Key - Used to determine the current action to which the value should be applied:

• Placing - used when a feature is initially placed
• Editing - used when a feature is edited

The following Key names are not available in the interface and must be keyed in:

• readScoredFeature - used when a feature is being processed by the Dynamic Scored Feature mechanism
• annotating - used when placing annotation features. See AnnotationMode operation property in "TreeLine" feature of geo_example for an example.
• read - used when a feature (XFM and DFS) is read from the file. There are no examples of this in geo_example, but this is used with geometric properties.
• bubble - used during "Away" annotation placement. See BubbleNum feature property in "RiverText" feature for an example.
• split - used when a feature is split using the polygon split tool.
• merge - used when a feature is merged using the polygon merge tool.

An application programmer can add a custom key name that would be processed by their custom software. This could be used when a property needs to be initialized or created in some custom way.

Synch Preference - If checked then the initial value will use the last used value. A valid value must be set for the 'Store Last Value' setting.

Value Type - Specifies the type of initial value:

• Blank - No value.
• Value - An actual value is specified in the "Value" column.
• Property - The property name in the "Value" column is an operation property name with format: OperationName/PropertyName. For example: SysProps/BubbleNum.
• xml - An XML fragment is specified in the "Value" column.
• Feature Property - The property name in the "Value" column is a feature property name with format: FeatureName:PropertyName. For example: MyFeature:TypeId. A feature object with FeatureName must be loaded into memory prior to executing this initial value rule. This is typically used in custom code where the application creates or edits two or more related feature instances at the same time.
• date2 - Current date with format string %m/%d/%y is used as the initial value. Example initial value: 01/25/05.
• date4 - Current date with format string %m/%d/%Y is used as the initial value. Example initial value: 01/25/2005
• dateTimeTicks - Current date and time represented as number of ticks (number of 100-nanosecond intervals that have elapsed since 12:00:00 midnight, January 1, 0001).
• dateTimeToTicks - Date and time string value converted to number of ticks (number of 100-nanosecond intervals that have elapsed since 12:00:00 midnight, January 1, 0001). Specify the date string to convert to ticks in the "Value" column.
• year2 - Current date with format string %y is used as the initial value. Example initial value: 05.
• year4 - Current date with format string %Y is used as the initial value. Example initial value: 2005.
• dateFormat - Current date with format string specified in the "Value" column. For more information on format string format, see Microsoft documentation for "strftime".

  DateFormat codes	Description
  %a	Abbreviated weekday name
  %A	Full weekday name
  %b	Abbreviated month name
  %B	Full month name
  %c	Date and time representation appropriate for locale
  %d	Day of month as decimal number (01–31)
  %H	Hour in 24–hour format (00–23)
  %I	Hour in 12–hour format (01–12)
  %m	Month as decimal number (01–12)
  %M	Minute as decimal number (00–59)
  %p	Current locale's A.M./P.M. indicator for 12–hour clock
  %S	Second as decimal number (00–59)
  %x	Date representation for current locale
  %X	Time representation for current locale
  %y	Year without century, as decimal number (00–99)
  %Y	Year with century, as decimal number
  Xz, %Z	Either the time-zone name or time zone abbreviation, depending on registry settings; no characters if time zone is unknown
  %%	Percent sign

  • Date and Time Examples

    The above formatting codes are used with the dateFormat initial value type. These would normally be used when formatting input for a String property type.

    Example	Formatted Date
    %a %B %d, %Y %H:%M %Z	Mon March 17, 2014 15:01 Eastern Standard Time
    %I:%M %p	03:09 PM
    %y-%m-%d	14-03-17
    %x %X	3/17/2014 3:12:17 PM

• concatstr - Simple string concatenation to combine feature or operation property values and static strings using a plus character delimiter. A feature property name is specified with syntax FeatureName:PropertyName. An operation property name is specified with syntax: OperationName/PropertyName. Example "Value" column value: WorkId:Step+'.'+WorkId:Substep
• envvar - A MicroStation configuration variable or system level environment variable. The found variable is expanded meaning any variables in the found value are also replaced with their values. This option internally calls mdlSystem_getExpandedCfgVar. The variable name is specified in the "Value" column.
• sqlQuery - A single-column/single-row SQL query result. The SQL Query is specified in the "Value" column.
  • Note: The PBA SQL entry should only be used with a MicroStation database connection (not Spatial).
• cexpression - Evaluates a C-Expression specified in the "Value" column by using the MicroStation C-Expression Handler.
• expressionEvaluator - Evaluates an expression specified in the "Value" column by using the MicroStation Expression Evaluator.
• dateRegionalShort - Current date value with format specified by the "Short Date Format" in the operating system's Regional Options.
• dwgscale - Returns the current drawing plot scale value as text string (for example, 1200.0).
  • Value - The initial value.
  • Value Length - Currently only used for Value Type SQL Query type to specify the expected return value length if greater than 256 characters in length.
  • Increment Type - Numbers and numbers embedded in strings can be incremented according to the type chosen.

• none - No increment.
• address - Same as "firstNumeric".
• firstNumeric - Increments the first found numeric string by the provided increment value. For example, "24 Main Street" is incremented to "26 Main Street" when the increment value is 2. The Store Last Value setting should be set to dgnFile. See "Lake" feature in geo_example for an example.
• terminalCount - In string with format "ID,low-high", increments both low and the optional high values by the provided increment value. The string may contain a single comma to separate the ID string from the low-high value. The low and high values are separated by a dash. The high value is optional. The "ID" value may be any string value. For example: "MyId,12-15" is increment to "MyId,16-19" where the increment value is 4. "MyId,22" is increment to "MyId,30" where the increment value is 8.
• wiringLimits - Increments a series of numeric values by the provided increment value. The values list can be delimited by commas and/or newlines. Examples: "1401, 1402,\n1403, 1404" is incremented to "1405, 1406,\n1407, 1408" where the increment value is 4; "1401 BIG ST\n1402 BIG ST\n1403 BIG ST\n1404 BIG ST" is incremented to "1405 BIG ST\n1406 BIG ST\n1407 BIG ST\n1408 BIG ST" where the increment value is 4.
• workId - Increments, by the provided increment value, the numeric string to the right side of a period character. For example: "WRK.24" is incremented to "WRK.25" assuming an increment value of 1.

Increment Value Type - Specifies what type of value the Increment value is.

• blank - Empty string value.
• value - The increment value is specified in the Increment Value field as a hard-coded value.
• property - The increment value is retrieved from an operation property specified in the Increment Value field. Operation property should be fully specified with format: OperationName/PropertyName
• featureProperty - The increment value is retrieved from a feature property specified in the Increment Value field. Feature property should be fully specified with format: FeatureAlias:PropertyName. The feature object with the given alias must be loaded into memory at the time of the increment processing. A programmer may store a feature object in memory by setting its Group property.
• Increment Value - Amount by which the value should be incremented.