====================================================
Product:        MicroStation 95 for SGI (R4000) IRIX
Version:        05.05.03.42
Language:       English
Date:           Sept 13, 1996
====================================================

This version was certified on SGI IRIX 5.3 and 6.2
It is supported on SGI (R4000) IRIX 5.3 or later

This document contains important information not available in the   
printed or on-line documentation. 

* Copyrights
* Getting Started
      Registration and licensing
      Platform Specific Information
      New Enhancements and Changes
      Digitizers
      Configuration Variables
      Dual Screen Configurations
      Semaphore file Locking
      Support and services information
* MicroStation 95 Features
      Printing and plotting
      SmartLine
      Archiver information
      DWG/DXF import/export
      MSBATCH
      MicroStation BASIC
      Enter data field information
      REFMERGE
      Tags
      General graphics information
* 3D
      Rendering Acceleration
      OpenGL Support
      Export visible edges
* Adobe Acrobat
* Database Information
          
For "quick" installation instructions see the file 
README.TXT on the CD's root directory. For detailed 
information about installation, see the "MicroStation 95 
Setup Guide."  For information about new features, see the 
"MicroStation 95 Upgrade Guide" printed manual.


==========
Copyrights
==========
Copyright 1996, Bentley Systems, Incorporated. 
All Rights Reserved   
   
Including software, file formats, and audiovisual displays; may 
only be used pursuant to applicable software license agreement; 
contains confidential and proprietary information of Bentley 
Systems, Incorporated and/or third parties which is protected by 
copyright and trade secret law and may not be provided or 
otherwise made available without proper authorization.  
   
IGDS file formats Copyright 1981-1988 Intergraph Corporation.   
Intergraph Raster File Formats Copyright 1993 Intergraph 
Corporation. Used with permission.  
   
RESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGENDS   
   
Use, duplication, or disclosure by the government is subject
to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of
the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause
in DFARS 252.227-7013 or subparagraphs (c)(1) and (2) of The
Commercial Computer Software -- Restricted Rights at
48 CFR 52.227-19 as applicable. Unpublished - rights reserved
under the Copyright Laws of the United States.

U.S. Headquarters                European Headquarters 
Bentley Systems, Incorporated    Bentley Systems Europe B.V.
690 Pennsylvania Drive           Polarisavenue 33 
Exton, PA  19341                 2132 JH Hoofddorp 
                                 THE NETHERLANDS
Phone: (1) 610 458 5000          Phone: (31) 23 5685588
FAX:   (1) 610 458 1060          FAX:   (31) 23 5685595

Asia-Pacific Headquarters        Electronic Communications   
Bentley Systems Pty. Ltd.        WWW: http://www.bentley.com 
Suite 8, 51 City Road            E-mail:  family@bentley.com 
South Melbourne VIC 3205         CompuServe:  GO MSTATION 
AUSTRALIA                        America Online: MSTATION 
Phone:  (61) 3 9699-8699         FaxBack: (1) 610 458 6485 
FAX:    (61) 3 9699-8677

==============
End Copyrights
==============

===============
Getting Started
===============
This section contains information about the following:
      Registration and licensing
      Platform Specific Information
      New Enhancements and Changes
      Digitizers
      Configuration Variables
      Dual Screen Configurations
      Semaphore file Locking
      Support and Services Information

--------------------------
Registration and licensing
--------------------------
To be eligible for a variety of benefits as well as *unlocking* 
MicroStation 95, you should register the product with Bentley.

If you are upgrading from MicroStation V5, please see the 
"Important Upgrade Information" card in the Upgrade pack.

Standard intellectual property practice now requires execution of a 
separate agreement for concurrent usage (or license pooling.) Among 
many other benefits, Bentley SELECT subscribers are automatically 
eligible for this highly efficient and very economical mechanism. 
More information can be obtained by contacting the Bentley regional 
headquarters that serves your area. Phone numbers for the nearest 
office can be found in the Support and Services Guide.

