officev7

Users Guide

Microsoft OfficeImporterImport spreadsheet and word processing data intoMicroStation with perfect formatting!

Version 4.1

Axiom1805 Drew StreetClearwater, Florida 337651-727-442-7774 voice1-727-442-8344 [email protected]

Microsoft Office Importer

Copyright 19962008 Axiom.All rights reserved.

This document was last modified on 16 October 2008 3:19 PM.

This software and manual are provided as is without warranty of any kind, eitherexpressed or implied, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of

merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The entire risk as to the quality andperformance of this program is with you. You are advised to test the program thoroughly

before you rely on it. Should the program prove defective, you (and not the seller normanufacturer) assume the entire cost of all necessary servicing, repair or correction. Anyliability of seller or manufacturer of this software will be limited exclusively to product

replacement or refund of the purchase price. Venue for the resolution of any disputerelated to the software described herein shall be Pinellas County, Florida, USA.

MicroStation is a registered trademark of Bentley Systems, Incorporated.Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.TrueType is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.

Office Importer is a trademark of Axiom.

Table of Contents Page 3

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Overview------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9Features of Microsoft Office Importer-------------------------------------------------------------9Users Guide setup --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10

Definition of the word clipboard -------------------------------------------------------- 10

Chapter 2 Installation----------------------------------------------------------------------11Before You Install ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11Typical Installation from CD --------------------------------------------------------------------- 11Congratulations------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17

Chapter 3 Uninstalling --------------------------------------------------------------------18Uninstalling Axiom products --------------------------------------------------------------------- 18

Chapter 4 Quick Start ---------------------------------------------------------------------19Quick Start Objectives----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19Prerequisites ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19Demonstration Version ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19Tutorial #1 Basics ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 20Tutorial #2 Paste a spreadsheet using default options ------------------------------------- 21Tutorial #3 Adding or eliminating grid lines------------------------------------------------ 22Tutorial #4 Pasting Word documents -------------------------------------------------------- 24

Pasting with TrueType fonts ---------------------------------------------------------------- 24Pasting Word paragraphs as text nodes---------------------------------------------------- 28Changing the width of the paste------------------------------------------------------------ 29

Tutorial #5 Importing with links ------------------------------------------------------------- 30Tutorial #6 Pasting Excel charts into MicroStation---------------------------------------- 32

Chapter 5 Using Microsoft Office Importer ----------------------------------------34Starting Microsoft Office Importer--------------------------------------------------------------- 34Main tool box --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 34Paste Excel data into MicroStation -------------------------------------------------------------- 35Paste Excel charts into MicroStation ------------------------------------------------------------ 35Manage import links ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 36Display import link information------------------------------------------------------------------ 37Microsoft Office Importer Settings--------------------------------------------------------------- 37

Chapter 6 Pasting clipboard data and Excel charts into MicroStation----38The tool-------------------------------------------- 38The Paste Excel data into MicroStation box ------------------------------------------------- 38

Page width: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 39Width defined by text size on clipboard (Excel and Word)----------------------- 39Define width while placing text (Word only)--------------------------------------- 40Scale proportional to Excel (or Word) data ----------------------------------------- 40


Text height and width------------------------------------------------------------------------ 41Text height:------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 41Text width: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 41

Import with a link to the original document. --------------------------------------------- 41Update automatically when design file opens. ------------------------------------------- 41Import paragraphs as text nodes. (Some formatting may be lost.)--------------------- 42

The Paste Excel charts into MicroStation tool----------------------------------------------- 42The Paste Excel charts into MicroStation dialog -------------------------------------- 42

Scale-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 43

Chapter 7 Managing Imported Links -------------------------------------------------44The button ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 44The Manage Import Link box------------------------------------------------------------------ 45

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 45--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 45---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 45

The Link tab-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 46Source: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 46Update automatically when design file opens. ------------------------------------------- 46 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 46Excel Attributes------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 46

Top Left Cell/Bottom Right Cell ----------------------------------------------------- 47Sheet Name------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 47

The Symbology tab------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 47Text--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 47

Color:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 47Weight------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 47Style: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 48Level:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 48

When you do not select color, weight or level ---------------------------------------- 48Take unselected settings from source document ----------------------------------- 48Take unselected settings from active symbology ---------------------------------- 48

Borders----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 48Additional information on working with linked data------------------------------------------ 49

Rotating or moving linked data------------------------------------------------------------- 49

Chapter 8 Import Link Information----------------------------------------------------50The Info button ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 50

Chapter 9 Microsoft Office Importer Settings -------------------------------------51The button ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 51Microsoft Office Importer Settings box --------------------------------------------------------- 51File menu -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 52

Saving your own settings-------------------------------------------------------------------- 52Load Settings... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 53Save Settings---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 53Save Settings As...---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 53Restore Factory Defaults ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 53Help menu------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 53

Help | Contents... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 54


Help | About...--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 54Category --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 54Currently active settings file name--------------------------------------------------------------- 54Match ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 55Information field ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 55 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 55 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 56

Chapter 10 Text Settings Category ---------------------------------------------------57The Text settings box --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 57The Font tab----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 58

Use same fonts as source document.------------------------------------------------------- 58Set default font-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 58Use active font -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 58Advanced font mapping --------------------------------------------------------------------- 58--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 59 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 59

Installing additional fonts ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 60The Formatting tab ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 61

Import text nodes. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 62Examples:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 62

Import stacked fractions from Excel. ------------------------------------------------------ 62Spaces between tab stops:------------------------------------------------------------------- 63Height of a single line will be nnn% of text height. ------------------------------------- 63Symbology ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 63

Color:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 63Weight:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 63Style: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 63Level:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 63Handling unselected Symbology settings ---------------------------------------- 64Take unselected settings from source document ----------------------------------- 64Take unselected settings from active symbology ---------------------------------- 64

Attributes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 64Bold Weight ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 64Italic slant-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 64

The Size tab ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 64Name ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 65Text height:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 65Text width: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 66

Text ratio lock--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 67Add --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 67Remove ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 67Update ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 68Move Up and Move Down------------------------------------------------------------------ 68

Non-text area height: and Non-text area width:------------------------------------------------ 68Word wrap------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 68How to compute cell height when pasting from Excel ---------------------------------- 69How to compute cell height when pasting Microsoft Word tables -------------------- 70

The default case------------------------------------------------------------------------- 71When cell height is defined exactly in the source document --------------------- 72When a minimum height is defined in the source document-------------------- 73


Chapter 11 Borders Settings Category----------------------------------------------74The Borders settings box-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 74Border lines: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 74

As in source ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 75Always ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 75Never------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 75

Import diagonal border lines defined in source. ----------------------------------------------- 75Shift Text in cells by nn% of the current line height---------------------------------------- 75

Import filled cells from Excel -------------------------------------------------------------- 75Symbology ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 75

Color: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 76Weight ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 76Style -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 76Level ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 76When you do not select color, weight or line style -------------------------------------- 76

Take un-selected settings from source document. --------------------------------- 76Take un-selected settings from active symbology --------------------------------- 76

Chapter 12 Import Link Settings Category -----------------------------------------77The Import Link Settings box -------------------------------------------------------------------- 77Create a link to the original document.---------------------------------------------------------- 78Update automatically when design file opens-------------------------------------------------- 78

