ProjectWise 101Chapter 7 - EnvironmentsGary Cochrane – Technical Director

Geospatial Sales – North America

ProjectWise Environments

• Provide additional/custom attributes:– For Documents

• Appears to user on Document Properties dialog– On tab> Attributes, and More Attributes

• As delivered, these tabs are empty, or undefined• Part of ProjectWise deployment is to work with customer to

develop these tabs• Also covered in ProjectWise Administrator class

Steps involved

• Plan the Environment– Determine what fields are needed

• Decide what type and length the fields should be

– Create the layout for the Attribute tab– Create the layout for the More Attributes tab– Configure the fields

• Establish default values, pick-lists, formatting, etc.

Document Attributes / Properties

Lab 1a

• Use PW Administrator to Create new Environment– Log in to PW Administrator using adminpw account

• Drill down to Environment category• Right-click, then choose New> Environment• At the Welcome Screen, select> Next• At the Environment Type screen, accept the default, and select>

Next– Note: Second option is not implemented…

Lab 1b

• Create new Environment Wizard– Name the Environment:

• Name> PW-101• Description> PW 101 Class Environment

– Select> Next– On the Database table screen

• Choose> Create New table (the default)• Name> env_pw101

– Select> Next

Lab 1c

• Create New Environment Wizard– Designing new table screen

• Press the Add button

Lab 1d

• Define the new attribute as follows:– Name> drawnby– Enable> Use Native data types– From the data types pick-list

• Choose> varchar

– For Length, key-in> 64– Press Add

• The new attribute appears in the list, but the Add dialog does not close

Lab 1e

• Add a second new attribute– Use all the same parameters, except Name

• Name the new attribute> checkedby

– Press the Add button• Note: it makes sense to add similar attributes, and then change

parameters

Lab 1f

• Add a third attribute– Use the following parameters

• Name> drawndate• Type> datetime

– Press Add• Note: On datetime type field, length parameter is not available

Lab 1g

• Add a fourth attribute– Use the following parameters

• Name> checkeddate• Type> datetime

– Rather than pressing Add, simply press OK• Since this is the last one

– Press Next to continue

Lab 1h

• Environment Settings screen– Leave both options unchecked

• Press Next to continue

– Press Finish to create the Environment• What if we decide later that we need to add more attributes?• Simply select the Environment, and choose to add attributes• Prior to XM version, it was not possible…

Lab 2a

• Designing the Attributes tab– First we need to create a name

• You can have multiple layouts for the Attributes tab, so each one must have a name

– From PW Administrator, select> Interfaces• Right-click, then choose New> Interface• Name the new interface> English-US• Press> OK

– Repeat the process to create another new interface• Name> English-UK

Lab 2b

• Define the English-US Attribute tab– Drill down to:

• Environments> PW-101> Attribute Layout> English-US> Attributes tab

Lab 2c

• Layout the Attributes tab– Right-click in the right-hand pane, then choose:

• Add Attributes

– Select all 4 fields (use CTRL+click)• Press OK

– Now that all fields are added, arrange/size them to suit your taste

• See next slide…

Lab 2d

• Change/correct tab order– Select Display tab order button

• Make corrections as necessary using buttons>• Move Top, Move Up, Move Down, Move Bottom

– Turn off tab order when done

Lab 2e

• Aesthetic changes– Double-click> drawnby

• Properties dialog for the attribute appears

– Change to the Interface tab• Change the label text from “drawnby” to “Drawn By:”

– Press OK to accept the change– Repeat the process for the remaining attributes

Lab 2f

• Usability Changes– Enter default value for Drawn Date:– Double-click Drawn Date

• Change to Value tab

– Change Default Value type to> System Variable• Pick browse (…) button by System Variable• Choose> $DATETIME$

– Press OK to close the dialog

Lab 2g

• Usability Changes– Enter default value for Drawn By:– Double-click Drawn By

• Change to Value tab

– Change Default Value type to> System Variable• Pick browse (…) button by System Variable• Choose> $USER.DESCR$