---------------------------------
End of Registration and licensing
---------------------------------

-----------------------------
Platform Specific Information
------------------------------
Unless instructed otherwise, MicroStation uses the default colormap 
and allocates as many colors as it can so that rendering looks as 
good as possible. MicroStation can be forced to use a private 
colormap by setting the MS_PRIVCMAP configuration variable to 
anything - "1" works well. When the variable is set, MicroStation 
allocates a private colormap for its needs and will not conflict
with other processes color requirements. The drawback to this is 
that there may be a "color flash" when switching between processes.

If your workstation does not seem to be taking advantage of backing 
store, you may need to enable it on the operating system level. To 
do this, you must edit a file in your /usr/lib/X11/xdm/ directory. 
The name of the file is Xserver and if you edit this file and see 
a -bs switch, remove it in order to enable backing store the next
time that the OS Window Manager is started.

------------------------------------
End of Platform Specific Information
------------------------------------

----------------------------
New Enhancements and Changes
----------------------------
Setxfont.ma:

This new MDL application lets you change various MicroStation 
GUI fonts. You have the option to change the system, window 
border, dialog, bold dialog, fixed dialog, and fixed bold dialog 
fonts.

To use it, simply load the application by keying in "mdl l 
setxfont". You will need to know what fonts are available on 
your system in order to take advantage of them. You can use the
utilities "xlsfonts" or "xfontsel" to see the fonts available
to you.

-----------------------------------
End of New Enhancements and Changes
-----------------------------------

----------
Digitizers
----------
Digitizing can only be used on a local machine. You cannot digitize 
if you are connected remotely.

If you plan on using a digitizer with MicroStation, please note 
that the Command button MUST be assigned to a button NOT specified 
on the MSTNDIG.EXE command line. The buttons specified on the 
MSTNDIG.EXE command line provide mouse emulation for the operating 
system and will not function as desired if any of them are 
configured in MicroStation as the Command Button.

-----------------
End of Digitizers
-----------------

-----------------------
Configuration Variables
-----------------------
New Project Configuration files can only be created through a text 
editor.

MS_RASTERSCAN is used to enable raster reference scanning. If set 
to 1, raster reference scanning is enabled. If set to 0, scanning 
is disabled. This scan will occur when ref.ma is loaded.
    
MS_NOEOF_MSGFILE is used to point to a text file that contains any 
custom message that can be displayed when a no end of file marker is 
encountered. This configuration variable is not set by default.

MS_CELLSELECTORDIR determines the directory for the Cell Selector 
button configuration (.csf) files.

MS_ALARMINTERVAL is used to set the frequency at which MicroStation
requests input over the Auxiliary input interface. MS_ALARMINTERVAL 
should be set to 30000 to get the polling frequency rate of about 
25 calls/sec. Valid range is 10000 - 80000.

export MS_ALARMINTERVAL=30000           ;for ksh shell 
setenv MS_ALARMINTERVAL 30000           ;for csh shell

MS_VISUALCLASS needs to be set in order for MicroStation 95's
OpenGL driver to load.

export MS_VISUALCLASS=TrueColor         ;for ksh shell 
setenv MS_VISUALCLASS TrueColor         ;for csh shell

------------------------------
End of Configuration Variables
------------------------------

--------------------------
Dual Screen Configurations
--------------------------
In previous versions of MicroStation, setting MS_DISPLAYSCREEN to 1 
meant that you wanted MicroStation to appear on both screens in a dual 
screen configuration. 0 was the default and by setting this to 1, it 
really meant 0 and 1. Now, if you set MS_DISPLAYSCREEN = 1, only one 
application window opens. If you want MicroStation to appear on both 
screens, you must set MS_DISPLAYSCREEN = 0,1.

---------------------------------
End of Dual Screen Configurations
---------------------------------

----------------------
Semaphore File Locking
----------------------
In some heterogeneous environments, the necessary file locking
abilities may not be sufficient for MicroStation to operate.
If your environment is like this, you may want to take advantage
of a new feature in MicroStation 95 called Semaphore File 
Locking. Semaphore File Locking can be enabled by going to the 
Operation Category in the User Preference dialog box 
and checking the box marked Use Semaphore File Locking.

