8.500 and select Subunits (inches), each of your cell notebook pages will be 8.5 inches wide and each cell
will be scaled up or down accordingly.
Note: If a cell is too large to fit in the box at Actual scale using your settings,
CellManager will switch to the Fit method for that cell.
For example: lets say a library contains nuts and bolts. The largest object represented in
the cell library is a bolt four inches long. The smallest object in the cell library is a nut
inch wide. Relative size of the nuts and bolts is important in fact, the different nuts
and bolts would be indistinguishable if output using the Fit scaling method. To output
the cells at actual scale, select Page Width of 8.5 and select SU (inches). These settings
will direct CellManager to draw the nuts and bolts at actual scale on pages 8.5 inches
wide. When plotted, the cells will be printed at actual size.
Scale method
The Scale method allows you define the scale of output cells relative to the width of the
printed page. This allows you to create cell documentation, for example, printed at 1:36
scale.
Note: The unit of measurement for plotting devices is almost always inches or
millimeters, so with the Scale method you are usually defining the number of realworld units you want represented by an inch or millimeter of paper.
Example: lets say your plotting devices paper size is 8.5 by 11 inches. If you select
Scale of 3 and your seed files master unit is feet, then using the Scale method,
CellManager would scale your cells to 3 feet per inch (which is 1:36 scale).
Note: If a cell is too large to fit in the box using the Scale scaling method using your
settings, CellManager will switch to the Fit method for that cell.
Scale
Enter the number of Units per plotted unit (inch or mm per the Page Size). This field is
used with the Scale method.
Page Width
Enter how many Units wide the page is. Typically it is 8.5 (inches) or 850 (hundredths)
or some such entry. This field is used for the Actual scaling method.
Unit
Specify the units for the Scale or Box Width figures entered. The choices are MU
(Master Units), SU (Sub-Units) or UOR (Units of Resolution). This field is used for
both Actual sizing and Scale sizing.
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CellManager
The choices here are 1, 4, 9, 16 and 25. Selecting more than 4 cells per page limits the
amount of text information that will be included.
Note: CellManager Layout files with different Cells per page settings will override
this option.
Cell origin
Use the dropdown menu to set how you want the origin of the cells handled when you
setup and output a cell notebook.
Leader line This selection (on by default) draws an arrow from the word Origin to
the location of the cells origin. The word Origin will be positioned at the top or bottom
the enclosing box.
Cross hair This selection draws an X where the cell origin is with the word
Origin right next to it.
None When None is used, no indication of the origin of the cells will be made in the
cell notebook pages.
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Level
This level designation is used for three things:
1. The origin indicator is placed on the level entered.
2. The word origin, leader lines or origin symbols are placed on this level minus one.
3. The page outline and other text is placed on this level minus two.
The lowest level allowed for text is level three.
Note: CellManager Layout files override this option. Additionally, if any of the
specified levels do not exist in the design file, CellManager will create them in the
CellManager Plot Sheet.
Font
This setting allows you to choose the output font of for your cell notebook pages.
Note: CellManager Layout files with different font settings will override this option.
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CellManager
Dont rotate
Turn this option On (checked) for landscape oriented layout pages (wider than high).
You can also use this option to force the arrangement of pages on large sheets of paper.
When this option is turned Off (unchecked), CellManager always rotates the paper to a
portrait orientation (taller than wide).
If you want to use landscape oriented layouts you will need a paper size that is wider than
it is high and a Layout file that is setup for landscape oriented pages.
Tip: If the plotter configuration file you are using doesnt have a landscape size paper
defined, edit the configuration file, duplicate the size= line for the size you are
outputting to, and switch the height and width. Also swap the vertical and horizontal
offsets values. The size and offset values first specify width and then specify height.
Page size
This option allows you to choose between the standard letter size paper (8.5 x 11) and
A-4 size paper (297mm x 210mm). This is the size of the final paper output.
Note: It is assumed that if you are using the metric Page Size paper that you will also be
using a metric Plotter Paper (see below).
Plot Settings
Use this category to set the plot configuration file(s), page size, plotting system to use
and IPLOT settings (if you use IPLOT).
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Configuration File
Specify the .plt file that corresponds to the plotter you are using. Click the <Select...>
button for help in locating available plotter configuration files. These are usually in your
MicroStation ...\Workspace\system\plotdrv\ directory.
<Select>
Click the <Select> button to open a window that allows you to navigate and choose the
plotter configuration file you want to utilize.
Note regarding Printer.plt: When you select printer.plt as your configuration
file, there are some special considerations:
The printer.plt file does not contain information about paper size.
When you click <Create Plots>, CellManager submits plots directly to your system
printer. It is not necessary to use <Submit Plots>.
When you select a plotter configuration file other than printer.plt, CellManageryou
must use <Submit Plots> to send them to the printer.
Paper
The paper sizes in the selected plotter configuration file are extracted and displayed here
for you to choose from.
If you are using, for example, E size paper, there will typically be more than one
notebook page per sheet of plotter paper.
Note: It is assumed that if you are using a metric size of Plotter Paper that you will also
be using the metric Page Size (see above).
Plotting System
CellManager for V8 supports two plotting systems: MicroStation and IPLOT. Select the
one you want to use to output your cell notebook pages.
Your computer must be setup for and able to plot MicroStation drawings. If CellManager
cannot output the plot, first, try to plot a file directly from MicroStation. If MicroStation
is unable to plot with the selected plotting system, CellManager would also not be able to
plot until that situation is debugged and corrected.
MicroStation
CellManager generates plot files using the same style as MicroStations File | Plot
command.
The plot files are written to the directory defined by the MS_PLTFILES configuration
variable. The resulting files inherit the design files base name with a numeric extension
indicating which sheet it belongs to.
IPLOT
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CellManager
If you are using IPLOT to plot over a network you need to specify which queue to use.
The configuration of the queue controls the generation of the plot files.
IPLOT Settings
CellManager expects IPLOT to reside in the directory defined by the MicroStation
environment variable PRO_DD_IPLOT. You may have to add/define this variable from
within MicroStation. See the MicroStation documentation for adding/defining
Workspace Configuration variables.
After you click the <Create Plots> button (on the Draw Pages dialog box), IPLOT
creates an IPARM file (an IPLOT parameters file). Plot file names have a base name
created from the first five characters of the design file and three digits for the sheet and
finally the standard extension if .i or .m. The files are placed in the standard directory
used by IPLOT.
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Click the <Apply> button to get the cell count at the top of the dialog box. This count
reflects how many cells are in the library and how many will be accessed using the filters
defined when the <Apply> button was last clicked.
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CellManager
You can use the Cell Name List feature if the cells you need to process are not
selectable by any regular criteria. Use a text editor such as Notepad to create an ASCII
file with the names of the cells. Give it an extension of .lst. A list file would have a
carriage return after each cell name and would look like this:
DOOR
WINDOW
ELEC
FAN
SDOOR
DDOOR
The Use List File toggle button disables the other cell selection criteria with the
exception of the Deleted cell type field. and the .
In the File field, enter the name (full path) of the ASCII list file. The field
automatically defaults to an .lst extension.
