General Data Exchange Procedures

This section contains general procedures for opening (importing) and saving (exporting) files in other formats.

For more information about the specific versions of file formats that MicroStation supports, see the section Versions supported.

Opening files in other formats

You can open IGES, Parasolid, ACIS SAT, CGM, STL, or STEP AP203/AP214 files in these ways:

• Directly by choosing File > Open. The current import settings control the conversion. The contents of the opened file are placed in a new DGN file that is created from the Default Translation Seed File. The Default Translation Seed File is set by the MS_TRANSEED configuration variable.

• Interactively by choosing File > Import > IGES, Parasolids, ACIS SAT, CGM, or STEP AP203/AP214. You can adjust import settings before proceeding. The contents of the imported file are placed in the open DGN file. This changes the DGN file.

• By issuing commands from the system prompt. On systems that have a system prompt, you can automatically convert multiple files to DGN files.

1. From the File menu, choose Open.
   The Open dialog box opens.


2. From the List Files of Type option menu, choose CAD Drawing Files [*.dgn] [*.dwg] [*.dxf], AutoCAD Drawing Files [*.dwg], AutoCAD DXF Files [*.dxf] , or CGM Files [*.cgm].


3. Select the file to open and then click OK.
   The file opens.
   If you selected File  > Import > CGM, a status box displays messages that describe the translation's progress and that are saved in a Log file.
   The contents of the opened file are placed in a new DGN file that is created from the Default Translation Seed File.
   Although you can read this file in , it must be modified in MicroStation. The Default Translation Seed File is set by the configuration variable MS_TRANSEED. (For more information about configuration variables, see Working With Configuration Variables).
   The settings that you used the last time you interactively opened a file of the selected file type (by choosing File > Import) control how entities are converted to elements in the DGN file. See To interactively import a file in another format.

To interactively import a file in another format

1. Open the DGN file (or create a new DGN file) into which the IGES, Parasolid, ACIS SAT, CGM, STL, or STEP AP203/AP214 file is to be placed.
   see footnote 133


2. Choose File > Import  > IGES, Parasolids, ACIS SAT, CGM, or STEP AP203/AP214.
   The appropriate initial import dialog box opens.


3. Select the filename and directory.


4. Click OK.
   The appropriate secondary import dialog box opens for the file type being imported.

   Type	This dialog box opens
   IGES	Import IGES File dialog box
   Parasolid	Import Parasolids
   ACIS SAT	Import ACIS SAT
   CGM	Import CGM File dialog box
   STEP AP203/AP214	Import STEP AP203/AP214 File dialog box
   STL	Import STL File dialog box



5. (Optional) Modify the import settings.


6. Click Import.
   The file opens. Messages that describe the progress of the conversion are displayed in the Status area and saved in a Log file.

Saving files in other formats

MicroStation lets you save a DGN file as an IGES, Parasolid, ACIS SAT, CGM, STL, or STEP AP203/AP214 file in the following ways:

• Directly by choosing File > Save As. The current export settings control the conversion.

• Interactively by choosing File > Export > IGES, Parasolids, ACIS SAT, CGM, or STEP AP203/AP214. Using this method, you can adjust export settings before proceeding.

• By issuing commands from the system prompt on systems that have one.

1. From the File menu, choose Save As.
   The Save File As dialog box opens.


2. From the List Files of Type option menu, choose AutoCAD Drawing Files [*.dwg] , AutoCAD DXF Files [*.dxf] , or CGM Files [*.cgm].


3. (Optional) In the Files field, key in a name for the file to save.
   By default, the file is saved with the same name as the DGN file and with the extension “.dwg ,” “.dxf ,” or “.cgm.”


4. Click OK.
   As the file is saved, you can monitor the status by reading the messages displayed in the Status window.
   The settings that you set the last time you saved a DGN file as an IGES or CGM file interactively (using the File menu's Import or Export item) control how elements in the DGN file are converted to entities in the exported file.

To interactively export a DGN file to another format

1. From the File menu, choose Export and then choose a file type.
   A dialog box opens.

   Type	This dialog box opens
   IGES	Export IGES File dialog box
   Parasolid	Export Parasolids
   ACIS SAT	Export ACIS SAT
   CGM	Export CGM File dialog box
   STEP AP203/AP214	Export STEP AP203/AP214
   STL	Export STL dialog box

   
   


2. (Optional) In the Files field, key in a name for the file to export.


3. Click OK.