Top 10 MicroStation Features You Won’t Find in AutoCAD
31 Jul, 2017 By: Cadalyst StaffStreamlined deliverables production and native multi-monitor support are just two of the powerful capabilities that will make your CAD life easier.
MicroStation from Bentley Systems, an advanced parametric 3D modeling solution, is packed with powerful capabilities you won't find in AutoCAD! Read on for details. Editor's note: Click here or on the image below to view information in infographic format.
1. Simple, flexible references. MicroStation’s referencing capabilities are far and away more flexible and easy to use than AutoCAD’s, including both live referencing (refreshed with a click of a button) and nested referencing (where a drawing can be referenced to itself for things like detail creation).
2. Independent view control. This means you can start a command (i.e., Place Line) in one window and snap to a spot in any other view without having to make that view active — particularly useful in 3D modeling workflows.
3. Point cloud referencing in native formats. In any one of 13 formats (without conversion needed), MicroStation can directly reference point cloud data along with more than 83 raster formats, as well as reality meshes produced from ordinary digital photos using Bentley’s ContextCapture software.
4. Streamlined documentation. Automate annotation, schedule creation, and object display by leveraging the information/property data associated with objects — extremely powerful for documentation production from BIM models.
5. One-click publishing of multiple sheets, including automated sheet indexing, while leveraging CAD standards templates to ensure consistency and standards compliance.
6. Support for complex expressions for parametric constraints in 2D and 3D workflows.
7. Smart components. Create, use, and share smart components, which can be designed so that one component can have multiple predefined variants to simplify management and speed finding and using the right content during design.
8. Project-aware, project-centric models and documents facilitate projectwide reporting, automatic standards use, and simplified sharing and collaboration workflows.
9. Native multi-monitor support for up to four displays.
10. Automated drawing extractions. To improve the clarity of both the models and drawings and to speed drawing production, use automated workflows to create, access, and view dynamically updated drawing extractions that can remain integrated and visible within the 3D models themselves. You can also embed any additional information or links to other file-based or web-accessible content right within drawings and models.