– Press OK to close the dialog

Lab 2h

• Usability Changes– Create pick-list for Checked By:– Double-click Checked By

• Change to Value tab

– Change Value List type to> Fixed• Pick browse (…) button by Fixed values field

– Enter Names and Descriptions for list of checkers• Press Add…

Lab 2i

• Creating the pick-list for Checkers– After pressing Add

• Enter value> King• Description> Jerry King

– Press OK, then press Add again• Enter value> Riddle• Description> John Riddle

– Press OK• Note: you must order list properly if you want it ordered…

Lab 2j

• Add one more value to list– Select> King in the list, then press Add

• Enter value> Bentley• Description> Keith Bentley

– Press OK• Note new item appears above previously selected item

– Press OK twice more to close properties dialog• Note pick-list on the Checked By item

Lab 2k

• Designate expanded size for button– Grab bottom handle for Checked By button

• Drag down to indicate expanded size• (otherwise button won’t expand)

Lab 2L

• Usability Changes– Create automatic value for Checked Date:– Double-click Checked Date

• Change to Value tab

– Change Update Value type to> System Variable• Pick browse (…) button by System Variables field

– Choose> $DATETIME$• Then press> OK

Creating a triggered update

Lab 2m

• Create the trigger condition– Set Update field when> Specific attributes are updated

• Choose browse (…) button by specific attributes• Choose Checked By and press the “>>” icon• Press OK

– Press OK again to close the properties dialog

• We’re done defining attributes!

Assigning the Environment

• The Environment can now be assigned to PW folders– Each PW folder can be associated with an Environment

• But only one Environment. In other words, all documents in that folder are subject to the same attributes

– Environments are considered an optional setting for the folder

• Prior to PW XM, it was mandatory. In other words, you could not create a folder until you had defined at least one Environment.

Lab 3a

• Assign the Environment to a folder– Close and re-open ProjectWise Explorer

• Log in as User1

– Create a new folder underneath the User1 folder, using the following parameters

• Name> Environment Example1• Description> Class Environment Test• Environment> PW-101

– Press OK to create the folder

Lab 3b

• Add some files to the new PW folder– Open Windows Explorer, and browse to

• C:\PW-101 Class Files\Environments

– Drag/drop files A10.dgn & A11.dgn to the new PW folder

– Once done, Open Document Properties for the first file• Change to the Attributes tab

Document Properties

•Notes– Dialog title reads

• Unsaved Default Values– Drawn By field

• Should show> User One– Drawn Date field

• Today’s date– Checked By field

• Does your pick-list work?

Lab 3c

• Populate the attributes– Drawn By and Drawn Date should have default values– Add Attributes for

• Approved by> Jerry King

– For Approved Date, do not key-in anything• Either click in another field, or• Press Save

– The Approved date field should be triggered• Because the Approved by field was populated

Lab 3d

• Save the Attribute changes– Press Save, and then Close the Properties dialog– Repeat the process, adding attributes to document

A11.dgn– Did you notice…

• The Interface option is now populated?

Interfaces

• A note on Interfaces– We defined the English-US Interface for the PW-101

Environment,• But did not define the English-UK Interface…

– Using the Interface pick-list, we can switch on-the-fly• However the fewer interfaces, the better…• Users should not have to constantly switch interfaces

Lab 3e

• Review the Interfaces– Open Document Properties for A10.dgn again

• Change to the Attributes tab• Note it no longer says “Unsaved Default Values”

– With the Properties dialog still open• Change to the Interface> English-UK

– The dialog should be blank• Change back to Interface> English-US

– Close the Properties dialog when done

Attribute Exchange

• ProjectWise has the ability to synchronize Environment fields with placeholders:– In MicroStation files

• Using Tag data

– In AutoCAD files• Using Blocks with attributes

– In Word docs• Using Word custom property fields

– And theoretically in Excel docs

Attribute Exchange w/ MicroStation

• In MicroStation, we need tag data placeholders– Drawings A10.dgn & A11.dgn have this