Set up for automatic updating -------------------------------------------------------------- 79Unload Microsoft Office Importer when automatic updates are completed. --------------- 79Highlight color, Highlight line weight and highlight line style: ----------------------------- 79

Chapter 13 Troubleshooting ------------------------------------------------------------80Formatting Options -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 80Tables ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 80

In Microsoft Excel, text overlaps cell border--------------------------------------------- 80In Microsoft Excel, cell contents print on top of each other---------------------------- 81Microsoft Excel produces other anomalies ----------------------------------------------- 81Grid lines or borders do not display ------------------------------------------------------- 81Height of grid lines or text is not exact---------------------------------------------------- 82

Microsoft Word documents ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 82Pasting of highly formatted document or document containing numbered lists is not perfect.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 82Numbered lists have no space after the numbers.---------------------------------------- 83Bullets are imported as fractions ----------------------------------------------------------- 84Bullets or list numbers lost------------------------------------------------------------------ 85Hanging indents overlap--------------------------------------------------------------------- 86Text size is inconsistent with original document. ---------------------------------------- 86Each imported word is a separate element. ----------------------------------------------- 87Tables in Word documents import with cell height too narrow.------------------------ 87Paragraph Indenting-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 87Tabs in Word documents not lining up ---------------------------------------------------- 88Linking Options ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 88Pasted text is one column of characters --------------------------------------------------- 88Deleted text keeps re-appearing ------------------------------------------------------------ 89Moved text keeps reverting to previous location ---------------------------------------- 89The paste does not update after editing the source--------------------------------------- 89


Linked data contains a visible element at the start--------------------------------------- 90MicroStation hangs up during the paste--------------------------------------------------- 90Field Codes------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 90Special characters print incorrectly -------------------------------------------------------- 90Clipboard is tied up -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 90Other errors/problems not covered here--------------------------------------------------- 90

Chapter 14 Well Make (Almost) Any Enhancements You Want-------------92We welcome your suggestions ------------------------------------------------------------------- 92

Chapter 15 New Features and Fixes--------------------------------------------------93Version 4.2a 16 October 2008 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 93Version 4.1b 18 April 2008-------------------------------------------------------------------- 93Version 4.1a 15 June 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 94Version 4.0b 12 January 2007 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 94Version 4.0a 13 October 2006 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 94Version 3.9c 22 September 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------- 94Version 3.9b 4 August 2006------------------------------------------------------------------- 94Version 3.9a 16 September 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------- 95Version 3.8a 10 June 2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 95Version 3.7a 17 March 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------ 95Version 3.6b 31 December 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------- 95Version 3.6a 23 December 2004-------------------------------------------------------------- 95Version 3.5a 30 September 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------- 96Version 3.4b 6 January 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------------ 96Version 3.4a 23 October 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 96Version 3.3b 17 January 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 97Version 3.3a 25 October 2002 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 97Version 3.2a 22 February 2002 --------------------------------------------------------------- 98Version 3.1c 28 November 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------- 98Version 3.1b 31 October 2001 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 99Version 3.1a 9 October 2001------------------------------------------------------------------ 99Version 3.0a 17 July 2001 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 99Version 2.0b 22 March 2001 -----------------------------------------------------------------100Version 2.0a 19 January 2001----------------------------------------------------------------100

Chapter 1 Overview Page 9

Chapter 1 Overview

Features of Microsoft Office ImporterMicrosoft Office Importer is a MicroStation productivity tool that can paste largeamounts of spreadsheet data and text from Microsoft Excel, Access and Wordapplications into MicroStation design files with exceptional formatting.

There are many benefits, which include:

Eliminating the need for manual entry or manipulation of text in MicroStation thatexists in Microsoft Office documents.

Import and link Excel charts into your MicroStation design files. Maintaining links to source documents with ability to update imported data

automatically or on demand.

Maintaining formats like italics, bold and underline with superior appearance. Obtain clean, predictable, presentation quality output. Importing large blocks of information with a single paste. Automatic mapping of Microsoft fonts to MicroStation fonts Stacked fraction support. Support for Unicode fonts in Excel, allowing you to import text with fonts such as

Greek, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic into your design files.

Exact mapping of Microsoft point size to MicroStation text size. Allowing pasting of paragraphs as easily editable text nodes. While MicroStation

import tools convert to single characters and line segments, Microsoft OfficeImporter converts to text and text nodes.

Options to use symbology of the source document, MicroStation active symbology,or individual selection of color, weight and level for the pasted text with separateoptions including line style for pasted borders.

Microsoft Office Importer uses 92% less disk space than trying to use nativeMicroStation commands to import the same text.

Ability to use the button to locate a missing source file and change a linkto point to the source file at a new location.

Option to unlink with the ability to restore the link later if needed. Providing many settings and pasting options that allow you the freedom to make a

paste look exactly as you want.Microsoft Office Importer uses RTF (Rich Text Formatdata from the clipboard. Anyword processor or spreadsheet software that copies information to the clipboard in RTF


format can theoretically work with Microsoft Office Importer although it was specificallybuilt and optimized for Microsofts Excel, Access and Word applications.

Microsoft Office Importer can be used with all kinds of data such as EquipmentSchedules, Bill of Materials, Tabular Data, Room Finish, Conduit/Panel/Motor Schedulesto name just a few.

Microsoft Office Importer is compatible with MicroStation SE and J in 2000 and XP. Itsupports Microsoft Office 97, 2000 and 2003..

Users Guide setupWhen pasting data from Word or Excel files, the title bar of the paste box will changeto clearly show which type of data you are pasting into MicroStation. For Word, this titlebar will read Paste Word data into MicroStation and, for Excel, this title bar will readPaste Excel data into MicroStation. Additionally, when referring to the paste box, itwill always be referred to as the Paste Excel data into MicroStation box unless we arespecifically dealing with Word data.

There is a Page width: option when pasting that refers Word or Excel depending onwhich you are pasting into MicroStation. This option will read and appear as Scaleproportional to Excel data throughout the document unless Word data is specificallybeing referred to.

Definition of the word clipboardThe word clipboard when used in the Microsoft Office Importer interface or in thisUsers Guide, is defined as follows:

A temporary memory area, used to transfer information within a document being editedor between documents or between programs. The fundamental operations are cut whichmoves data from a document to the clipboard, copy which copies it to the clipboardand paste which inserts the clipboard contents into the current document in place of thecurrent selection.

Chapter 2 Installation Page 11

Chapter 2 Installation

Before You InstallThis chapter will walk you through a typical Axiom product installation. Theseinstructions apply to both MicroStation V7 and V8. V7 products are used in theexamples.

To install one or more Axiom products, you need:

The latest Axiom product CD; and A license file on floppy disk for the product(s) you are about to install.Please shut down all MicroStation sessions on your computer before continuing.

Typical Installation from CD1. Insert the Axiom product CD into your CD drive.

2. The dialog box below should come up automatically. This may take a few momentsdepending on computer and CD drive speed.

CONDITIONAL: In some cases Windows is set to suppress auto-running executables.If the installation process does not begin automatically when you insert the CD, you willneed to start the process manually. From the Windows Start Menu, choose Run andtype in the following:D:\Setup.exewhere D is your CD drive letter.


3. Click the button and the first installation dialog box (below) will appear.

4. Select MicroStation V7 or MicroStation V8 and click .

5. Choose which type of installation you want to perform. The Typical installation isbest for most situations and asks the user to make very few decisions.

