Content area
Full text
cadalyst labs review
Separate packages handle architectural and structural design. By Lars Hesselgren
Two years in the works, MicroStation V8 implements direct support for the AutoCAD DWG format and eliminates a number of historical limitations. MicroStation V8, essentially a complete rewrite of the program, shipped in late September, and Bentley has issued regular updates since then. A third one is due shortly. V8 is brand-new technology, so it's no surprise it needs a lengthy period to settle down. This review looks at the core MicroStation V8 program in its TriForma configuration and also considers two optional add-ons-- Architecture for TriForma and Structural for TriForma. The TriForma products shipped in January 2002.
Bentley's strength has always been in its core application, MicroStation. Unlike Autodesk, which has several technologies doing different things (drafting, generic modeling, architectural modeling, visualization, and so on), the Bentley product range almost invariably sits on top of MicroStation. This is both a strength and a weakness. If the core application doesn't support something, the vertical applications don't either, The most obvious example was the infamous 63-layer limit in MicroStation (now eliminated in VS), but there are others.
Autodesk and Bentley go head-to-- head in the U.S. and U.K. CAD market. The V8 revolution in part was sparked by many Bentley customers who pressured the company to add support for the AutoCAD file format.
WHAT'S GREAT IN V8
You can now open any AutoCAD tile with MicroStation V8 and simply start drawing in it. A little icon at the lower right indicates that you are in AutoCAD restricted mode (you can do less in AutoCAD than in full-blown V8). Apart from that, you use MicroStation's tools, so there's no need to relearn a whole new vocabulary and interface just because you need to produce AutoCAD data. You can plot your file using MicroStation's plotting system, which includes batch printing as standard. You can also attach an AutoCAD file as an xref-again with no translation.
Of course, Bentley has the same curse as Autodesk-legacy users. These people often know the software better than the developers themselves. They know and love the wrinkles in the software, and they don't forgive developers who take away features or, worse, break them.
Bentley invited its users right...