• Let’s take a look

– Double-click A10.dgn• Zoom to lower right corner• Choose the MicroStation Tag Edit command (T-2)• Pick any of the yellow text in the titleblock

– Record the Tag Set name, and Tag item Names• I’ve done it for you on the next slide…

– Exit MicroStation when done

MicroStation Tag Set

•Notes:– Tag Set Name

• tb (in lower case)– Individual tags

• description, title2• site1, site2• facility1, facility2• sheet• drawnby, drawndate• approvedby, approveddate• version, scale

Lab 4a

• Configuring Attribute Exchange– Open PW Administrator

• Log in as adminpw

– Drill down to:• Attribute Exchange Rules> MicroStation Title Blocks

– Right-click, and choose:• New> Attribute Class• Name the Attribute Class> tb• (it should match the Tag Set name from MicroStation)

– Press OK

Lab 4b

• Adding individual attributes– Select the new attribute class (tb)

• Then right-click, and choose New> Attribute• We need to tell PW what the placeholder names are within

MicroStation, and which PW attribute to map to them• Since our Environment was a quickie, we don’t have a PW match

for everthing that was in the DGN file tags

– At the Wizard Welcome screen• Choose> Next

Lab 4c

• Create mapping for the description tag– On the Attribute Name screen

• Enter> description (remember this was one of the tags in the MicroStation file)

• Press> Next

– On the Binding the Attribute screen• Press> Add• (we now need to choose which attribute in PW will be mapped to

the description tag in MS)

Binding the attribute

• Choose from standard properties, or Environment properties

Lab 4d

• Bind to Document Properties> Description– Choose the default properties group

• Document Properties

– Then select> DocDescription• Press OK when done• Press Next to advance the wizard

– On the Format screen• Highlight the item, then press Default Format• Press Next

– Press Finish

Lab 4e

• Add a binding for Drawn By– Select the new attribute class (tb)

• Then right-click, and choose New> Attribute

– At the Wizard Welcome screen• Choose> Next

– On the Attribute Name screen• Enter> drawnby (this is the tag name in the DGN file)• Press> Next

– On the Binding the Attribute screen• Press> Add

Lab 4f

• Choose a PW attribute for Drawn By– Choose the Environment properties group– Then select> drawnby

• Press OK when done• Press Next to advance the wizard

– On the Format screen• Highlight the item, then press Default Format• Press Next

– Press Finish

Lab 4g

• Add a binding for Drawn Date– Select the new attribute class (tb)

• Then right-click, and choose New> Attribute

– At the Wizard Welcome screen• Choose> Next

– On the Attribute Name screen• Enter> drawndate (this is the tag name in the DGN file)• Press> Next

– On the Binding the Attribute screen• Press> Add

Lab 4h

• Choose a PW attribute for Drawn Date– Choose the Environment properties group– Then select> drawndate

• Press OK when done• Press Next to advance the wizard

– On the Format screen• Highlight the item, then press Format• Choose a Date format, and press OK

– Press Next, and then press Finish

More of the same

• We could add the rest, but it’s just repetition at this point– So we’ll skip it for the sake of brevity– But we do need to establish when the synchronization

between PW and MS will occur

Lab 4i

•In PW Administrator– Right-click> MicroStation Title Blocks

• Choose Properties– Enable only:

• Document is Opened– Press OK

Lab 5a

• Test the Attribute Exchange– Close and re-open PW Explorer

• Log-in as User1

– Navigate to folder> Environment Example1• Open Document Properties for A10.dgn

– Enter a better description value• Description> FIRST FLOOR PLAN• Press Save, and Close

– Double-click the file to open MicroStation• Exit file, and check-in when done

Title Block Notes

• Attribute Exchange– Is one-way, from PW to MicroStation

• Tag edits in MS will be overwritten at the next file open

– You can push tag edits back to PW using key-in:• titleblock updatedms

– You can also modify PW properties from within MS• Using key-in> titleblock modify