6. These instructions will describe only the Typical installation path. ChooseTypical and click .


7. Choose the license file for this installation. Place the floppy disk that came with thisinstallation CD into your floppy drive now.

8. Choose I have a floppy disk from Axiom. and click .

Although you have already selected the MicroStation family (V7 or V8) for whichyou want to install Axiom tools, it is common for one computer to have more thanone instance of MicroStation installed on it. For example, you might have twoversions of MicroStation/J installed (07.01.04.16 and 07.02.04.20). You must choosewhich of the two you want to associate your Axiom tools with.


9. Highlight the version of MicroStation you want to associate the Axiom tools with andclick .

Since this is a Typical installation, all programs for which an Axiom license wasfound will already be checked-on to be installed. Other items that are alsoautomatically checked-on for installation are the product Users Guides, individualproduct sample files and Axioms MicroStation pull-down menu.


10. To proceed with default selections click .

Youve now completed the Pre-Setup.

11. Click to proceed with the installation.


12. The button is grayed-out unless you accept the agreement.

If you accept the license and click , the installation will begin. You can click at any time to abort the installation.


13. This is the final dialog box. It shows that the installation is complete. By default theView Readme.pdf option is toggled on and will display the Readme.pdf documentwhen you click .

CongratulationsThats it! You have successfully completed the installation of your Axiom tools.


Chapter 3 Uninstalling

Uninstalling Axiom productsAxiom products can be uninstalled easily through the Windows Start Menu.

1. Go to , Programs | Axiom.

2. Select Uninstall V7 products or Uninstall V8 products depending on the productsyou want to uninstall.

3. Choose Select all. or Select components to uninstall. If you choose Selectcomponents to uninstall. then each product in the list can be manually checked orunchecked. This allows for any combination of products to be uninstalled. Onlyinstalled products will be shown in the list.

Note: At the bottom of the list of products you also have the option to uninstall sampledesign files, users guides and even the Axiom pull-down menu.

4. Once youve made your selections, click the button to complete theuninstall process.

Chapter 4 Quick Start Page 19

Chapter 4 Quick Start

Quick Start ObjectivesThe purpose of this Quick Start is to introduce you to the basic features of MicrosoftOffice Importer so that you can immediately use the program.

This Quick Start should take less than 1 hour for all steps, however, you can do thetutorials that apply to your specific needs in less time.

Prerequisites1. MicroStation SE or J.

2. Microsoft Office Importer must be installed on your computer. You can verify this byselecting the Axiom menu from MicroStations main menu bar, then selectMicrosoft Office Importer. If Microsoft Office Importer does not load, follow theinstructions in the Installation section of your Microsoft Office Importer UsersGuide.

3. You will need the sample files that are delivered with Microsoft Office Importer.These sample files will be found in a samples folder in the Microsoft OfficeImporter installation folder. By default, it is located here:

c:\Program Files\Axiom\V7\office\sample\

Demonstration VersionThe demonstration version of Microsoft Office Importer will work with design files up to100 kilobytes and expires on a specific date. Until the time of expiration, you can useMicrosoft Office Importer to become fully familiar with its features.

The demonstration version also has an accumulated paste limit of 50 lines. To reset thelimit, unload Microsoft Office Importer through Utilities | MDL Applications, chooseOFFICE and click the button. Then, restart Microsoft Office Importer fromthe Axiom menu.


Tutorial #1 Basics1. Select Microsoft Office Importer from the Axiom menu. You will see the Microsoft

Office Importer toolbar.

2. Click the button, located on the far right of the Microsoft Office Importertoolbar, to open the Settings dialog box.

3. Just in case someone worked with Microsoft Office Importer before you began thisQuick Start, lets restore factory defaults. In the upper left hand corner of the settingsdialog box, you will see a File drop down menu. Select the option, Reset to FactoryDefaults.

4. Answer Yes to the Alert message that appears.

5. If you have any questions about Microsoft Office Importers features, the full UserGuide is always available from Microsoft Office Importers Help menu:

6. In the next tutorials, we will look at pasting a spreadsheet with the default settingsand then changing settings and pasting again to see how the appearance of the pastecan be altered.


Tutorial #2 Paste a spreadsheet using default options1. To begin, open MicroStation and open a new blank design file or the sample test file

that comes with Microsoft Office Importer. It is called office.dgn and will befound in the installation sample directory which, by default is:

c:\program files\axiom\office\V7\sample\office.dgn2. Select Microsoft Office Importer from the Axiom menu on the MicroStation menu

bar. Or you can load Microsoft Office Importer by keying in an mdl load commandon the MicroStation command line. You need to add the path to the Officeapplication for your installation, for example:

mdl load c:\axiom\office\office.ma

3. The Microsoft Office Importer toolbar displays. From left to right, you see the, , and buttons. We will start with a simplepaste using the default settings.

4. Load Microsoft Excel and open the sample file provided with Microsoft OfficeImporter called project.xls. It will be found in the installation directory. Forexample:

c:\program files\axiom\v7\office\sample\project.xls5. Copy all or part of the spreadsheet to the clipboard by using highlight and Edit |

Copy or .

6. Now go back to MicroStation and press Microsoft Office Importers button:

7. Move your mouse/cursor and notice that a box is hanging off of your cursor point.Move the cursor over to a blank place in the design file.

8. Click to accept the placement. Microsoft Office Importer will drop the contentsof the clipboard from the Excel file onto your MicroStation design file.


9. By default, your paste will contain a link to the Excel spreadsheet. You will see thefollowing information box that you can close by clicking the button.

10. Use the Window Area tool to zoom in on that newly placed box to see the text. Theimage below shows part of what you should see on your screen:

The text, which is a ten point Arial font in the Excel table, is pasted with a text height of10 master units in the design file. This is the result of using the default settings.

Tutorial #3 Adding or eliminating grid linesThe display of borderlines are determined with the Format | Cells options inMicrosoft Excel. In the previous tutorial, no borders were specified.

You can add or eliminate all cell outlines in your paste by using an option in the TableLines category of the settings menu. In this example, we turn on all grid lines in thepaste.

1. Select Category Borders from the Microsoft Office Importer Settings dialog box.


2. From the Borders: pull down menu, select Always, and click the button.

3. Your text from the last tutorial should still be on the clipboard. If it is not, copy theselected spreadsheet information to the clipboard again.

4. In MicroStation, click the paste button and place the new spreadsheet in a blank partof the design file.

5. Part of your pasted data should look like the image below.


Tutorial #4 Pasting Word documentsWhen you are pasting Word data, the Paste Word data into MicroStation dialog boxappears once Microsoft Office Importer has finished analyzing the clipboard contents.These tutorials will show how the options on this dialog box allow you to change theappearance of your pasted Word data.

The image below shows factory defaults, pasting Word data:

When you paste Word documents using the factory default settings, you should get agood quality paste that is acceptable in most cases. There are a couple of conditions youmay have to care for to maximize the quality of your pastes and these are:

All text will paste with the factory default font, which is font 0, Standard. Words thatare italicized or bolded within sentences will be italicized or bolded by default in thepaste. To modify the bold weight or italic slant, modify the Attributes section underthe Formatting tab within Microsoft Office Importers settings.

You can, however, easily change a single option at paste time to paste with fullformatting including indenting, numbered lists, italics and bold text. This option willalso give the best result when pasting numbered lists or documents with tabs. See thesection in this Quick Start titled Pasting with TrueType fonts.