Press the <Select> button to open a standard open file dialog box to browse to your list
file.
Note: The Wildcard Type: only applies to either the Cell Name: and Description:
fields.
This section of the Select Cells dialog box, gives you fields you can use to select cells
by cell name and description, using wildcards and regular expressions. And, gives you
the ability to select cells by the levels their component elements reside on and the cells
component element types.
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String Matching
The Cell Name: and Description: can utilize normal wildcards, like * and ? as
well as regular expressions as detailed below:
Wildcard In Wildcard mode, use * to match any substring and ? to match any
single character. The asterisk can be placed in the middle of the wildcard expression (not
just at the end). For example, B*Y would match BY, BAY, BOY, and
BATTERY.
For added flexibility, in addition to ?, CellManager also uses % to match any single
character.
Regular expression This is a very powerful and flexible system but requires a much
more in-depth study and understanding to use. Refer to the Regular Expression section of
this guide for a description of regular expression functionality.
Cell Name
Use this field to enter a wildcard or regular expression that will match the cells you want
to select by name. Since all cell names and descriptions are upper case, all input in this
field is converted to upper case as you type.
Leaving this field blank matches all cells regardless of their names.
If you select Regular Expression for String Matching: and want to work with cells that
have names starting with A, B or C, the entry to match these would be ^<ABC> or
^<A-C>.
If you select Simple for Wildcard Type and want to work with all the ANSI pattern cells,
you might enter ANSI*.
Description
Use this field to enter a wildcard or regular expression that will match the cells you want
to select by the cells description. Since all cell names and descriptions are upper case, all
input is converted to upper case as you type.
Leaving this field blank matches all descriptions.
If you select Regular Expression for String Matching:, and want to work with cells
that have descriptions with the string BUS in them. The regular expression to match
these would be BUS. This would match BUS PANL, MAIN BUS, and all descriptions
that contain the string of BUS.
If you select Simple for Wildcard Type and want to work with all the switch panel cells,
you might enter SWITCH*.
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CellManager
Levels
Select cells by the levels of their component elements. If any cell element matches one of
the specified levels, the cell will be selected. When this field or the level toggle is blank,
CellManager disregards element levels in making the selection.
This field is accepts range/number entry for selecting cells by the levels of their
component elements.
Individual numbers may be listed alone, or in groups separated by commas or spaces. If
the desired cells had some elements on levels 1, 2, 3 or 4 you could enter 1-4 or
1,2,3,4 or 1 2 3 4. Combinations of these two styles work also. For example, you
could enter 1-3,6 or 1 2 4-9.
Elements
This field is a range/number entry for selecting cells by the types of their component
elements by type number. Leaving this field blank matches all cells regardless of their
component elements.
Individual numbers may be listed alone, or in groups separated by commas or spaces. If
you are looking for cells with text in them, enter 7,17 in the Elements field and
CellManager will retrieve all text node elements (Type 7) and text elements (Type 17).
Notes: The four above fields are not exclusive. For example, you can select all cell
names BLOCK* with concrete in the description.
How the cell was created determines whether the type is Graphic, Point, Menu or
Tutorial. Selecting the appropriate option will include these types of cells for selection.
Graphic
Graphic cells are the usual type of cell. The symbology (color, line style, and line weight)
of a graphic cell is determined when it is created, the level or levels of the original
component elements are retained and a graphic cell rotates when a view is rotated.
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Point
A point cell always assumes the active level and symbology (color, line style, and line
weight) at the time of placement. A point cell is also view-independent, meaning it will
not rotate when the view is rotated.
Menu
Definition: menu cell: Cell in a cell library that contains the special information needed
for a paper menu.
Definition: Digitizing: The process of coding graphic information from paper sources
(such as a map or other drawing) into a design file using a tablet.
Definition: Puck: a digitizing tablet cursor
There are many different types of menu cells:
Cursor button menus can assign commands to the digitizing tablet puck buttons
that are not already assigned.
Command and matrix menus are paper menus used in conjunction with digitizing
tablets.
Tutorial
This selection is here to retain backward compatibility with Intergraph screen menu cells,
which were later replaced by MicroStation dialog boxes.
Deleted cells
Should you need to recover previously deleted cells from a library, select this option so
that they will display in the cell list. Having only the Deleted Cells option ON and all the
other types OFF, will return no cells. You have to include Deleted Cells and the other
types. Having Graphic and Deleted set ON will include all the Graphic cells whether they
are deleted or not.
Deleted cells will have a <DEL> tag in the Manage window. The type field of
deleted cells will have a <DEL> appended to them. So a deleted graphic cell will show
in reports and the Detail window as Graphic<DEL>.
Note: While most of the data about a deleted cell is available, the graphic as a whole
isnt. This means that deleted cells wont show in the View window in the Manage
dialog box nor in the graphic in Draw Pages until they have been undeleted.
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CellManager
Cell order
You may specify the order of the cells. This is how the cells will be displayed in the
Manage window and the order they will be processed. This does affect Cell Name List
operation, the processing order is the order specified here. These are the orders you may
sort the cells by:
No sorting Without any order specified the cells are listed in the same order they exist
in the library file.
Name ascending & name descending (ASCII/Rad50) In order of Cell Name. The
Rad50 selections compress the names (using the RADIX 50 encoding) before comparing
them. This results in the same sort order as appears in the MicroStation cell selection
window. In Rad50 the numeric names come after the lettered names, and in ASCII
ordering the numeric names come first.
Desc ascending & desc descending (ASCII/Rad50) In order of the cell descriptions.
The Rad50 selections compress the description before comparing them. In Rad50 the
numeric descriptions come after the lettered ones and in ASCII ordering the numeric
descriptions come first.
Size ascending & size descending Sorted by the cells file size, not the graphical size.
Type The sequence of Type is Graphic, Menu, Tutorial, and finally Point. The
different types of deleted cells follow repeating the same sequence.
<Clear>
Clicking <Clear > clears the four Selection Wildcard fields (matches all) and sets the
Cell Types to Include to all non-deleted cells. This is the default of all. <Clear > does
not change the sorting order.
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<Apply>
After changes in the selection criteria and cell order have been made, you need to click
on <Apply> to rebuild the Cell List. The new list will reflect the current settings. If you
make no selections, <Apply> will just load the currently selected cell library.
Once the settings have been made, they will be used each subsequent time that
CellManager is run, until you change or reset the fields.
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CellManager
Chapter 8 <Manage...>
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Cells in Library:
The top of the Manage dialog box displays the counts of total cells in the library, the
number of cells that match the selection criteria, and the number of those that are tagged.
There may be fewer cells selected than are in the library since deleted cells are not
selected. You can use the <Select Cells> function on the main dialog box to include
deleted cells, and then the counts match.
Action
<T> or <Alt-A>
Tag
<U> or <Alt-G>
Untag
<Alt-T>
Tag All
<Alt-U>
Untag All
<Alt-V>
View
<Alt-D>
Detail
<Alt-M>
Modify
<Alt-R>
Transform
<Alt-N>
Convert
<Alt-I>
Edit
<Alt-X>
Export
<Alt-E>
Rename
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CellManager
<Alt-P>
Dup
Find
You can use the Find function to locate a cell in the library. This function will search
forward from the highlighted cell.
