It's not unusual for my company to work on projects that last for 10yrs or longer (large infrastructure projects) and upgrading a workspace during a project is time consuming and risky.
Could you please add a channel for the desktop builds for a long term support version? This version would be Current for 3(?)yrs, supported for a further 3(?)yrs and expiring for a further 3(?)yrs.
The build channel could focus primarily on security patches and bug fixes, but would not get new features in order to keep it stable and usable.
This would help stabilize our workspaces for our projects and avoid the risk of upgrading during a major project.
Hi Stuart, Here is another example of why LTS versions would be good. In Microstation CE U17 and Microstation 2023 EAP, there is a "paste unformatted" text tool in the text dialog box. In Mstn 2023 released version, this tool was broken--it pastes text that is formatted as white and in the Arial font, instead unformatted. If you train your users on a tool like this, then you have to go back and retrain them with the band-aid solution, until it gets fixed, and then retrain them on the proper way. Some people handle this well, others will be permanently lost!
--Robert
Hi Stuart,
I was just looking at another idea (Beta testing) and saw my comment at https://microstation.ideas.aha.io/ideas/MSR-I-693 . I noted that a particular version of Microstation was messing up my vba application elements, destroying information needed to plot & eport my projects. Here the problem was not in any dgn or element format, it was in the destructive nature of an untested bug.
--Robert
Hi Stuart,
I have a couple potential issues with software updates:
1) With almost every new release, I find new regressions within the first couple days of use. It takes usually about two years to get a simple regression fixed.
2) With each new version, I have to verify that my extensive amount of vba routines will still work. If I'm in the middle of a project and expect a vba routine to update/finalize some of the drawings, then when I get the command to "send it out" and suddenly a vba fails, then I have serious problems.
3) Most of the dgn problems are not with the dgn format. They are with the element formats. Text elements / text node elements are a great example of this. Currently when I set a line spacing, and place a one-line text element, that line spacing is supposed to be saved with the element. When I do place a one line text element and go back and edit the one-line text to two lines, then I can see that the spacing is a random number, rather than the specified spacing--this is an issue with the original text element, which only appears once editted. Also, there have been multiple conditions where a version of Microstation CE looses the text color and the text become white for no good reason.
My biggest thing is that I want a good stable, relatively bug-free platform to distribute to the rest of my company. So far, every version of Microstation CE has had significant bugs that affect every day drafting. These issues are not getting better, due to the fact that "improvements" are continually made, which introduce new bugs. Currently the latest version of Microstation that is most reliable is Microstation V8i(SS3).
--Thanks,
--Robert Arnold
Can I ask, what aspects of your projects can't handle software updates? For Microstation (as opposed to the OpenX products) workspaces don't need a new workspace. From time to time there may be the requirement for a new DGNLIB but this won't prevent stable operation of Microstation. The DGN format doesn't change. Which aspects of a Microstation release make it time consuming and risky?
I also am in infrastructure and even small projects can have multi-year design processes. I would like to know that the software I start my project with will be supported until the project has been built.
Please take the time to debug and beta test a version to become the LTS version. Then between LTS versions, make the desired improvements. When the time for the next LTS version to come out, take the time to debug and to do a full beta test program to make sure that the bugs are worked out.
--Thanks,
--Robert Arnold