The width of text may or may not be acceptable for your use. You can easily changethe width. See the section in this tutorial titled, Changing the width of the paste.

See later sections in this guide for other options to change size, color of text, and lineheight.

Pasting with TrueType fontsIn this tutorial we will set up a TrueType font family. The advantage of using a TrueTypefont is that the pasted text size and appearance will be more like the original. Inspreadsheets, it will be more likely to fit within cell borders using default border settings.

A font family, as created and defined by Microsoft Corporation, consists of related fontsthat differ in normal, bold and italic styles. For example, the Times Roman font familyhas many fonts including times, timesi, timesbd and timesbi.

The text in our sample Microsoft Word file uses the Times New Roman TrueType font.

If you do not currently have Times New Roman TrueType fonts available inMicroStation, see the section in this guide called, Installing additional fonts. There youwill find instructions on how to get your Windows TrueType fonts into MicroStation. For


this tutorial, you should import into MicroStation the four TrueType fonts of the Timesfamily mentioned above.

Now you are ready to begin.

1. Open the Microsoft Office Importer Settings dialog box and select the Text as inthe image below.

2. Select the Font tab. Then, select the Advanced font mapping: option. The imagebelow shows the default settings for Roman (Times) text.

3. Ensure that the Roman (Times) font is highlighted in the font list on the left.


4. The four text boxes on the right allow you to select a different font for normal, bold,italic, and bold-italic Roman (Times) text. Select a font for Normal text (not boldor italicized) by opening the pull-down menu and highlighting your Times font(font number 62 in our example below).

5. Now set up your four fonts as in the image below.

Tip: If you have no separate fonts for bold and italic, you can select the same font for allfour options and select the Weight and Slant checkboxes. Define the bold weight anditalic slant in the Formatting tab options.

6. You have now set up the automatic conversion of Times New Roman text to a Timesfont. You may want to take a minute to save these settings by choosing File | SaveSettings. They will automatically be saved to your default settings in theoffice.ini file.

7. Close the Settings dialog box by clicking the button.

8. In Word, open the sample file named OfficeSample.doc that is delivered withMicrosoft Office Importer. This file is located in the Microsoft Office Importersample folder which, by default, it is located here:


C:\Program Files\Axiom\V7\office\sample\9. Select all the text in the OfficeSample.doc file and copy it to the Windows

Clipboard (Edit | Copy...).

10. In MicroStation, click Microsoft Office Importers button. You will see thePaste Word data into MicroStation dialog box.

11. Choose Define width while placing text. from the Page width: pull down menu,shown in the screen shot below:

12. Place two data points to define the width of the paste in the design file.

13. The resulting paste will use the Times New Roman fonts and show good formattingfor italics, bold and underlined text.

Note: If your paste only shows an outline of the letters (the letters are not filled in), yousimply need to turn on the fill view attribute in MicroStation (Settings | ViewAttributes | Fill).


Pasting Word paragraphs as text nodes1. In Word, open the sample file named OfficeSample.doc that is delivered with

Microsoft Office Importer. This file is located in the Microsoft Office Importersample folder which, by default, it is located here:

C:\Program Files\Axiom\V7\office\sample\2. Copy the text of that file to the clipboard with Edit | Copy or .

3. Reset the settings to the defaults by clicking the button and then selectFile | Reset to Factory Defaults. Finally, click the button when theAlert message box displays.

4. Click the button, then set the Page width: to Width defined by text sizeon clipboard. Locate and check (turn On) the Import paragraphs as text nodesoption.

5. Paste the contents of the clipboard into your sample design file using the defaultoptions. It will have no special formatting and may look something like the imagebelow, which shows the leftmost part of the paste. Each paragraph is a text node.


Changing the width of the paste1. In Microsoft Word, copy the text of OfficeSample.doc to the clipboard with

Edit | Copy or .

2. In MicroStation, open Microsoft Office Importer if it is not already open.

3. Click the button. You will see the Paste word data into MicroStationdialog box.

4. Select the option Define width while placing text from the Page Width: dropdown menu as in the image below:

5. Now you are prompted to enter two points to define the width. Your result could looklike the image below.


Tutorial #5 Importing with linksImporting with links to the original document enables you to update the paste from thesource document at a later time. Updates can be set up to occur automatically when thedesign file is opened or manually by clicking an update button. This tutorial demonstratesmanual update.

Microsoft Office Importer gives you an easy method to create links in your design file.We will demonstrate how to paste a spreadsheet with a link and update that link.

1. Use Microsoft Excel to open the sample file provided with Microsoft Office Importercalled project.xls. By default, this file will be found in the Microsoft OfficeImporter installation folder, shown below:

C:\Program Files\Axiom\v7\office\sample\project.xls2. Copy all or part of the spreadsheet to the clipboard by using highlight and Edit |

Copy or .

3. Open office.dgn in MicroStation if it is not already opened.

4. Click the button.

5. The Paste Excel data into MicroStation dialog box appears. Set the Page width:to Width defined by text size on clipboard. Note that the Import with link tooriginal document and Update automatically when design file opens options areon by default.

6. Use a data point to place your clipboard information into the design file.

7. Now click the button Microsoft Office Importer toolbar.


8. You will see a highlighted display of link information that includes the path to thesource document and the type of link. The highlighted border shows the exact extentof the pasted table.

Note: The text size of the link information is set in your MicroStation active text size.The size of the link information text may be different than the default size used for theimported text.

9. Next, click the button.

10. In MicroStations status bar (lower left of your MicroStation window) you will beprompted to Identify element in the pasted data. Actual text will state ManageImport Link > Identify element. Put a data point somewhere on the pasted elementsand then click another data point to accept. The Manage Import Link dialog boxthen opens (shown below).


11. Click the button and make some changes into the spreadsheet. Be sure tosave the changes in Excel because the update function only picks up saved changes.

12. Back in MicroStation, click the button. The pasted text will update withyour saved changes.

Note: By default Microsoft Office Importer, installs in the MS_DGNAPPS configurationvariable. The result of this is that if you update the source document later and then openthe design file, Microsoft Office Importer triggers an automatic update of pasted text.

Tutorial #6 Pasting Excel charts into MicroStation1. To begin, open MicroStation and open a new design file or the sample file that comes

with Microsoft Office Importer for V8. It is called office.dgn and will be foundin the sample folder where Microsoft Office Importer for V8 is installed. Thedefault location for the sample folder is shown below:

c:\program files\axiom\v7\office\sample\office.dgn2. Select Microsoft Office Importer for V8 from the Axiom menu on the MicroStation

Menu Bar. Or you can load Microsoft Office Importer for V8 by keying in an mdlload in the MicroStation key-in window (Utilities | Key-in). You need to add thefull path and file name for the Microsoft Office Importer for V8 application. For adefault installation of Microsoft Office Importer for V8, you would use the followingmdl load key-in command:

mdl load "c:\program files\axiom\v7\office\office.ma"

3. When Microsoft Office Importer loads, you will see the Microsoft Office Importerdialog.

4. Open the sample spreadsheet the Microsoft Office Importer sample folder calledProject.xls.

5. Select the chart Microsoft Office Importers sample chart


Microsoft Office importer's sample chart

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SW parcel 1 SW parcel 1a SW parcel 1b SW parcel 1c SW parcel 2 SW parcel 2a

6. Right-click and select the Copy option from the right-click menu.

7. Now, inside MicroStation, click the button.

8. Accept the location of your paste by inside the design file.

Congratulations!