This is the only function that does not have a command button; you must press the letter
F on your keyboard to activate this function.
Use this to quickly find cells. For example; if you were looking for the Widget cell you
would use this feature to avoid having to scroll through several pages of cells. In this
example you would press F to switch to the Find mode, then press W to go to the
(next) cell with a name that starts with a W. Once you have exhausted the cells in the
list that match, CellManager audibly beeps.
This works best when the cells are listed in name order, but also works with other sorts.
Note: The only indication that you are in Find mode is a MicroStation prompt for you to
type the first letter of the cell you want to find. MicroStation will wait for you to press a
key.
If any cells are tagged, the <Create Report> and <Draw Pages> functions will only
process the tagged cells, otherwise they process all of the cells.
<Delete>, <UnDelete>, <Modify>, <Transform>, <Convert> and <Export> process all
the tagged cells if any have been tagged, otherwise they will process only the currently
highlighted cell.
Some Manage functions will become disabled when a tagged cell is deleted.
When you tag or untag a cell using keystrokes (T or U) or clicking on <Tag> or
<UnTag> the highlight bar moves to the next line. This way you can efficiently tag an
entire series of cells.
Double clicking on a cells line in the list box will change the tagged or untagged state.
Chapter 8 <Manage...>
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<Delete>
The <Delete> function deletes the highlighted or tagged cells from the library.
Note: The cell is not actually removed from the file until you compress the library. If
you are deleting a number of cells and want to abort the process press the <Esc> key.
<UnDelete>
Recovers previously deleted cells. For such cells to even show up in the list box the
Deleted Cells option must be checked (On) in the Select Cells window. If you are
undeleting more than one cell and want to abort the process press the <Esc> key.
Note: Cells that have attribute linkage are not undeletable. If you try to <UnDelete>
such a cell you will see an error message.
<View...>
When you click the <View> button, the View window opens showing graphical
representation of the cell. It is very useful to have the View window up when you are
scrolling through the cells in the Manage dialog box. You will be able to see the cell
you are about to work with. The View window displays a reasonable representation of
the actual cell. Everything is shown as line weight 0, and distortion occurs at extreme
levels of magnification. Deleted cells do not display in the View window.
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CellManager
Background
This pulldown menu allows you to select the background color of the cell display area.
Image
The Image option menu lists the choices of colors to display the cells image. The
default setting is True Colors. Any other choice will override the elements true color.
Note: Point type cells always display in the active color.
3D orientation
Chapter 8 <Manage...>
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<Detail...>
<Detail> brings up the text version of the View window. It displays information about
a cell. The Detail window does not allow you to make changes. This window is similar to
the View window in that you can have it open while scrolling through the cells in the
Manage window.
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CellManager
<Modify...>
<Modify...> brings up a dialog box that allows you to modify the symbology and level of
selected components of cells.
The toggle button to the left of any field must be On (checked) for the field to be
accessible and for the Modify function to include those values for cell modification.
Note: Point cells will only display the active symbology.
Chapter 8 <Manage...>
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Element selection
The data fields for element selection criteria accept a number or a range specification. For
example, 3, 3:5, 3,4,5 and 3:5,10 are all valid entries for these fields. The field is
only accessible if the button to the left is ON.
The color, Style and Weight option buttons to the right of the fields allow you visual
access to the data. You can specify multiple values in each element selection field except
for element Type.
<Modify Text>
The main Modify dialog box allows you to change symbology of text elements. You
can also change text content and several text attributes. Click the Modify Text check
box to activate the <Modify Text> button. See the section titled Modify Text for a
detailed explanation of this feature.
<Process>
The <Process> button becomes available when one or more non-deleted cells are selected
for processing. .
If any cells are tagged then all tagged cells will be modified. If no cells are tagged then
only the currently highlighted cell will be altered. To abort the process, press the <Esc>
key.
For instance if you had specified type 17 (Text) in the Element Selection Criteria Type
field and a Color of 3 for the Element Modification Specification Color, <Process>
would make all text in the tagged or highlighted cells red (with the default MicroStation
color palette).
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CellManager
Modify Text
Specify modifications for text and text node elements here. There is no <Process> button
in this window since it is an extension of the Modify Cell Elements window, and that
windows <Process> button does the text modification. Also there is no <Close> button
in this dialog box, to close this window, uncheck the Modify Text toggle in the
Modify Cell Elements dialog box.
Choose to modify only selected text (red, for example) or all text regardless of
symbology with this toggle switch. This engages the selection criteria in the senior
Modify Cell Elements window. While it is ON, only text elements that match the
Element Selection Criteria: will be processed. When it is OFF, all text (regardless of
symbology) will be processed. Of course the element type criteria will be ignored since
only text elements will be modified.
Editing Method
Control the use of the Search and Replace fields with this option button. The first four
options arent strictly editing methods. They control the selection of text that the other
text modifications will operate on.
Note: When you use any of the Search Only options, the replacement field is not used.
Use Search Only options to select text for changing font or size only.
Chapter 8 <Manage...>
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Search
Enter the text to be matched here. For regular expression operations this field contains the
expression that is processed. For the normal (non-regular expression) editing methods the
cells text is searched for this as a sub-string. For example, type desk to search for a
text string or a text node that has the string desk in it.
Replace
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CellManager
Both of these fields have two modes of operation: enter the new size in master units or
enter a size multiplier factor. To specify a multiplier, type an x in the field. For
example, x2 to double the size, x0.5 to halve the text size. Order is not important as
2x produces the same results as x2.
Change font
To change the font used in a cell, activate the check box item then enter the fonts
number. Alternatively you may pick the font from the font list button.
<Clear>
The <Clear> button will clear all Modify Text selections to null values.
<Close>
The <Close> button will close the Modify Text dialog box while saving its settings.
<Transform...>
Chapter 8 <Manage...>
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Scale
Turn the Scale toggle On and enter a value. This will multiply the cells dimension
by that amount. Only when a 3D library is being accessed will the Z field be accessible.
The default value is 1.0, which is equivalent to no change. An entry of 2 will double
the size while an entry of 0.5 will halve the size.
Caution: A scale value of 0.0 will squash a cell (it may be transformed into a line or a
point). Avoid using zero values in the Scale field.
Rotation
Rotation for all three axes are available for 3D files, 2D files may only rotate on the Zaxis. The values are represented in degrees and not radians. The value entered adds to the
current angle of rotation. For example, in a 2D file, a rotation of 90 degrees on the Z Axis
is the same as tipping the cell to the left one-quarter of a turn.
<Process>
If any cells are tagged then all tagged cells will be transformed. If no cells are tagged then
only the currently highlighted cell is processed. To abort the process, press the <Esc>
key.
<Convert>
You may have Point cell type uses for Graphic cells and Graphic uses for Point
cells. The cells type may be changed here.
Point to Graphic
Point cells that are tagged will be converted into regular graphic type cells. If no cells
are tagged, then the currently highlighted point cell is converted.
