Item Types are so useful in so many different and creative ways that our models are getting a very large number of item types attached to the model elements. Currently, the only way to modify the item type data attached to something is to click on it physically or select the item in the explorer and change it through the properties dialogue. This is incredibly inefficient. It would be extremely useful to have an Item Type Data Manager that is just a window you open up, you select which item type you want to display all instances of, and it displays all those instances in a table format with the column headers as the item type definition. Seeing all instances of an Item Type in table format and then being able to change that item type data in that table would be much easier. The column headers would dynamically change depending on which item type you have loaded into the table. It would be great if the table had excel functionality as well in the sense that you can make a change to one instance (row) of the item type and copy that down to other instances. Would be nice if we could look at and manipulate item type data for item types that exist outside of the active model/dgn file as well. Give us the option to load item type data by: active model, active file, selected files, selected folder.
Thanks Steven, glad to have been of help.
I have copied the links to some blogs that may be of help with Excel integration with Item Types and Parametric Modeling:
https://communities.bentley.com/products/microstation/b/microstation_blog/posts/excel-and-item-type-integration
https://communities.bentley.com/products/microstation/b/microstation_blog/posts/new-in-microstation-connect-edition-update-16---picklist-enhancements
https://communities.bentley.com/products/microstation/b/microstation_blog/posts/new-in-microstation-connect-edition-update-15-export-import-variables-and-variations-to-and-from-excel
Please keep posting your ideas and sending us your feedback.
Regards,
Marco
I completely missed the fact that we can import/export instances. That is exactly what I am looking for. Thanks!
Hi Steven, you can export item type instance data to Excel, where you can edit all the data with it tools, filters etc. The new data can be imported then in the dgn which will update the instances in it. This was what the vast majority of the users asked for as way more productive than using a dialog in MicroStation.
We released the "Edit Item" dialog - accessible via the right click menu - for editing a single Item Type istance and you can also edit common properties of multiple Item Types from the new Item Types attach dialog.
Regards,
Marco Salino
Product Manager, MicroStation
Bentley Systems intl
www.bentley.com