For information on this new feature, refer to Chapter 1 in the 
Administrator's Guide. Note that the semaphore lock file is 
checked for the master design file that MicroStation opens (as 
in File > Open, Newfile, etc.) Tools and utilities like File 
Fence, Save Fence, MERGE and MDL applications that don't 
utilize master design file open do not check for the semaphore 
lock file.

Note that in order to take advantage of this new feature, every
workstation on the network must have this enabled. This does not
affect how file locking worked in previous versions and is not
necessary except in environments that do not have adequate file
locking abilities.

-----------------------------
End of Semaphore File Locking
-----------------------------

--------------------------------
Support and Services Information
--------------------------------
Please reference the "Support and Services Guide" for more 
information regarding support and services from Bentley.

---------------------------------------
End of Support and Services Information
---------------------------------------

======================
End of Getting Started
======================

========================
MicroStation 95 Features
========================
This section contains information about the following:
      Printing and plotting
      SmartLine
      Archiver information
      DWG/DXF import/export
      MSBATCH
      MicroStation BASIC
      Enter data field information
      REFMERGE
      Tags
      General graphics information       

-----------------
Printing/Plotting
-----------------
NOTE: Bentley does not endorse any hardware peripherals. This 
includes plotters, printers, display adapters, or input devices.

The following types of plot key-ins are now supported: 

      preview (opens plot dialog box in preview mode)      
      plot (opens plot dialog box)
      plot view 1
      plot /tmp/topview.ini
      plot fence

Plotter driver files are now stored in the $(MSDIR)plotdrv/ 
directory. 

Since the Plot dialog is non-modal in MicroStation 95, placing a fence 
while the Plot application is loaded will not automatically change the 
Entity from View to Fence. That must be either done manually (Entity >
Fence in the Plot dialog) or by unloading the Plot application (Plot > 
Exit) and then restarting it after a fence has been placed.  

Setting the documented largest_polygon .PLT record to -1 will suppress 
the generation of HPGL/2 polygon fill commands by the hpgl2, hpglrtl 
and PCL5 drivers. This means that MicroStation will generate many 
parallel lines to produce a polygon fill rather than simply sending a 
filled polygon command to the plotter. This was done because of 
reports that some plotters were unacceptably slow in processing these 
plotter instructions. Note that this option can resulting in longer 
plot generation times in MicroStation and that the resulting 
plotfile can be much larger.

------------------------
End of Printing/Plotting
------------------------

---------
SmartLine
---------
There is now a toggle (Join elements) while placing SmartLine that 
allows for placing elements as either individual or joined elements.
   
While using SmartLine with Join Element on, a ghosting affect may 
appear with the cursor when trying to close a desired shape. To assure 
your desired shape is closed it would be best to snap to your line. 
The cursor marks left on the screen will disappear once you update 
your view.

SMARTLINE ARCBYLENGTH DIALOG (new keyin)

Opens a small modal dialog where you can enter length, and optionally 
set a radius and lock it tangent to the previous element. If you are 
already placing a SmartLine, it will change into arc by length mode, 
if not, it will start the Place SmartLine tool and, after a point is 
entered, you will be placing an arc by length. After entering a point 
to complete the arc, you will go back into regular line or arc 
placement mode.

SMARTLINE ARCBYLENGTH (new keyin)

Bypasses the dialog box and uses the existing settings.

Other changes/updates in this version:  

1) About a dozen new tools have been added to the SmartLine command 
   table that allow changing settings via keyins (e.g. to toggle 
   from line to arc or to set a rounding radius.) For a complete
   listing of these new tools, the MicroStation BASIC recording 
   tool can be used to *capture* the commands.work much better.

2) When in regular arc mode, AccuDraw now shows the correct arc angle
   if the arc is tangent (or near tangent) to the previous segment.

----------------
End of SmartLine
----------------

--------
Archiver
--------
For the Use Path Filter option to have any effect, the Save 
Directories option must also be selected.  

MS_ARCHIVE is used to select the directories to include in the 
search path for Archive (.mar) files.