Graphic to Point
Graphic cells that are tagged will be converted into point type cells. If no cells are
tagged and the currently highlighted graphic cell is converted.
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CellManager
<Process>
If any cells are tagged then all tagged cells will be converted. If no cells are tagged then
only the currently highlighted cell is converted. To abort the process, press the <Esc>
key.
<Edit...>
Click the <Edit...> button to graphically edit the currently highlighted cell. Heres how it
works:
1. All the CellManager dialog boxes are hidden giving you as much drawing real estate
as possible.
2. The cell is placed in the Work File and its complex status is dropped.
Note: A cells complex component elements, like nested cells or other complex
elements (complex chains, line strings, etc.), can also have their complex status
dropped by selecting Settings | Change Settings | Cell edit drops all complex
elements option (disabled by default).
3. A small Editing dialog box is displayed with <Define Cell Origin>, <Done> and
<Cancel> buttons.
4. You can now redefine the cell origin, edit the cells graphic elements, add, modify or
delete them as needed.
5. If you now click on the <Done> button, the modified cell graphics are stored in the
library (replacing the original cell). If you were to click on the <Cancel> button, any
changes you made would be discarded and the cell would not be changed. In either
case the CellManager windows re-open, returning you to where you were before you
clicked the <Edit...> button.
Note: It is wise to first use the <Duplicate> button to make a copy of the cell
before editing it.
Chapter 8 <Manage...>
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<Export...>
The <Export> dialog box offers two functions. Cells may be copied or moved to
another MicroStation V7 cell library or they may be exported to AutoCAD block format.
Output Library
In the Output Library: field, you specify the cell library to be created or appended to. If
the library doesnt exist then it will be created with the header information of the current
library, and then the cells will be added to it. If the library entered does exist then the
cells will be appended to it.
Click on the <Select> button to choose an already existing library.
Tip: Be sure that you select a library of the correct type. For example, selecting a V8 cell
library when in MicroStation J will result in an error.
Note: Duplicate names may be created in any output library using Export. In such cases
CellManager now offers thumbnail images of the two cells sharing the same name along
with a choice of nine different corrective actions. See the section titled Handling
Duplicate Cells on Export for more information.
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CellManager
These two buttons work on the tagged cells. If there are no tagged cells, the buttons act
only on the currently highlighted cell. The buttons copy the cell(s) to the output library or
AutoCAD directory. If <MoveTo> is used, then the cell is additionally deleted from the
current library.
If you have several cells tagged (or all of them) the cells are copied to the output library
in cell list order (see the Cell Order section). You can use this option to compress or
sort a library (see the next section How to export cells for additional information).
If you want to abort the process, press the <Esc> key.
Chapter 8 <Manage...>
Page 85
The From Cell frame image is a representation of the cell you are exporting and the
To Cell frame image is a representation of the cell of the same name that exists in the
output library.
Cancel Copy/Move Operation
This stops the whole operation. All cells exported before this duplicate are still exported,
but no others will be exported.
Export This Cell (create dup)
With this option, you are creating a duplicate cell and you must use CellManager to
resolve the name conflict in the export library.
Export All Cells Regardless
This action is used if you are exporting more than one cell and are willing to have
multiple duplicate cells in the output library. Using this option will prevent any additional
notifications if other duplicate cell names exist
Dont Export This Duplicate
Select this button if you dont want to create a duplicate and dont want to stop the export
process for the rest of the selected cells.
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CellManager
This copies all the tagged cells to the output library but skips all duplicates.
Replace Cell In Output Library
This is a slow process. This process switches to the export library, deletes the cell from
the export library, and then switches back to the library you are processing creating the
copy.
Replace All Duplicate Cells
This is the same as above (Replace Cell In Output Library) but for all duplicate cells.
Rename Cell In Output Library
This too is an involved process as it switches to the export library, prompts you for a new
name for the existing cell, ensures that it is a unique name, renames it, switches back to
your source library and then copies the cell.
Export Cell With New Name
This prompts you for a unique name for the selected cell and copies it with that name.
Chapter 8 <Manage...>
Page 87
When a nested cell has the orphan flag (H-bit) turned on and the cell is named, the
translator function will give the AutoCAD cell a default name and not use the actual cell
name.
With this option selected, if a nested cell has the orphan flag (H-bit) turned on and the
cell is named, CellManager will turn the orphan flag Off so that translators look for
and use the actual cell name.
This option is Off by default.
Output Directory
The Output Library field becomes an Output Directory field when AutoCAD block
format is selected. The <Select> button allows you to choose the target directory for
your output blocks.
Note: MicroStation versions 95 and SE do not support file names containing a space for
batch mode exporting. If you attempt to do this, you will receive a warning message. In
this case, it is recommended to rename the directory or file. MicroStation J does not have
this limitation.
These two buttons work on the tagged cells. If there are no tagged cells, the buttons act
only on the currently highlighted cell. These buttons convert the cell(s) to AutoCAD
block format and store them in the selected directory. The AutoCAD blocks will have the
same name as the original cells with the extension, .dwg.
If <MoveTo> is used, then the cell is deleted from the current cell library after the
AutoCAD block is created.
Settings for this function are the MicroStation default settings for File | Export | DWG or
DXF, or as specified by the DWGOUT settings file variable.
No check is done for duplicate names in the output directory. Existing .dwg files with
the same name as the exported cells will be overwritten.
The Export process can be aborted by pressing the <Esc> key.
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CellManager
<Cell Selector...>
A Cell Selector File (or CSF) is used to visually display cells for quick selection and
placement. Clicking on a picture of the cell makes it active and data points will place
instances of the selected cell.
Chapter 8 <Manage...>
Page 89
From the CellManager Manage dialog box, tag the desired cells to include in the .csf
file. Then, click the <Cell Selector...> button to create a MicroStation .csf file from the
tagged cells. A dialog will allow you to choose a name and location for the .csf file.
Click the <OK> button to start the process that creates your cell selector file.
Once this process is completed, a message box displays showing the name and location
of the cell selector file that was created. Then, click the <OK> button, which makes that
cell selector file active so you can start using it to place cells.
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CellManager
<Rename...>
<Rename> allows you to change the cells name and/or description. Simply highlight a
cell in the Manage dialog, click <Rename> and enter the new data in the Rename a
Cell dialog that appears.
Use <Duplicate...> if you want to modify a cell and also retain the original version.
<Duplicate...> creates a copy of the cell. Then you must rename the cell. The cell list will
then be updated to show both the original and newly named cell.
Chapter 8 <Manage...>
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<Un-nest>
To Un-nest a cell is to replace all nested cells with their primitive graphic counterparts.
A cell normally only contains a reference to the nested cell, pointing to the actual cell
found elsewhere in the library. The problem with deleting nested cells is that the nested
cell disappears (graphically) from any cell it was used in. Another feature of nested
cells is that when the nested cells are changed (say the color was changed) then all the
uses of the cell, everywhere it was nested, would reflect this change, whether you
expected that or not.