Environments made easy

• You may export an Environment definition to a text file– Someone else can import it, rather than creating from

nothing– You may also Export/Import Title Block mappings

Lab 6a

• Import a previously exported Environment– From PW Administrator

• Drill down to Environments, right-click, and select Import

– Browse to:• C:\PW-101 Class Files\Environments• Select> plant-env-07-07-2007.aam• Press> Open, then select Close when done

– An Environment named Plant is imported:• Including an Interface named> Standard

Lab 6b

• Drill down to look at the new Environment– Environments> Plant> Attribute Layout> Standard

• Attributes, and More Attributes

– Now import corresponding Title Block Mapping• Right-click Attribute Exchange Rules, choose> Import Mappings• Answer Yes to warning• Browse to folder> C:\PW-101 Class Files\Environments• And choose file> plant-tb-mapping-07-07-2007.ini• Select> Open

Analysis

• Your mappings were overwritten– But a complete set for the Plant environment was

imported• Had the names not conflicted, then the old ones would have been

preserved

Lab 7a

• Test the Plant Environment– Close and re-open PW Explorer

• Log in using User1

– Under User1 folder, create a new subfolder:• Name> Environment Plant• Description> Plant Environment Test• Environment> Plant

– Press OK to create the folder

Lab 7b

• Import files– From Windows Explorer, browse to:

• C:\PW-101 Class Files\Environments

– Drag/Drop files A1.dgn – A5.dgn into new PW folder• When done, change Interface to> Standard

– Scroll through Document Properties for each new document

• Specifically the Attributes/More Attributes tabs

– What would happen if we opened in MicroStation?• Any values in the file would be overwritten with null values

Lab 7c

• Bulk Attribute Update– Batch mode tool to populate PW from attribute values

in DGN (or DWG) files– Open tool from Start menu

• All Programs> Bentley> ProjectWise V8i> Idesktop_integration> Attribute Bulk Update

– Log in using adminpw account• You’ll need to choose the datasource as well

Lab 7d

• Choose folder: User1/Plant Environment– Select> Mark

• Will mark all files in the folder for processing

– Press Next– Document Summary screen> Press Next– Options screen, accept defaults, press Next

• You could create a log file if desired

– Perform bulk update screen• Press> Start Update

Lab 7e

• Results screen– Press close– Return to PW Explorer

• Press F5 to update the view• Descriptions should appear

– Scroll through Properties dialog for each document• Look at Attributes, More Attributes tabs

Lab 8a

• Import an Environment for Word attribute exchange– From PW Administrator

• Right-click Environments, choose Import• Select file> purchase-orders-env-07-07-2007.aam• Choose Open• Press close when done

Lab 8b

• Import Attribute mapping for Word docs– From PW Administrator

• Right-click Attribute Exchange Rules, choose Import• Select Yes to continue• Select file> po-tb-mapping-07-07-2007.ini• Choose Open

– Expand MS Office Attribute support• Review results

Lab 8c

• Import files for Word Attribute Exchange– Close and re-open PW Explorer

• Log in using User1

– Create a new folder as follows:• Name> Environment Purchase Orders• Description> Purchase Orders test• Environment> Purchase Orders

– Press OK to create the folder

Lab 8d

• Open Windows Explorer– Browse to:

• C:\PW-101 Class Files\Environments

– Drag/Drop to import file> PO-1002367.doc– Once imported, open Document Properties

• Add some values such as:– P.O. Number, Purchasing Agent, Region/Group

• Add some items to be purchased– Quantity, Catalog No., Description, Price

• Save and Close properties

Lab 8e

• Test the attribute exchange– Double-click the document to open MS Word

• VBA Macro runs at Word startup to perform attribute synchronization (transparently to the user)

• Must set Macro security level such that Bentley/PW VBA macros can run

• Close Word, and check the file back in

Review

• Topics covered in this Chapter– Creating a new Environment

• Creating layouts for the Attribute and More Attributes tabs

– Assigning the Environment to folders– Importing a pre-existing Environment– MicroStation Attribute (title-block) Exchange– Attribute Bulk Update– MS Word Attribute Exchange