MS_ARCHIVECLASS is used to select the directories to include in 
the search path for Archive class (.mac) files.         

---------------
End of Archiver
---------------

-------
DWG/DXF
-------   
Some of the import/export settings can now be set only through 
the use of a MicroStation BASIC macro.

Some of the import/export settings can now be set only through a 
MicroStation BASIC macro. Please see $(MS)/tables/dwg/dwg.bas
for examples.

The Override Level Names toggle in the Export Drawing File 
Settings dialog can be thought of as Use Level Names. If
enabled, Level Name entries will override the respective entry
in the import/export Layer - Level Mapping table.

There is a new "dumptables" option for the batch file processing 
feature of the DWG/DXF import application. This option creates a 
text file containing all font file and block names that are in a 
DWG/DXF file. The syntax is as follows:

msbatch dwgin input:<dwgFile> dumptables [outdgn:<dataFile>]

When the "dumptables" option is specified, a design file is not
created. Instead, the text file <dataFile> is built. This file can
be used as a data source to cut and paste from when mapping fonts 
and block names in a MicroStation BASIC macro for import/export. 
If outdgn:<dataFile> is not specified on the command line, 
<dataFile> will default to <dwgFile>.dmp.

Since font file and cell to/from block name mapping are 
supported only through MicroStation BASIC in MicroStation 95, 
the "dumptables" option should be used as a convenient starting 
point to build the tables, which can then be called in the import
and/or export macro.

EX: msbatch dwgin input:dwgfile.dwg dumptables outdgn:acad.dmp

The command line above will create the text file acad.dmp in the 
directory specified by MS_DGNOUT. This file will contain font file
and block names that exist in the file dwgfile.dwg. No translation
will take place.

EX: msbatch dwgin input:dwgfile.dwg dumptables

The command line above will create the text file dwgfile.dmp in 
the directory specified by MS_DGNOUT. This file will contain font 
file and block names that exist in the file dwgfile.dwg. Note that
the name of the text file (dwgfile.dmp) is obtained from the input
file (dwgfile.dwg) as outdgn: is not specified on the command 
line. Again, no translation will take place because the 
"dumptables" option is specified.

If the macro setting MbeDWGImportSettings.ignoreEmptyLayers = 
MBE_OFF for DWG import, MicroStation 95 will "purge" unused layers
in the DWG file. However, a layer in a DWG file may contain an 
erroneous flag value, which may produce incorrect results. To 
correct this situation in R12, you can SAVE/SAVEAS the file 
before exiting. In R13, you will have to PURGE your file. If you 
set MbeDWGImportSettings.ignoreEmptyLayers = MBE_ON, which is the 
default, this situation will not occur.

Enhancements:

Exporting a source view with level symbology turned on will export the 
drawing using level symbology. Font mapping is done in the MicroStation
BASIC macro. Cell Name mapping is also available through a MicroStation
BASIC macro. Line styles have been reworked (especially wide polylines
and custom line styles). Cell export has been enhanced. Nested Cells 
and Nested Groups are now supported. 

--------------
End of DWG/DXF
--------------

----------
MSBATCH.SH
----------
When using MSBATCH.SH with the import/export applications, some 
users may experience limits to the number of files that are 
operated on with one batch process. This limit is related to the
exhaustion of available system resources and can vary from 
system to system. Typically, more physical memory and/or 
available swap space will increase the number of files that can 
be operated on in a single batch process. 

-----------------
End of MSBATCH.SH
-----------------

------------------
MicroStation BASIC
------------------
The Create Macro... utility is designed to generate a prototype or 
template MicroStation BASIC macro that may need to be edited in order 
to be useful. The macro utility is not designed to be a general 
purpose record and playback facility.

Note that you can obtain just about any tool or setting *keyin* in
MicroStation by starting the Create Macro... utility, select the 
tool or setting in MicroStation that you wish to use, stop the 
Record utility, and then edit the macro.