For example, lets say we have the cells SQUARE and CIRCLE. We combine both in a
cell called SHAPES. So SQUARE and CIRCLE are now nested cells. If we then delete
SQUARE, SHAPES will only show the CIRCLE because the reference to SQUARE no
longer exists.
Now lets back up and take a working SHAPES (with SQUARE and CIRCLE both
available) and Un-nest it. Now SQUARE can be deleted, modified, transformed, renamed
or altered in anyway and SHAPES will look the same as it originally did.
A side effect of the Un-nest process makes the cell library larger. The degree of the
library expansion depends upon the size of the formerly nested cells.
The Un-nest feature is unable to reconstruct a nested cell once it has been deleted.
MicroStation normally scans the cell libraries listed by MS_CELLLIST to satisfy missing
nested cells but CellManager disables MS_CELLLIST. For the duration of the Un-nest
operation MS_CELLLIST is enabled to facilitate the proper reconstruction of nested
cells.
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CellManager
The CellManager Extract function looks at a design file and creates a new cell library
containing all cells that it finds ignoring duplicates.
When you click the <Extract...> button in the main window, CellManager will open this
window and close all of its other windows. This visual cue tells you that this is not a
normal CellManager operation. The difference is that CellManager normally focuses its
operations around a specified cell library, and the Extract function is focused around a
design file. It is all a matter of point-of-view, but the bottom line is that you shouldnt try
to do any other CellManager operations at the same time that you are doing an Extract.
We've made it so you cant accidentally do this.
Chapter 9 <Extract...>
Page 93
<Extract>
Click the <Extract> button to begin processing.
Page 94
CellManager
The <Import> function allows you to import AutoCAD blocks into MicroStation as
cells.
Settings for this function are the MicroStation default settings for File | Import | DWG or
DXF..., or as specified by the DWGIN settings file variable.
Note: At present, only versions 07.01.01.36 and above of MicroStation/J support the
import of AutoCAD version 2000 blocks. MicroStation SE & J support the import of
AutoCAD version 14 and 12 files.
AutoCAD 2000 files may also be imported in MicroStation SE if they are first saved in
AutoCAD as version 14 or version 12 .dwg files.
MicroStation J and earlier versions do not support AutoCAD 2004 files, so they can't be
imported.
Note: MicroStation versions 95 and SE do not support spaces in file names or directory
names for batch mode importing. If you attempt to do this, you will receive a warning
message. In this case, it is recommended to rename the directory or file. MicroStation J
does not have this limitation.
Chapter 10 <Import>
Page 95
Input Blocks:
Click the <Select> button to open the Choose Files to Process dialog box from
which you can choose one or more files to import.
Some considerations will be the version of AutoCAD supported by the MicroStation
version that you are using. MicroStation SE may import only AutoCAD blocks created
by AutoCAD version 14 or earlier. Some MicroStation J versions will import AutoCAD
version 2000 blocks. If you select files created by an incompatible version, you will
receive a warning message during the import process.
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CellManager
Tip: You can find flyover help for almost any dialog item by holding your mouse over it
for a few seconds.
Page 97
button) into
Select one or more files and press <Open> to add them to your list of files to process.
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CellManager
Search in:
Choose the folder you want to search for files in. Click the Choose a folder to search
button
Include subfolders.
Enable this if you want to search for files in subfolders too.
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<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.
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CellManager
Files to Process
The object of this entire box is to put files in the Files to Process 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.
button.
2. Select one or more files and right-click on one of them, then choose a removal option
from the menu which appears.
Page 101
3. Select one or more files and press the <Del> (or <Deleted>) key on your keyboard.
4. Click the <Remove all files>
button.
Version
Right-click on the title bar and choose About 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.
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.
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CellManager
Command
*
Examples
c:\work\*.dgn
c:\work\*.*
c:\work\project1.*
Description
c:\work\project1.dg?
c:\work\project?.d??
c:\work\?project?.dgn
/S
c:\work\*.dgn /S
c:\work\border*.dgn /S
c:\work\project?.dgn /S
/L
/L c:\work\list.lst
Page 103
This dialog box allows you to design and create reports that describe the contents of your
cell library.
Report file
In the Report File: field, you put the path and name of the report file you want to
create. If the file you named already exists, it will be overwritten.
Clicking on <Select> will bring up the Create Report File window where you can
navigate to a directory and specify a name for the report file.
Template
Templates control the format of the reports and are simple ASCII files with text and
keys for replacement strings. The textual information about the current cell is merged
with the fixed text. For example, if you have a line in your template like:
This cell is named <name>.
The key <name> would be replaced with the actual name for the current cell, say
VALVE, resulting in the line:
This cell is named VALVE.
See the Key Strings section for a full list and description of the replacement keys.
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CellManager
<Select>
The <Select> button opens a Select Template dialog box where you can specify an
existing template. It will default to the last template file used.
Supplied templates
There are three templates described below that come with CellManager.
Although all the supplied templates use the extension .tpl any legal filename may be
used.
fullrpt.tpl A template for generating a full report showing almost all of the data
available.
list.tpl A template made for creating a cell list for use by another application.
The field lengths are fixed to preserve columnar positions. There are no footers or
headers in this template and no page breaks will be generated.
nestrpt.tpl Creates a quick report of the cells and their component cells (if any).
<Edit...>
The <Edit> button opens the selected template in Notepad.
Note
Whatever you put in the Note field will replace the <NOTE> key in the template file.
This field is shared by the Draw Pages window (also see the sections Note and Keys
not associated with any particular cells.)
<Create>
Click the <Create> button to generate the report file.
To abort this process, press the <Esc> key.
Page 105
Cells to process
Only cells that match all the criteria entered in the Select Cells window will be
included in the report. If any cells have been tagged in the Manage window, then only
those will be included. On the other hand, if no cells have been tagged, then all of the
selected cells will be used in the report.
<Display...>
The <Display> button will display your report in Notepad. In Notepad, you can review
the report and make sure that it looks the way you want. If not, you can edit the template
file and try again. When you are happy with the format, you can print it.
CELL LIBRARY FULL REPORT
Library: c:\Program Files\Axiom\V7\cellmgr\sample\cm2d.cel
Thursday, 13 April 2006 at 11:34 am
===========================================================================
Page 106
CellManager
Key Strings
The basic form of a key string is <key>. Where key will be one of the data tags listed
below, such as NAME, DESC, or TYPE. The keys are case insensitive, so Name,
name and NAME will all work identically and will be replaced with the data noted
below. The simple <KEY> will be replaced with the data string trimmed of all trailing
and leading white space.
There are three other forms of keys: <key-99>, and <key+99> and <key /99:key>.
The 99 is the fixed length field width. The - indicates left justification and +
indicates right justification. Fixed length keys are useful for making columnar reports and
creating headers. The character width specified will be allocated and the data will be
placed in it as specified. Your report will be padded with blank spaces to maintain the
column width.
Some examples of legal key strings are: <name>, <name-10> and <DESC>.