You have completed the Quick Start for Microsoft Office Importer.


Chapter 5 Using Microsoft OfficeImporter

Starting Microsoft Office ImporterYou can select Microsoft Office Importer from the Axiom menu in the MicroStationmenu bar (V8 picture shown).

or

You can load Microsoft Office Importer by keying in an mdl load command on theMicroStation command line. You need to add the path to office.ma for your installation.For example:

mdl load c:\program files\axiom\v7\office\office.ma

Main tool box

The main toolbox of Microsoft Office Importer has five selections:

1. Paste Excel data into MicroStation

2. Paste Excel charts into MicroStation

3. Manage import links

4. Display import link information

5. Microsoft Office Importer settings

Definition: An import link is an active link to a Microsoft Word document or Excelspreadsheet. Microsoft Office Importer creates an active link if the Import with link

Chapter 5 Using Microsoft Office Importer Page 35

option is selected at the time of the Paste. See the chapter on Managing Import Links inthis guide for more information.

Paste Excel data into MicroStation

When you press the button on the main toolbar, Microsoft Office Importer will open the Paste Excel data into MicroStation boxand allow you to paste the contents of your computers clipboard onto your design.

Note: The title bar will indicate if you are pasting Excel data Paste Excel data intoMicroStation or Word data Paste Word data into MicroStation to clearly show whattype of data you are pasting.

When this box appears and there is Microsoft Word or Excel data on the clipboard, youcan paste with a single data point in the design file.

See the Paste clipboard data into MicroStation section of this guide for a detaileddescription of the options available in this box.

Paste Excel charts into MicroStation

The button will allow you to paste Excel chartsinto your design file. These charts are linked to the source chart so that any modificationto the chart can be automatically updated inside the design file.


Manage import links

When you press the button on the main tool bar, Microsoft Office Importerwill ask you to Identify element. Click on an element in the pasted information youwant to work with. Then you will see the Manage Import Link box with options to edit,update or unlink the linked document that you chose to manage. This box and its optionsare described in detail later in this guide.

Manage Import Link box showing Link tab.

Manage Import Link box showing Symbology tab.

Chapter 5 Using Microsoft Office Importer Page 37

Display import link information

When you press the button, Microsoft Office Importer will highlight any of itslinked data in your file. As you can see in the sample below, the path to the sourcedocument displays as well as the link type.

Definitions: Link type can be Automatic, Manual or Not Linked.

With Automatic links, the pasted text updates automatically when the design file isopened as long as Microsoft Office Importer is running.

With Manual links, updates occur only when you click the button on theManage Import Link dialog box.

Microsoft Office Importer Settings

The icon will bring up the Microsoft Office Importer Settings box, which isdescribed in a later section of this guide. Microsoft Office Importer has many options thatallow you to place documents with the settings and symbology that you want.


Chapter 6 Pas ting clipboard data andExcel charts into MicroStation

The toolBefore pasting, copy your selected Microsoft Word, Excel or Access content to theclipboard.

When you click the Microsoft Office Importer button,, you are ready to import the contents of the clipboard into yourdesign file. You can then place the clipboard contents on your design file with a datapoint.

The Microsoft Office Importer default settings have been designed to give great results inmost cases. However, you may need to modify some settings to achieve the best resultswith your data.

The Paste Excel data into MicroStation boxThe Paste Excel data into MicroStation box appears after you click the clipboardcontents into MicroStation> button and becomes active after the program analyzes thecontents of the clipboard. It allows you to make some last minute selections beforeplacing the text.

Chapter 6 Pasting clipboard data and Excel charts into MicroStation Page 39

Page width:The Page width: drop down menu gives you two options for pasting Excel data intoMicroStation. For pasting Word data into MicroStation, you have three Page width:options. Each option produces very different results and are described in the followingsections.

Excel Page width: options.

Word Page width: options.

Width defined by text size on clipboard (Excel and Word)This option is available for pasting Excel and Word data into MicroStation.

Width defined by text size on clipboard is the default option. When you use this option,the width of the line will be taken from the clipboard. You will see an outline showingthe width. You can paste it with a single data point on the design file.

Note: Using the Paste clipboard contents. option from the Axiom pull-down menu willpaste Excel or Word data using this method also.


Define width while placing text (Word only)This option is available only for pasting Word data into MicroStation.

When you select Define width while placing text, you place the clipboard contents witha single data point that defines the top left corner of the text and move your cursor to theright. An outline will follow the cursor. Click the mouse when you have reached thedesired width.

Note: Using the Paste User defined width (Word only) option from the Axiom pull-down menu will paste Word data using this method also.

Note: This option, Define width while placing text does not function when importingtables in Word documents. In these cases when Define width while placing text is usedthe import width will be the same as if the Define width from clipboard text size optionwas used. This is because the Scale proportional to Word data (or Excel data) optionshould be used to maintain the same cell width to height ratio as in the spreadsheet whenimporting. Another option is to use MicroStations Graphic Group lock and the ScaleElement tool after the import to resize the imported area as needed.

Scale proportional to Excel (or Word) dataThis option is available for pasting Excel and Word data into MicroStation.

When you use Scale proportional to Excel data, you can define the width of the pastewith two data points as in the previous option. The difference is that the size of text, boththe text height and width, will be increased or decreased proportionally to fit the definedwidth.

If you select the same data point when specifying the width you will get this message inthe message area The user defined page width is too small. You must specify adifferent data point than the first data point when using the Scale proportional to Exceldata width option.

Note: Using the Paste User defined size option from the Axiom pull-down menu willpaste Word data using this method also.


Text height and width

Using the default settings as in the image above, 10-point text will paste with a height of10 master units and a width of 8 master units.

Text height:The Text Height field displays the text height scale of master units to points that iscurrently active and gives you a chance to change it if you want.

Text width:The Text Width: field allows you to make a last minute change to the width of astandard character.

Import with a link to the original document.One of the benefits of Microsoft Office Importer is its ability to keep importedinformation in MicroStation linked to its source document (Word doc or Excelspreadsheet). Unless you have a good reason not to want any kind of link, we recommendyou leave this setting turned on.

Important note: After pasting with Microsoft Office Importer, the source documentmust be saved in order to establish a valid link.

Tip: Even if you do not select the Import with link the linkage information is savedwith the paste. This allows you to establish the link to the source document later. See the function in The Manage Import Link box section below.

Update automatically when design file opens.When you select Import with link, you also have an option to select automaticupdating for the imported document. With automatic updating, the pasted text will update


from the source document automatically when you open the design file. However, thiscan happen only when Microsoft Office Importer is loaded and running.

To set up for automatic updating, see the section called Installation for automaticupdate in the installation section of this guide.

Tip: If you want to turn Automatic update on or off for a selection that has alreadybeen imported, you can do so in the Manage Import Linkbox, accessed via theManage button on the Microsoft Office Importer toolbar.

Import paragraphs as text nodes. (Some formatting may be lost.)By default, paragraphs are imported as text nodes and formatting is preserved. You alsohave an option to import paragraphs as text nodes by turn this setting on. When youselect this, you may lose some formatting. Words that are italicized or bolded withinsentences will not be italicized or bolded in the paste. Each paragraph will take the formatof the first word in the paragraph.