In the MicroStation BASIC Guide, the examples for 
MbeCExpressionLong, MbeCExpressionDouble and 
MbeCExpressionString are not correct. The substring "mdl" 
should be "Mbe". For example:

Dim nextNodeNum as Long
nextNodeNum = MbeCExpressionLong ("tcb->canode")

Dim trueNorthAzimuth as Double
trueNorthAzimuth = MbeCExpressionDouble ("tcb->azimuth")

Dim altLibraryName as String
altLibraryName = MbeCExpressionString ("tcb->altLibraryName")

-------------------------
End of MicroStation BASIC
-------------------------

----------------------------
Enter data field information
----------------------------
EDIT SINGLE and AUTO EDIT are sensitive to the text preference 
for text editor style. These commands should always take input 
from the keyin field for compatibility with Version 5 user 
commands, scripts, Settings Groups and command menus. EDIT 
SINGLE and AUTO EDIT work the same way PLACE TEXT does.

-----------------------------------
End of Enter data field information
-----------------------------------

--------
REFMERGE
--------
REFMERGE is a utility to merge a design file and all it's reference 
files into a single output file. The output file will have the same 
name as the master file with an extension of .rcd (which stands for 
Record Drawing). Only the displayed levels of the processed view will 
be copied to the output file. To run from within MicroStation 95, keyin 
"mdl l refmerge".  The processed view in this case is the last view 
a datapoint was issued in. To process multiple files, set the variable 
MS_INITAPPS=refmerge. Then when you start MicroStation 95, pass the 
file spec and view to process. For example "ustation :v2 *.dgn"  
processes all the dgn files in the current directory and uses view 2 
as the source view.

---------------
End of REFMERGE
---------------

----
Tags
----
Tags are non graphical data that can be attached to elements. 
Generally, when elements are manipulated, Tags are manipulated as 
well. Use of Tags in Cells is possible, but not encouraged.

-----------
End of Tags
-----------

----------------------------
General graphics information
----------------------------
A new tool, DELETE SYMBOL, has been added to delete symbols from 
a line style resource file. The syntax is 'DELETE SYMBOL 
<symbolName>' To use it, a line style library must be active 
while in a design session. If the line style editor is open, the 
library that is currently being accessed by the editor is used. 
Otherwise, the most recently opened library in the session is 
used. This is the same as 'CREATE SYMBOL <symbolName>'.

A symbol that is currently referenced by any Point component 
cannot be deleted. In this case, the message "Symbol <symbolName> 
cannot be deleted because it is in use" is displayed in the error 
field. If the symbol is deleted successfully. the message, 
"Symbol <symbolName> deleted from library" is displayed in the 
status field.

When performing any flood commands in views containing more than 2000
elements, the following message will appear: "There are currently more
than 2000 elements in the selected view. Computing the flood area from
this many elements is very slow. This processing time can be reduced by 
limiting the view area, or selecting the bounding elements before 
initializing the flood operation". At this point, you have the option of
continuing the flood operation by selecting "OK" or canceling the command
with the "Cancel" button. This applies to all commands that have a flood
option (hatch, pattern, create region, and measure area).

The Equate Parameters or Constructions Tool

This new tool is located on the Constraints Tool box.

It is used to equate the endpoints of constructions. That is, endpoints 
of two elements can be united, or constrained to be equal. This tool 
also can be used to equate other constructions, such as constraining 
two lines to be colinear.

To equate two endpoints:

1. Select the Equate Parameters or Constructions tool. 
2. Identify the endpoint on the first element.
3. Identify the endpoint on the second element. 
4. Accept.

The two elements are adjusted to join at the identified endpoints.

To equate two lines to be colinear:

1. Select the Equate Parameters or Constructions tool. 
2. Identify the first line (not at its endpoints).
3. Identify the second line (not at its endpoints). 
4. Accept.

The two lines are adjusted to become colinear.

Key-in: CONSTRAIN MATCH

Construction elements do not need to be displayed in the view when 
equating parameters or constructions.

Edit > Find/Replace Text

The Change option menu in the Replace Text Settings box now allows three 
choices: Replace, Append, Prepend. Replace changes the old text to text 
typed in the With text box. Append adds the text in the With box at the 
end of the existing text. Prepend places the text in the With box 
before the existing text. (If Appending or Prepending text, remember 
to add spaces).