Page 107
<FOOTER_START>
===========================================================================
<NOTE-64> Page #<PAGE>
<FOOTER_END>
Description
HEADER_START and
HEADER_END
FOOTER_START and
FOOTER_END
The header will be started on the first line of the page. The page will end with the footer
calculated from the lines-per-page field. After the footer is printed, a form feed character
is inserted. The lines of text in a template file that arent indicated as header or footer
lines are reprinted once for each cell.
Note: If there is no header and no footer then no form feeds will be generated. This is
useful when you want to create a list of cells to be used by another program.
Key Name
Description
LIBRARY
DIMENSION
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CellManager
NOTE
SEL_NAME, SEL_DESC,
SEL_ELEMENTS,
SEL_LEVELS
MM, DD, YY
TODAY
YEAR
MONTH
MON
PAGE
Description
CLASS
Page 109
COLOR
COMPONENT_CELLS
DESC
ELEMENTS
FILLCOLOR
FILLTYPE
LEVELS
LINESTYLE
LINKAGE
NAME
RANGE
SCALE
SIZE, SIZE_BYTES,
SIZE_WORDS,
SIZE_BLOCKS
TYPE
WEIGHT
Key Name
Description
Page 110
CellManager
<Draw Pages> documents the cell library by drawing pages that contain the cells
graphic as well as text information. These pages are plotted using <Create Plots> and
<Submit Plots>, and then can be assembled into a document notebook.
The following illustration is an example of the pages generated by CellManager.
Page 111
Two methods
There are two methods to produce notebook pages.
The first is to use customizable layout files. The main advantage of using a layout file
is that you have total control of the format of the resulting pages. A number of layout
examples are delivered with CellManager you can use them as-is or customize them
according to your requirements. CellManager layout file details are covered in the
section Report Templates and Cell Notebook Page Layouts in this User Guide.
The second method is to let CellManager build your notebook pages automatically (no
layout file is used).
The Layout check box controls which method is used. Both methods are described in
the section titled Report Templates and Cell Notebook Page Layouts in this User
Guide.
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CellManager
Below is an example of the Output Settings with the Device field pointing to a
network printer using a UNC path.
Example: Windows 98
Example: Windows NT
Page 113
Layout
Toggling Layout to On (checked) enables the Layout file field and disables many
other fields and modifies CellManagers mode of operation as described below.
Layout files are just design files used as templates, which define the output format of
your cell library documentation.
To make it easy weve supplied several Layout files for you to use and work with. It is
strongly suggested that if you want to make one of your own layouts you should start
with one of Axioms, copy it to a new file, then customize it to suit your needs. The
sample Layout files have a .lay extension just to differentiate them from other design
files. The Layout files you create may have any extension.
The file name entered in the Layout field must be a CellManager Layout file and must
adhere to the technical definition of a layout. See the section on The Layout File later
in this guide for the requirements of a Layout file.
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CellManager
Layout file
name
2D-1X1.LAY
Description
2D-2X2.LAY
2D-CARD.LAY
3D-1X1.LAY
A 3D version of 2d-1x1
3D-1X2.LAY
2DNOTBK.LAY
3D orientation
Page 115
Sheets
Specify the plotter sheet range here. <Create Plots> and <Submit Plots> will be restricted
to the sheets specified here.
Enter a range (1-20 or 1:20 to get one through twenty), or specific sheets (1,2,5).
Ranges and specific numbers may be combined, for example, 1-10,12,13.
Leaving this field blank means all sheets.
Note
This field will be used as a comment for each page when you are using default page
generation (without a Layout file). When using a Layout file, it will replace the <note>
key.
Plot Configuration
This displays a summary of the selections made in the Configure menus. The field
consists of the name from the MODEL line found in the plotter config file, plus the
name of the selected Paper Size plus the Plot System and the Plot Queue if
applicable. It is to inform you of the current configuration.
Note: Many users have noticed that if they select hpljet4.plt, HPLJET3 displays in
the Plot Config: line (above). This is OK if you check the contents of this .plt file
youll see the model name = HPLJET3. This plot config file should work fine for either
printer model.
<Draw Pages>
Click on <Draw Pages> to make CellManager draw the cell pages. While the pages are
being drawn all the dialog boxes are hidden so that you can watch the cells being drawn.
Note: Deleted cells will not have a graphic drawn, but the textual information will be
included. We recommend compressing your cell libraries before processing.
To abort the process, just press the <Esc> key.
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CellManager
<Create Plots>
CellManager automates the process of plotting the pages it has drawn.
Click <Create Plots> to create the plot or meta files for the specified sheets (depending
upon which plotting system youve specified).
CellManager creates plot files in the directory specified by the MS_PLTFILES
configuration variable. Plot file names are the first five letters of the cell library name
followed by a three digit number (zero padded). So pages for a library such as cm2d.cel
may be named CM2D001.msp, CM2D002.msp and so on.
Note: If the plotter driver file printer.plt is selected, plot output is sent directly to the
system print manager and no intermediate plot files are created.
To plot the pages your computer must be properly configured for plotting from
MicroStation (including the plotter, the plotter config file, the ports, the plotting system
and any needed queues). If you can manually plot a fenced area in one of your design
files, your system should be properly configured to work with CellManager.
CellManager saves information about how to plot your pages in a special non-displayable
element which is saved in your file along with the cell graphics, descriptive text, borders,
etc. Therefore:
To use <Create Plots>, the output design file created by CellManager must be open
(the active design file) in MicroStation.
To abort the plot creation process, press the <Esc> key.
<Submit Plots>
The <Create Plots> function creates plot files. Use <Submit Plots> to send them to the
plotter.
To abort the process, press the <Esc> key.
CellManager will run submit.bat.
Note: The contents of the submit file is paramount to the proper operation of
CellManager.
Typically a submit file would run a program to send the file to the plotter, copy the file
to the PRN device or copy the file to a queue directory. The submit file may need to
modify or adjust the plot files as part of the submission process. The submit file may
also delete the plot or intermediate files as the final step.
For more information, see the example in the SUBMIT.BAT section of this guide.
Page 117
<Backup>
Click on <Backup> to make a copy of the current library with a .bak extension. The
backup file will reside in the same drive and directory as the original. It is a good idea to
backup the library before you start into the Manage window to clean up the library.
This backup will overwrite an existing .bak file which resides in the same location and
that has the same name as the cell library you are working with.
CellManager may be configured to automatically create a backup of the cell library every
time you open it with CellManager. The controls for this feature are found in Settings |
Change Settings | General.
<Restore>
Clicking on <Restore> will detach the current library, copy the .bak file to the .cel,
attach the library and rebuild the cell list making it ready for use.
Restore is only available for use if the cell library was backed up with <Backup> during
the current session of CellManager.
<Compress>
When cells are deleted from a library, the cell is only marked as deleted. It isnt
actually removed from the library until the library is compressed. This is the same as the
MicroStation File | Cell | Compress function, but with the added feature of notifying
you of duplicate and missing cells within this library. These errors can come about when
cells are deleted or renamed. The operator will now be alerted to the fact and may take
the appropriate actions.