A full description of this option can be found later in this guide in the section on TextSettings.

The Paste Excel charts into MicroStation tool

The will allow you to paste Excel charts into yourdesign file. These charts are linked to the source chart for future automatic update byMicrosoft Office Importer.

The Paste Excel charts into MicroStation box appears after you have copied an Excelchart to your clipboard and clicked the button.

The Paste Excel charts into MicroStation dialog

The Paste Excel charts into MicroStation dialog allows you to increase or decrease thesize of your chart beforeit is pasted into your design file.


ScaleThe Scale field is used to adjust the size of your chart as it will appear in your designfile. A Scale of 1.0 (the default) is recommended. This will result in the placement of achart that is comparable in size to other Excel data (cells) that youd paste in that samedesign file.


Chapter 7 Managing Imported Links

The buttonThe button on the main toolbar allows you to change certain aspects of thelinked information, update the linked information from its source document and quicklyedit the source document.

Click the button and you will be prompted:

Manage Import Link > Identify element

Click on some part of the linked data that you want to manage and then data point toaccept your choice. The Manage Import Link box will open.

Note: The Manage function can also be accessed from the Axiom pull-down menu usingthe Manage an existing Microsoft Office Importer link. option. This is the same aspressing the button.

Chapter 7 Managing Imported Links Page 45

The Manage Import Link box

The button will only be enabled if a valid change to the Excel Range orSymbology is made. Click the button to apply any changes made to ExcelRange or Symbology.

Click the button to open the source document for editing. Be sure to save yourmodified source document.

Click the button to update the linked information from the source document.Also use the button to confirm any changes made in the Source field.

If you originally imported the pasted information without selecting the link option or youhave unlinked an area, you can establish the link by just clicking .

The function works only with saved files and it is always necessary to save thechanged source file before the update in order for the update to be successful.

Tip: Use the key-in command OFFICE UPDATEALL to update all of the MicrosoftOffice Importer links in your active model.

Click to close the Manage Import Link box.


The Link tab

Manage Import Link box showing Link tab.

Source:When you move or rename a source file that is linked to a design file, the link isgenerally broken. With the button you can locate the source document in itsnew location and Microsoft Office Importer will repair the link. After locating the newsource document, click the button to save the full file specification as the newSource: field value.

Update automatically when design file opens.You can change the link type of the paste from Automatic to Manual or from Manual toAutomatic with this toggle. If the link type is Not Linked, setting this toggle to on willreestablish a link to the source document. After changing this toggle, click tosave the change.

Click to delete the active link information. After doing this, you will not beable to update automatically from the source document. However, you can establish thelink again as described in the previous paragraph.

Excel AttributesThis section of the box gives you options for adjusting the cell range and the Excel sheetname the information was pasted from.


Top Left Cell/Bottom Right CellEdit the range of your linked Excel information. If a column or row is added modify therange in the Top Left/Bottom Right fields so that Microsoft Office Importer knows theexact area of your spreadsheet you wish to link into MicroStation. Click the button to apply your cell range changes.

Sheet NameEdit the name of the Excel sheet tab from which your spreadsheet was pasted. If the nameof the Excel sheet was changed, click the button to apply the name change.

The Symbology tab

Manage Import Link box showing Symbology tab.

TextThese are options for setting the symbology for all of the text in an existing MicrosoftOffice Importer paste.

Color:Color overrides the present text color within your imported text, check this option anduse the color picker to select any color for your pasted text.

WeightWeight overrides the present text weight within your imported text, check this optionand use the weight picker to select any weight for your pasted text.


Style:Style overrides the present text style of your imported text, check this option and usethe style picker to select any style for your pasted text.

Level:Level overrides the present text level of your imported text, check this option and usethe level picker to select any level for your pasted text.

When you do not select color, weight or level

Options for handling unselected settings.

Take unselected settings from source documentWhen you do not select exact color, weight, or level in the options above, choose thisoption to always take these settings from your source document.

Take unselected settings from active symbologyWhen you do not select exact color, weight or level in the options above, choose thisoption to always take these settings from MicroStation active symbology.

Borders

The Borders category allows a user to modify color, weight, style and level attributesfor any previously pasted spreadsheet or word document. Take unselected settings


options are also available for Borders as well. Remember, changes here will be appliedto all of the border lines.

Additional information on working with linked dataWhen you paste text or spreadsheets with Microsoft Office Importer, the program createsa small point cell containing a zero length line that is a construction element. This pointcell contains the link information. You can see this cell just above the left side of thepaste if you set view attributes to view constructions.

The point cells, containing link information, together with the other elements of the paste,form a Graphic Group.

Rotating or moving linked dataTo successfully rotate or move linked information, you should have Graphic Group lockOn (checked). Then you will be able to update from the source while maintaining therotation angle and new location. If you rotate or move linked data without graphic grouplock turned on, your link may be un-rotated and un-moved when you update it.


Chapter 8 Import Link Information

The Info button

Use the button to highlight all linked data in the active design file and display thename of the source document and the link type (Automatic, Manual or Not Linked). Linktype will be Not Linked if you did not use the option to link the text. However, you canstill use the button to open the source document and update the file.

Note: This functionality is also available from the Axiom pull-down menu. Select theHighlight existing Microsoft Office Importer links option to display the linkinformation.

You can choose the color, line weight and line style of the display in the Settings |Import Link box.

The text size of the link information is the active text size and is not related to the size ofthe pasted text.

Chapter 9 Microsoft Office Importer Settings Page 51

Chapter 9 Microsoft Office ImporterSettings

The buttonThe button opens Microsoft Office Importers Settings box. Here you cantailor the appearance of your paste by selecting various options.

Note: you can also access Microsoft Office Importers settings from the Axiom pull-down menu by selecting the Change Microsoft Office Importer settings. option.

Microsoft Office Importer Settings boxYou can find descriptions of the options in the Text, Borders and Import Linksections of this Users Guide.


File menuThe File menu on the top bar of the Settings box allows you to save several sets ofoptions and recall options that were previously saved.

Options are saved in initialization files also known as .ini files. The .ini files can beedited with a text editor.

When you first install and run Microsoft Office Importer, the program creates anoffice.ini file in the same directory with office.ma. This file contains the factorydefault settings and loads by default when Microsoft Office Importer starts up.

The default settings file office.ini will initially contain the factory default settingsvalues but you can change these settings and save your preferences to any location.

Saving your own settingsYou can tailor your settings and save them in different locations and with differentnames.

You can use a configuration variable, OFFICE_INI to point to your saved settings.OFFICE_INI can contain simply a directory path pointing to a directory containingoffice.ini or it can contain the full file spec of your settings file.

Examples:c:\myOfficeSettings\c:\settings\office\project123.ini

Tip: Users running office.ma from a server may find it useful to set up OFFICE_INI, tosave personal settings on a local drive.

If you do not define the OFFICE_INI configuration variable, Microsoft Office Importerwill look for the last settings file that was used and load it if it can find it. When it findsno settings file, it loads the factory default settings.


Load Settings...When Microsoft Office Importer is started up, it searches for a valid settings file andloads the first one it finds. It looks in the following places:

1. The .ini file defined in the $(OFFICE_INI) MicroStation configuration variable.

2. The office.ini file in the directory defined by the $(OFFICE_INI) MicroStationconfiguration variable.

3. The previous settings file used if it exists.

4. The office.ini file in the directory that office.ma was executed from.

5. The office.ini file in the axiom directory.

6. If Microsoft Office Importer does not find office.ini in any of these directories,it will use its factory default settings.