In operation, you type the text in the With box, click on Find, and then 
click the Change pushbutton to make the change. All text changes take 
place in the same text box.

-----------------------------------
End of General graphics information
-----------------------------------

===============================
End of MicroStation 95 Features
===============================

==
3D
==
This section contains information about the following:
      Rendering Acceleration
      OpenGL Support
      Export Visible Edges

----------------------
Rendering Acceleration
----------------------
MicroStation 95 can be optionally configured to make use of 
advanced graphics acceleration interfaces to improve performance 
of rendered images. Support for acceleration is through an MDL 
extension which may be supplied by Bentley or a third-party 
vendor. Bentley supports OpenGL in the native SGI version of 
MicroStation 95.

The primary reason for using a graphics acceleration interface 
like OpenGL is to improve rendering performance, but there can 
be a tradeoff between increased performance and visual quality 
for rendered views. A toggle button labeled "Graphics 
Acceleration" has been added to the Settings > Rendering > View 
Attributes dialog. It marks the view as eligible to be drawn 
using OpenGL or (depending upon platform) some other graphics-
acceleration interface. If toggled on, the view will be 
accelerated on all platforms that have an accelerator extension 
installed. If off, the view is drawn without acceleration.

-----------------------------
End of Rendering Acceleration
-----------------------------

--------------
OpenGL Support
--------------
MicroStation 95 supports "msopengl" on SGI workstations that support 
TrueColor visual. The MS_VISUALCLASS environment variable must be set 
when the default visual is not TrueColor and if the display supports 
TrueColor visual. To determine if your workstation supports TrueColor 
visual, run "xdpyinfo", an Xwindows utility program.

You need to set MS_VISUALCLASS environment variable (as 
described in the Configuration variable section of this README.)

---------------------
End of OpenGL Support
---------------------

--------------------
Export visible edges
--------------------
In Chapter 2 - File Menu of the on-line Reference Guide, under
Export > Visible Edges..., the sentence "If off, text and 
dimensions are not included in the output. The default is 
on." should read "If off, text and dimensions are 
displayed without any test for visibility. That is, they 
will show regardless of depth in view. The default is on."

In some instances, the Visible Edges dialog is too big to fit 
on the screen -- the OK/Preview/Cancel push buttons along the 
bottom of the dialog will not display. Since the dialog is 
modal, you can press the <Esc> key to get out of the dialog. 
If you encounter this situation, you can use a shorter, wider, 
version of the dialog by using the command EDGES WIDEDIALOG 
instead of EDGES DIALOG.

To automatically activate this dialog from the menu bar, use the 
Customize tools to change the File > Export > Visible Edges... 
key-in to MDL KEYIN EDGES EDGES WIDEDIALOG.     

---------------------------
End of Export visible edges
---------------------------

=========
End of 3D
=========


=============
Adobe Acrobat
=============
Documentation is provided in PDF (Portable Document Format) files 
that can be browsed, searched, or printed with the supplied 
Acrobat Reader from Adobe Systems Incorporated. All printed 
product documentation as well as additional technical information 
is supplied in PDF format.

For information about installing Acrobat Reader, see 
"acroread.txt" in the /acrobat/ directory on the CD. For 
information about using Acrobat Reader, see "help_r.pdf," which 
is installed in Acrobat Reader's "help" directory.

Here are some quick instructions for viewing the PDF documents:

1. In the File Manager, go to the CD's /docs/ directory and
   double-click the "readfrst.pdf" file.

   or

   In Acrobat Reader, choose Open from the File menu. Go to
   the CD's /docs/ directory and select "readfrst.pdf."

   The Home Page opens. As you move the pointer across the Home 
   Page, it turns into a hand with a pointing finger when it 
   passes over hypertext links. 

2. Open the desired document by pointing at its title and 
   clicking it.

   The document's Table of Contents opens.

3. Open the desired section by pointing at a topic and clicking 
   it.

You can use bookmarks to "jump" to a specific topic. Click the 
Bookmark Icon (the second icon from the left on the toolbar) 
to open a list of bookmarks.