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CellManager
CELLMANAGER - SUBMIT
======================
rem
rem
rem
rem
rem
rem
set USTNRESD=
set MS_PLTFILES=D:\ustation\out\plot\
set MS_PLTR=D:\ustation\plotcfg\HPLJET4.PLT
D:\ustation\plotutil.exe %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9
set MS_PLTFILES=
set MS_PLTR=
rem
...using IPLOT...
iplot generate %1
iplot submit %1
the iplot parameter "%1" has no path or extension
(iplot "knows" where the file is)...
del /ustation/iplot/out/%1.i (?)
del /ustation/iplot/out/%1.m (?)
Page 119
Page 120
CellManager
Page 121
Page 122
CellManager
Page 123
------#
------#
------#
Page 124
CellManager
Page 125
Special characters
The special characters are: .
Backslash ( \ )
Removes the special characteristics of a character. \$ matches the dollar sign in strings.
Period ( . )
Matches any alphanumeric character
Asterisk ( * )
Repeats any number of the last pattern, including zero repetitions. test* matches strings
containing tes followed by any number of ts or none. Note that tes, testtt, and
tesh would all be matched.
Brackets ( [ ] )
Specifies a limited range or variety of given characters. ^[abcd0123] will match strings
beginning with any one of the specified characters (abcd0123).
Hyphen ( - )
Denotes a range of characters in [ ] ranges. [A-Z0-9]$ matches strings ending with a
capital letter or a digit.
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CellManager
Caret ( ^ )
Matches the beginning of the string. ^#include will match strings beginning with
#include.
Dollar ( $ )
Matches the end of the string. }$ will match strings ending with a closing brace.
Page 127
Repetitions
A regular expression may also check for limited repetition of a one-character regular
expression primitive (as above). It can check that a particular pattern repeats either:
1. X times
2. X or more times
3. at least X times and no more than Y times.
The formats are:
1. P\{X\} matches exactly X repetitions of P.
2. P\{X,\} matches at least X repetitions of P.
3. P\{X,Y\} Matches any number of repetitions of P, between X and Y inclusive. X and
Y must be non-negative integers less than 256. Whenever a choice exists, as many
occurrences will be matched as possible.
Segments
One of the powerful aspects of the regular expression code is the ability to record which
sections of the target string matched particular sections of the regular expression. The
regular expression format is extended through the use of segments via the \( and \)
operators which may be placed around any section of the regular expression.
\( denotes the beginning of a segment.
\) denotes the end of a segment.
Use of the caret (^) and dollar sign ($) primitives to match line beginnings and endings
respectively must occur outside of any segments. The following expression will treat both
the caret and dollar sign as literal characters:
\(^This expression$\)
and will not match the string This expression, but instead: ^This expression$. The
following will match the line terminators:
^\(This expression\)$
Example:
Given a filename, the regular expression \(.*\)\.c will match only filenames ending
in .c.
Note: For certain cases, regular expressions will match for non-intuitive matches. This
usually occurs due to an * expansion matching zero occurrences. For example, A* will
match BBB, or a NULL string. It is matching zero repetitions of A.
Page 128
CellManager
Description
cellmgr.ma
cm2d.cel
cm3d.cel
fullrpt.tpl
nestrpt.tpl
list.tpl
cellmgr.txt
Documentation
Cellmgr.hlp
submit.bat
2d-1x1.lay
2d-2x2.lay
2d-notbk.lay
2d-card.lay
3d-1x1.lay
3d-1x2.lay
cellmg3d.dgn
Page 129
Type
Description
Line
Line String
Group Data
Shape
11
Curve
12
13
Conic
14
15
Ellipse
16
Arc
17
Text
18
Surface (complex)
19
Solid (complex)
21
B-Spline Pole
22
Point String
23
24
25
26
27
28
33
Dimension Element
34
35
36
Multiline Element
37
Page 130
CellManager
66
MicroStation Application
87
Raster Header
88
Raster Component
Page 131
Page 132
CellManager
Page 133
The dimension (2D or 3D) of the Layout file should match that of the cell library being
plotted. If the cell library contains any 3D cells, you should use a 3D Layout file to
generate your documentation.
Note: For compatibility and ease of transition to V8, we retained the Layout file level
numbering system in both the V7 and V8 versions of CellManager. Accordingly, V8
Layout files must contain the 64 levels found in a V7 Layout file.
We strongly recommend modifying one of the existing sample Layout files rather than
creating a new one from scratch. This will ensure you have all 64 levels defined.
The outline of each Layout Page is a rectangle on level 20, by convention, a dashed
rectangle to indicate cut lines. Each Layout represents one page of output many pages
will be automatically generated to include all cells in your cell library. CellManager
arranges multiple instances of the Layout for efficient use of large paper sizes.
Note: Levels still have numbers in V8 in addition to their names. In the preceding
paragraph, level 20 means level number 20, not the level named level 20. The level
number is used for consistency with CellManager V7.
Page 134
CellManager
More than one cell can be placed per page. The following examples were generated using
one of the provided 2x2 and 3x3 layouts:
The following example was created with the provided 3D 1x2 layout:
The first cell, its enclosing rectangle and associated details, should be placed on level
number 21. Other cells, enclosing rectangles and details should be placed on levels 22,
23, etc. Use the examples delivered with CellManager as a guide.
Cell details are defined by Key strings such as <NAME> and <DESC>. See the
Create Report section of this guide for a description of supported Key strings.
Key strings on levels numbered 20 or below are not cell-specific (they are placed on
every output page). Examples of these key strings are <TODAY> which is replaced by
todays date and <LIBRARY> which is replaced by the cell librarys name.
Page 135
Keys on levels numbered 21 and above are replaced once for each library cell. Cell name
<name> and description <desc> are examples of cell specific keys.
Cell graphics are positioned with the cell origin snapped to one of the following key
strings: <top>, <front>, <iso>, <right>, <left>, <back> or <bottom>. These key strings
must be placed on the same level as the enclosing rectangle and associated key strings
(e.g., <name>, <descr>). The enclosed layout examples illustrate this.
Please refer to the Create Report section of this guide for a full description and list of
the key strings.
If you need assistance, please contact support@AxiomInt.com.
Page 136
CellManager
New! Added the ability to automatically create a MicroStation cell selector file
(.csf) from any set of tagged cells.
Page 137
CelManagers settings menu was improved to display the settings file name.
Page 138
CellManager
You can now create your own settings files to configure CellManager and save and load
them under different filenames. A configuration variable, CELLMGR_RSC, enables a
user who is running the program from a network to define a directory on his local drive
for saving his personal CellManager settings.
This version of CellManager recognizes V8 cell libraries and notifies you if you try to
open one.
Page 139
Page 140
CellManager
being leaked by MicroStations export engine, not by CellManager itself. We have added
a function to check for remaining free memory and output an error message if this
amount gets below a certain level. You will then have an option to shut down the process
gracefully. You can then restart MicroStation and continue the process from where it left
off.
A more detailed description of this memory problem and several solutions that will allow
processing a larger number of files can be found in the troubleshooting section called
Memory requirements.
The sample file (block1.dwg) used in the Quick Start example of importing AutoCAD
files was not compatible with MicroStation SE. We now ship block1.dwg in an earlier
AutoCAD format that works with both MicroStation SE and J.