Save SettingsUse Save Settings to save all currently selected options into the active settings file.

If you have not loaded a different .ini file, the settings will be saved to the default .inifile, which is OFFICE.INI.

Save Settings As...Use Save Settings As to save your current settings with a filename of your choice.

Restore Factory DefaultsThis clears all settings to their factory default state.

Help menu

The Help menu gives you options to open the Microsoft Office Importer Help fileand to open an HTML file with version and licensing information, as well as Axiomcontact information and e-mail addresses.


Help | Contents...The Contents option of the Help menu opens this Users Guide in the form of aHelp file.

Help | About...The Help | About function displays an informational box which shows the currentversion, license type and copyright information for Microsoft Office Importer. It alsogives you Axiom contact information and hyperlinks.

CategoryIn the settings box you will see several categories on the left. When you highlight one ofthese categories, the options associated with that category appear on the right.

Currently active settings file nameYou will see the name of the currently active settings file in the title bar of the settingsbox.


MatchUse this button to change the current settings to match those settings stored in an existinglink. Click the button, select the link you want to match the settings from, thendata point to accept.

Information fieldAt the bottom of the settings box is an information field. The information displayed inthis field relates to the last area where you clicked your mouse. In the example below,input focus is in the Height field.

This information field contains only a general description. If you need more information,you can use the Help | Contents... menu to bring up the full Users Guide.

Click to accept the current settings and close the Settings box.


Click to close the Settings box without saving any changes made.

Chapter 10 Text Settings Category Page 57

Chapter 10 Tex t Settings Category

The Text settings boxThe Text settings box contains three tabs:

1. Font tab, which gives you settings to control the fonts used in your pastes.

2. Formatting tab, which gives you settings for controlling how the text isformatted in your pastes.

3. Size tab, which gives you settings for controlling the scale at which your text ispasted and sizing the non-text areas.


The Font tabThe four options in this tab allow the user to define exactly what fonts to be used whenimporting Microsoft Word or Excel documents.

Use same fonts as source document.Enable this option to use exactly the same fonts that are contained within a sourcedocument when pasting it into MicroStation.

Set default fontThe font chosen here will be used for all pastes into MicroStation. The fonts displayed inthis pulldown menu are determined by MicroStations font.rsc file. Instructions on how toinstall new fonts are located at the end of this section.

Use active fontMicroStations active font will determine the font that is used when pasting.

Advanced font mappingThe Advanced font mapping is used so that Microsoft Office Importer can use the fontfamily that matches the font used in the source document. For example, if the font in theMicrosoft Word file is Arial, it will paste with the fonts selected for the Arial family.

If the font in the source does not belong to any of the Microsoft font families, then thedefault font is used.


Microsoft Word provides TrueType fonts for creating "portable" documents, that is,documents that always keep their original appearance no matter which computer orprinter you use to view or print them.

The TrueType fonts and the PostScript fonts have a font family. These are Roman(Times), Swiss (Arial, Helvetica), Modern (Courier), Script (Script) and someothers. You can use the full family when pasting Microsoft Word documents.

The image below shows the font family settings box with the factory defaults.

Using font families allows you to achieve the best output with the least amount of work.

Use to set the bold, italic and bold-italic fonts to the same numberfont as the normal font for that font family. Text that is on the clipboard as bold or italictext will then paste using the normal font.

Use the button to set all fonts to the default font that is on theprevious tab. This erases all special settings.


Installing additional fonts1. Key-in MDL LOAD FONTINST to start the font installer or select Utilities | Install

Fonts from the main MicroStation menu.

2. Click the Source File button, the one on the left.

3. Select TrueType.

1. Navigate toyour Windows fonts directory (usually in C:\Windows\Fonts\).

4. If it isnt obvious which file contains the font you need to install, browse the fontdirectory with the Windows Explorer, which lists the font's name (The MicroStationFont Installer only lists the file name containing the font). This way you can be surewhich file contains the proper font and then use that font file name with theMicroStation Font Installer.

5. Select the files you want to import. You can select multiple files by holding down the key while making your selections.

6. Clickthe button to put your selected fonts in the file list and then click the button.

7. Click the button on the right side and navigate to the resource file thatcontains the fonts in your copy of MicroStation. The default location is usually:

\Bentley\Workspace\system\symb\font.rsc


8. Click . Youll know if you have the right file because all the fonts that arealready in MicroStation will now appear in the right-side window of the dialog box.

9. Highlight the fonts in the source file list.

10. Click the > Copy>> > button to import your fonts.

11. When the import processing is completed, click the button.

The Formatting tab

Use the Formatting tab to set options for importing paragraphs as text nodes, importingstacked fractions, setting the symbology and other options.


Import text nodes.When you select this, each paragraph pastes as a single text node. This setting is Off(unchecked) by default.

If your standards require consistency of text appearance, you can use this option to forceall italics, bold and underlined text to the style of the first character of the paste. Anotheradvantage of this option is that the pasted text will be easier to edit using MicroStationtools. However, all text in a paragraph will paste with the symbology of the firstcharacter. Embedded bold, italic and underlined text may paste as normal text. Specialformatting, tabs and numbered lists will look less like the original.

Note: If it is desirable to edit pasted text and to maintain perfect formatting, considerlinking the pasted text to the source document and making changes in the sourcedocument. The Manage function of Microsoft Office Importer facilitates this method.

Examples:For example, consider a paragraph containing one underlined word like the following.

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid ofthe party.

When this option is On (checked), this text pastes as a single text node and all wordshave the same formatting. The underline is lost.

Import stacked fractions from Excel.When the Import stacked fractions from Excel option is turned on, fractions withinyour Excel spreadsheets will be converted into stacked fractions in MicroStation.

In order to convert fractions from Excel into stacked fractions in MicroStation, thefollowing conditions must be met:

1. The Excel cells Number format (Format | Cells | Number tab) must be set toFraction.

2. The cell must have a fraction somewhere in it (such as 1/2.)

3. Microsoft Office Importers Import stacked fractions from Excel. checkbox mustbe turned on.

4. The MicroStation font must include a symbol for that stacked fraction.

5. More than one cell must be copied to the clipboard.

6. MicroStations Element | Text Styles | Fractions checkbox must be turned on.


Spaces between tab stops:When a tab character is encountered on the clipboard, Microsoft Office Importer insertsspaces in the line. For each tab character imported, a set of n spaces is placed in linewhere n is equal to the number of characters in this Microsoft Office Importer setting.

Tabs are only processed when importing from Word documents and then only if theImport with V7 text nodes is checked on.

Note: If you insert tabs in a Word document that has the left indent set, pressing the key results in moving the left indent to the next tab stop. That is, additional tabcharacters will not be inserted to the left of the line.

Height of a single line will be nnn% of text height.The height of a line of text should be greater than the text height in order to increasereadability. If line height is the same as the text height, one line is pressed up against thenext. The default for this field is 150%, which usually gives a very readable result. ForExcel imports, this setting applies only to cells with text that wrap in the cell.

Symbology

Color:To select a color that is different from the source document color and the MicroStationactive color, check this option and use the color picker to select any color for your pastedtext.