The blue boxes at the beginning of sections, chapters, and tables 
of contents move you "up" a level and, eventually, back to the 
Home Page.

Note: In the MDL documentation, each topic is contained in a 
separate PDF file.

If you experience unexpected results when printing the PDF files, 
it is recommended that you contact your printer vendor to obtain
the latest printer drivers for the device that you're using.

The Adobe Acrobat Reader is an Adobe product and is supported by 
that organization. Although we would like to be informed about 
any problems that you encounter with the Reader, please contact 
Adobe for technical support with regard to that product.

Automated Technical Support 
     Adobe Products:          206-628-2757 
     Adobe Consumer Products: 206-628-2752 
     
FaxYI Fax-on-Demand Support 
     All Products:            206-628-5737 
          
BBS - Support info, filters, drivers, etc. 206-623-6984 
FTP - Support info, filters, drivers, etc. ftp.adobe.com 
WWW - Support info, filters, drivers, etc. http://www.adobe.com/ 

====================
End of Adobe Acrobat
====================


====================
Database Information
====================
This product includes support for:

Xbase - dBASE IV
Xbase - Fox Pro

Informix - 5.01.UD1 of Embedded SQL C Compiler. MicroStation Informix 
server certified with Informix Online 7.11.UC2 database.

Oracle - Pro*C 1.6 and Oracle 7.2.2.3 libraries. MicroStation Oracle 
server certified with Oracle 7.2.2.3 database.

The Edit AE tool for Informix and Oracle have been disabled because 
it would require changes to legacy system tables, adversely 
affecting several areas of the product.

A relay module must be used if connecting to an Informix DBMS greater 
than Version 5. This is so we can still provide support for Version 5 
Informix databases. This is accomplished by setting 
SQLEXEC=$INFORMIXDIR/lib/sqlrm, where INFORMIXDIR is set to the 
Version 7 Informix delivery directory.

MicroStation 95 Database enhancements
-------------------------------------

- FI= statement where the mslink value is null:

If the where clause on an FI= statement is such that it specifies only 
a single row, and the mslink column is null or zero, (i.e. unpopulated) 
and the linkage mode is duplicate, the mslink column for that row will 
automatically get assigned the next highest one, and will be used as the 
AE. If, in the case of the above scenario, there is more than one row that 
satisfies the where clause, that will cause an error. You will see the 
message 

- Unable to assign mslink. 

Version 4.0 functionality has been restored. FI= works where the mslink 
value is null in both New and Duplicate linkage mode.

- Now allows decoding of a DB linkage without having server.ma running or 
being connected to a database. malDB_decodeLink will set link->tablename 
to an empty string if not connected to a database.

- The following describes the add row without locking functions:

If MS_DBNOLOCKING is defined (value does not matter) then MicroStation 95 
will not lock the table to add a new row. The server will get the largest 
mslink in the table, add one to it, and try to insert the new row. If the 
insert fails, the mslink is incremented and another insert is attempted. 
This process continues until the row has been successfully inserted or 
MS_DBMAXATTEMPTS is reached. The maximum number of attempted inserts 
defaults to 10 when MS_DBMAXATTEMPTS is undefined.

- Configuration Variable "MS_DBMSFORMS"

MicroStation 95 has the new capability of using temporary (randomly 
generated) table names for the "msforms" data. This is to better 
accommodate multi-user situations, so different users don't use the same 
msforms table. Those database systems that use external forms managers 
need to know the name of this msforms table. That is not possible if a new 
random name is generated for each database connection. The variable 
"MS_DBMSFORMS" solves this by allowing the user to specify the name of 
the msforms table. So, each workstation using the database would have a 
different name, and the forms trigger would refer to the msforms name 
assigned for that workstation. If the variable is set to something, its 
value will be used as the msforms table name. If it is not set, then, in 
the non-Xbase case, the name of the msforms table will be "msforms". In 
the Xbase-case, if the "Use temporary ae/msforms tables" User Preference 
is set such that temporary tables ARE used, then a randomly generated 
table name will be used as the msforms table. Otherwise, "msforms" will 
be used. 