Page 141
As a matter of standardization, we moved the "Help" item from the far right of the menu
bar to the right end of the other items. We also changed the "About" sub-item to respond
to an <Alt-A> and added an ellipsis () to indicate that it opens another dialog box.
We no longer disable (gray out) buttons in the main dialog box waiting for the user to
populate all the text fields in that box with good values. Instead, we allow the user to
click any of these buttons, but we display a message indicating what data we still need
from the user in order to continue.
Page 142
CellManager
Page 143
box. This and the logic behind the Work File field allows the user to use just one work
file or one per library.
Draw Pages Speed was also added to the Configure | Configure Features window.
This gives users control over how fast or how fun it is to watch the notebook pages being
drawn. The speeds are Fast, Medium and Slow, with Fast and Slow being
added to the Medium method used in all prior versions of CellManager.
All the prompts that accompany all the dialog items (buttons and fields, etc.) were
reviewed and tidied up for maximum understandability. Some that were missing have
now been supplied.
The part of the program that enforced the use of a plotter configuration file that contains a
proper size= line was overzealous and under certain conditions would display not one
but two file selection dialog boxes. This feature was improved to reduce any confusion
and displays correctly when needing to be set.
A related enhancement was made to the operation of the plotter configuration file
selection to prevent users from being told to select a new plt file when they were in fact
in the process of selecting a new plt file.
The message that comes up when you select a .plt file with no size= line now says
exactly what size it is defaulting to, not just a standard size thus eliminating any
mystery.
The size of the text in the standard Draw Pages pages was expanded to better fill the
space giving users a better, easier to read end product. In some cases there was enough
room in the text boxes to allow for more lines of information.
The typographical standard of following periods with a single space instead of two (as
was taught in typing class, 1976) was implemented throughout the error and warning
messages in CellManager.
It turns out that in the Select Cells Name or Description fields, wildcard entries such
as ??? were not matching all three characters in cells with 3 character names, as it
should. This was fixed. Also, the documentation now clarifies that the function for doing
wild card matches, such as this, considers % equivalent to ? for matching any single
character.
If your selected plotter driver file contains a line like this
default_outFile/auto_overwrite = prn
then CellManager will honor it and thus skip the need for the <Submit> operation. No
plot files will be created and the output will be directed to the device specified.
Cells with dimension elements were being drawn in Draw Pages with unexpected
results because the dimension elements (text and arrows) dont scale with the rest of the
cell! The worst thing that can happen is the cell gets shrunk several magnitudes to fit the
drawn pages and as a result the dimension elements are huge by comparison and splatter
all over. The range of a cell ignores any associated dimension elements that may
normally extend beyond the edges. The opposite is also possible, a cell is expanded
several times to fit the page and so the dimension elements end up tiny and unreadable.
CellManager now disassembles the dimension elements, turning them into unintelligent
primitive elements, before it scales the cell on the page. These dimension element
renderings scale properly with the rest of the cell.
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CellManager
In the Manage dialog box we added a facility found nowhere else: <UnNest>. What
<UnNest> does is to drop the cells nested in the given cell. See, when you create a cell
with other cells, only a pointer to the nested cell is used, the graphic elements are not
used. This has the benefits of smaller library file sizes and if you alter the appearance of a
cell, every other cell that uses it as a component reflect these changes. It follows that if
you delete a cell that is nested in another cell, the deleted cell (which has been nested)
will be visually missing in the other cell! Of course, if you create a new cell with the
same name it will take the place of the deleted one. If you dont want your cells to behave
this way (and arent as concerned with file size) this new UnNest function will break the
link between cells and the instances of their nesting.
The Select Cells dialog box has a whole new section, the Cell Name List File
section. If you are processing a set of cells that cant be easily selected with Wildcards
& Ranges then a list of cell names is your answer. Just type the names into a separate
file, specify that list file in the new field and those are the cells that get processed.
What started to be one of the least significant enhancements to be folded into this release
has turned out to be a sizable project: the activation of hot keys in all of the option
buttons in all of the dialog boxes. Of course there are a couple of option buttons that are
composed on the fly and they dont have hot keys.
A Bit of a Technical Note was added to the documentation giving curious types some
insight as to how CellManager works. And to help users understand the CellManager
report output, the section on Element Types was added to this manual.
CellManager was enhanced to gracefully handle the extremely rare case where the user
has opted to process a cell library that has absolutely no cells in it (empty).
The copyright and licensing info now displays in the splash screen (which displays for 4
seconds upon start up) and the Help | About dialog box.
It was observed that some of the text of cell names or descriptions were too long and
would be truncated in some places. This was fixed so that long descriptions and names
will display their complete text in all places. These included the Manage windows list
box, Duplicate a Cell and Rename boxes and the Detail window.
Following in with the compliance of the year 2000 the <YY> merge key replacement was
cleaned up. With this fix, in the year 2001 the <YY> key will be properly replaced with
01. Other merge keys were added to provide you with the capability to generate Y2K
compliant reports and cell notebooks. The new keys, which can be edited into report
formats, are <MON> (for example, Sep), <MONTH> (for example, September),
<YEAR> (for example, 1998).
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and unique name! It has now been corrected to use the new name youve entered and it
will warn you if it is a duplicate name. But you can enter a duplicate name if desired.
The full report document template file (fullrpt.tpl) we supply was corrected. This new
template, which is used by CellManagers Create Doc feature, is totally editable so that
anybody can add or change it to suit their preferences with a regular text editor.
All the option buttons were changed from the old style to the new motif with the solid
down arrow on the right hand side of the button (a bump on some platforms). Now it will
be easy to tell the difference between CellManagers twenty plus option-buttons and the
over sixty push buttons.
For example:
Old:
New:
All the hot keys were reviewed and logical letters assigned with no conflicts.
Much of the look and feel of various selections were standardized. For example, the
drawn pages created by CellManager, had the words PAGE and ORIGIN all in caps
that was a throwback to the days when the font could only have capital letters. This was
all spiffed up and now we have Page and Origin.
In the Select Cells dialog box there is the Cell Order option button which used to have the
default value of No Sorting which was OK, but we wanted better than just OK so the
default value was enhanced and now has, in addition to No Sorting, Name Ascending
(ASCII) and eleven other cell sorting selections.
With the proliferation of operating systems that support long file names and paths with
spaces in them and more to the point, queue names that can have spaces in them we have
to deal with them. This is a problem with generating and submitting to IPLOT systems
because when there is a space in the queue name the command string looks like it has
another parameter. The solution was to create command strings with quotes around the
parameters that (may) have spaces in them. So now
queue=net hp4
looks like
queue=net hp4
This includes file names and queues.
Our own library functions that handle file names and directory paths were checked over
to make sure they handled UNC (an example for network access \\server\server-z\)
properly. After the necessary tweaking was done CellManager was linked with the new
library.
Occasionally, users were getting a message that there were more nested cells than
CellManager could handle. This message is a diagnostic tool to Programmers but to
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CellManager
users it was pointless, useless, distracting, unnecessary, intrusive, annoying and not at all
helpful. It was removed.