Configuring MicroStation tag and cell synchronization

Before you begin    Compile a list of the tag set names used by your organization in title blocks. For each tag set, list the tag names that should be synchronized and their corresponding Meridian property names (and property set name). For each tag, note whether it should be read or written, or both. In effect, determine which application should control the value of that tag, Meridian or MicroStation. When doing so, consider where the drawings will originate from, imported from outside the vault (tags should be read), or created inside the vault with the aid of a wizard that prompts the user for title block information (tags should be written). Identify those tag sets in which Meridian should synchronize the same tags in the same way.

To configure tag synchronization:

1. In Configurator, expand Environment in the configuration tree and select Application Link Settings. The settings for each link appear in property pages in the right pane.
2. Click the MicroStation tab. The MicroStation link’s settings page appears in the right pane.

3. Click the Edit button to modify the settings.

   Tip    To export the settings file to your computer, click the Export button. This can be useful if you would rather edit the file in your favorite text editor. You can then copy your changes to the Clipboard and paste them into Configurator.

4. Locate the [PropertySets] section of the file. This section contains the names of all tag sets and cells that the MicroStation link will synchronize.

   Note    

   The property set section names that are defined in the [PropertySets] section use the following syntax:

   <COMPropertySetName>/<FMTID >=<PropertySetName>, <ProgID>

   Under normal circumstances, the definition should not be edited. If necessary, only <PropertySetName>and its corresponding property set section name may be changed. For example, changing both occurrences of MicroStationCustom to uStnCustom.

5. Type a line for each tag set using the following format:

   <TagSetName>=<TagSetName>, AMStationEx.AMStatDocAccess

   Type a line for each cell using the following format:

   <CellName>=<CellName>, CELL

6. For each tag set or cell in the PropertySets section, create a section in the file that begins with the tag set or cell name surrounded by square brackets, for example, [MyTagSet]. You can type comments in the file by beginning each line with a semicolon (;). Use the default sections in the file as examples. You can delete all unused sections to simplify viewing and editing the file.
7. If the tag set contains date tags that will be synchronized, configure the TitleBlockDateFormat setting as described in Formatting attribute date values .

8. On consecutive lines in each tag set or cell section, list the tag or cell names that you want to synchronize, one line each. For each tag or cell, specify the Meridian property set and property name to which you want it synchronized.

   Tip    You can find the names of property sets and properties on the Properties page of each document type, as described in Creating and editing document types.

   Also specify a flag if the tag or cell should be read-only (RO) or write-only (WO). Use the default lines in the file as examples. By default, tags and cells are read/write. Use the following format for each line:

   <TagName or CellArrayIndex>=<PropertySetName.PropertyName>,<Flag>

   Note    Although Meridian internal properties can be synchronized to title blocks, you should never attempt to update internal properties or else Access denied errors can occur. Flag all tags or cells linked to Meridian internal properties as write-only (WO). Only write to Meridian properties in the Custom property set.

   If you want to synchronize a property to a parent project (routed) property, you must specify the folder type name from which to get the folder property as in the following example. <TagName>=<FolderTypeName:PropertySetName.PropertyName>,<Flag> And if you want to synchronize one property to one of several possible routed properties, you must specify a unique identifier for the property on the left side of the setting as in the following example. <TagName,ID>=<FolderTypeName:PropertySetName.PropertyName>,<Flag> The value of ID is insignificant but must be unique among all of the lines in the same tag section. Using this syntax, you can map the same tag to multiple project folder types and the value will depend on the document’s parent folder. The following example uses three different folder types NewProject, UpgradeProject, and RepairProject.

   PROJECTNUM,new = NewProject:PSProject.ProjectNum,WO       
   PROJECTNUM,upgrade = UpgradeProject:PSProject.ProjectNum,WO       
   PROJECTNUM,repair = RepairProject:PSProject.ProjectNum,WO

9. Click OK to save your changes.
10. Test the link thoroughly by synchronizing each tag or cell. You can do this by changing property values for a drawing in the vault and the title block tag or cell values in the same drawing and confirming that the synchronization occurs in the way that you expect. You can manually synchronize properties with the Meridian client applications as described in the Accruent Meridian Enterprise User’s Guide.

Settings= DoNotCreateMStationTagsets.1