Note that the user preference setting for msforms only applies to Xbase.

Xbase
-----

Some significant progress has been made in the improvement of performance 
in the Xbase servers. The affected areas are:

Fence Reporting
Fence Filters
FI= (setting the active entity)
Loading Displayable Attributes (forms and non-forms mode) 
Cursor processing 
mdlDB_readColumn function

There are now Xbase specific implementations of cursor open, fetch and 
close. They are in rdbmslib.ml, so the prototypes can be found in 
rdbmslib.fdf. The interface is exactly the same as with the normal cursor 
functions, except for mdlDB_openCursorXbase. Its extra parameter is an 
indicator from the caller as to whether any more than just the column's 
values are desired. If the other information in the MS_sqlda structure is 
not needed by the caller, set this parameter to FALSE. That will result in 
better performance.

Also, mdlDB_simpleSelectXbase is a new function. It provides the MDL 
developer the ability to issue a select statement and receive a single 
row's column values back without the overhead of opening and closing a 
cursor. This is an improvement over mdlDB_sqlQuery because as many columns 
as desired can be specified in the select statement.  

- XBASE Sample files added. The data dictionary files for the GIS 
example are now included in the delivery. This means that you can connect 
to GIS simply by using the menu - right out of the box. No additional 
configuration needed. There is no need to run build.bat or initialize the 
data dictionary to connect to the sample XBASE, XBASENDX or XBASEFOX 
databases.

- If you are a single user of an Xbase database, be sure to set 
the configuration variable "MS_DBMODE" to "nonshared". (Note that not 
defining it at all is not adequate.) This will improve performance of 
activities that require the generation of a new MSLINK value (e.g. 
ATTACH AE while LINKAGE MODE is "New").

- Configuration variable "MS_XBFORMITEMSIZER" 
This allows the user to have the fields of an Xbase form automatically 
adjusted to better accommodate longer values. Because the font used for 
dialog item values is a proportional one, depending on the characters that 
are in the actual value the entire value may or may not be visible if the 
size of the item is set to a string that has "wide" characters (capital W, 
for instance). This configuration variable allows you to specify how much 
bigger each field will be, relative to the DBF files' column width. 
MS_XBFORMITEMSIZER should be set to a string like "x.y". This means the 
field size will be adjusted according to the below formula:

dialogItemWidth = columnWidth + x + columnWidth ^ 0.y ("^" means "raised 
to the power of").

This causes the fields for small columns to be enlarged relatively more 
than that for wider columns. If MS_XBFORMITEMSIZER is not set, the default 
value is "0.0", meaning there will be no adjustment at all. If there is a 
picture clause for the item, that will take precedence, and 
MS_XBFORMITEMSIZER will be ignored for that field.

Hint:  A good value for MS_XBFORMITEMSIZER would be something in the 
range of "3.5".

- XBASE forms with Memo Fields are not supported in MicroStation 
95. MicroStation 95 will bypass these field and not display memo data 
on the form.

===========================
End of Database Information
===========================

===========
End of File
===========














--------
 Sections
 --------
 Installation Help
 Platform Specific Information
     New Enhancements and Changes
     Digitizers
     SmartLine
     Printing/Plotting
     MicroStation BASIC
     Archiver
     Tags
     DWG/DXF
     REFMERGE
     Configuration Variables
     General Graphics Information
     Database Information
     ---------------
     End of Sections
     ---------------


    
     
     -------------------------
     MicroStation BASIC Macros
     -------------------------
          --------------------------------
     End of MicroStation BASIC Macros
     --------------------------------

     
     ----
     Tags
     ----
     Tags are non graphical data that can be attached to elements. Generally, 
     when elements are manipulated, Tags are manipulated as well.  Use of 
     Tags in Cells is possible, but not encouraged.
     -----------
     End of Tags
     -----------
     
     
          ----------------------------
     General Graphics Information
     ----------------------------
          -----------------------------------
     End of General Graphics Information
     -----------------------------------

    