Weight:To select a weight that is different from the source document weight and theMicroStation active weight, check this option and use the weight picker to select theweight for your pasted text.

Style:To specify a line style attribute for your text, check this option and use the style picker toselect the line style for your pasted text.

Level:The Level field contains the level for text placement. To change it, just type in anothervalid level number.


Handling unselected Symbology settingsYou have two options for handling unselected Symbology settings. The screen shotbelow and the following sections explain how to use these options.

Take unselected settings from source documentWhen you do not select exact color or weight in the options above, choose this option toalways take these settings from your source document.

Take unselected settings from active symbologyWhen you do not select exact color or weight in the options above, choose this option toalways take these settings from MicroStation active symbology.

AttributesModify these attributes to change bold weight the angle of italicized text.

Bold WeightModifying this value specifies Microsoft Office Importer to use this setting for importedtext with a bold style.

Italic slantModifying this value causes Microsoft Office Importer to add a slant attribute toimported text.

The Size tab

Use the Size tab to set the text scale factor for data pasted intoMicroStation.


NameThe Name field gives you the opportunity to create named pairs of text height and textwidth values. These values are available to you when pasting documents intoMicroStation through the Paste Excel data into MicroStation dialog box.

Note: The Named text size: option on the Paste... dialog box will display and makenamed text sizes are defined in the current Microsoft Office Importer settings.

Text height:The Text height field gives you the translation factor from text point size in MicrosoftOffice to text character height in MicroStation master units.

The default scale of 1.00000 gives a one point to one master unit ratio.

Examples:

With scale 1.00000:

8-point text pastes at 8 master units.

10-point text pastes as 10 master units.

With a scale of 0.60000:

8-point text pastes as 4.8 master units. (8 x 0.6)

10-point text pastes as 6 master units. (10 x 0.6)





Text width:The Text width field gives you the translation factor from text point size in MicrosoftOffice to text character width in MicroStation master units.

The default scale of 0.80000 gives a one point to 0.8 master unit ratio.

Examples:

With scale 0.80000:

8-point text pastes at 6.4 master units.

10-point text pastes as 8 master units.








Text ratio lockThe text ratio lock maintains a saved ratio between text height and width.

When using the ratio lock, if either height or width changes, the other number changes tomaintain the same ratio.

To set or change the ratio, unlock the text ratio lock icon by clicking on it. Change widthand height so as to obtain the desired ratio. Then click to apply the changes.

After you set the ratio, you can now close the lock icon, change the width or height andexpect the ratio to be maintained.

Add

button allows you add a name to the list of height/width pairs.

Remove

button will delete a named pair from the list of height/width pairs.


Update

button will update height and width values that have been modified for thehighlighted pair.

Move Up and Move Down

and allows you to change the order in which the named pairsare displayed within the list.

Non-text area height: and Non-text area width:Non-text area height times Text height and Non-text area width times Textheight determine the relationship between text and non-text factors like line spacing,spreadsheet cell size and page margins.

We include these scales because there is not a precise tile size relationship to a font inMicroStation and a Windows font even when the font you import is apparently the same.This setting allows you to compensate for that difference while maintaining preciseMicroStation text heights during the paste.

These Non-text Area factors do NOT influence the size of text in MicroStation butdetermine the scale of related non-text features such as line spacing and page margins.

The default values of 1.3 give the best results in most cases when using fonts of the samename in both the Microsoft application and MicroStation. When mapping a TrueTypefont like Arial to a MicroStation fixed width font like Working, higher values willusually give better results due to the inherent differences between these two fonts. A fewquick trial pastes will determine the best value to use.

Word wrapIf text is too long for the cell width, the following rules apply:

1. If the cell formatting option in Excel includes "Word wrap", then text in the cell isalways wrapped.

2. If word wrap is not selected and the adjacent cell is empty, then text overflows intothe next cell.

3. If the adjacent cell is not empty, then text is truncated.


How to compute cell height when pasting from ExcelCell height in the MicroStation design file depends on several factors.

Note: In all cases, if the computed height for different cells of the same table row isdifferent, the maximum value for all cells of the row is used.

A precise row height is defined in the Excel spreadsheet. To check row height, use theExcel Format | Row | Height menu selection as in the images below.


The formula for cell height in the design file is as follows:

CellHeightMS = RowHeight * TextScale * NonTextHeight

where

CellHeightMS - the height of the cell in MicroStation in master units

RowHeight - precise row height define d in the source application

TextScale - text height scale setting value, mu/pt (default 1.000)

NonTextHeight - non-text area height (default 1.300)

When using settings as in the images above, the formula becomes:

12.75 * 1.00000 * 1.30000 = 16.575 master units cell height in design file.

How to compute cell height when pasting Microsoft Word tablesTwo factors in Microsoft Word documents can affect the outcome, cell height andallowable minimum height.


The default caseIn most Microsoft Word files, cell height and allowable minimum height are notdefined in the source application. This is the default case for Microsoft Word. In this case

CellHeightMS = TextHeight * TextScale * HeightOfSingleLineFactor

where


TextHeight - height of the text in the source document in points

TextScale - text height scale setting value, mu/pt (mu is short for master units,pt is short for points).

HeightOfSingleLineFactor - value of Height of a single line setting in theFormatting tab (see image below. default is 150%)

Example:

If you paste a table from Microsoft Word with 10-point text using MicrosoftOffice Importer default settings, the cell height will be 15 master units.

10 pt * 1 mu/pt * 150% = 15 master units cell height in the design file.

With 12-point text, again using the default settings, the cell height will be 18 masterunits.

12 pt * 1 mu/pt * 150% = 18 master units cell height in the design file


When cell height is defined exactly in the source documentSometimes a cell height is defined exactly in the Word document. To check this,highlight one or more cells in the table and select Table | Cell Height and Width... inthe Microsoft Word main menu.

In that case, the formula becomes the same as the formula for Excel spreadsheets when aprecise row height is defined.

CellHeightMS = CellHeight * TextScale * NonTextHeight

where


CellHeight - precise cell height defined in source application

TextScale - text height scale setting value, mu/pt

NonTextHeight - non-text height setting value


When a minimum height is defined in the source documentWhen a minimum height is defined in the Word document, the program uses the larger ofthe At least height or the computed height as described in the default case above.


Chapter 11 Borders Settings Category

The Borders settings boxThe Borders settings box contains some additional options that apply to pastingspreadsheet information. Table Lines refer to the spreadsheet cell border lines.

Border lines:Use the Border lines: option to control the handling of cell borders and grid lines.

Note: Excel does not place borders on cells by default. Cell borders can be appliedthrough Excels Format | Cells | Borders box. Borders are user-definable.

Chapter 11 Borders Settings Category Page 75

As in sourceWhen you select As in source, you will get borders displaying as they are displayed inthe source document. The cell grid lines will not be imported.

AlwaysWhen you select Always, every cell will be outlined by grid lines or border lines in thedesign file. The user-defined borders override any grid lines in the source document.

NeverSelect Never, to turn off all cell outlinesneither borders nor grid lines will beimported.

Import diagonal border lines defined in source.If your source Excel spreadsheet has diagonal border lines defined in it, checking thisoption on will ensure those diagonal border lines are imported into MicroStation.

Technical Note: Expect your imports to slow down if you turn this option on as thediagonal border line information isnt on the clipboard it has to be requested fromExcel directly,

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