Configuration

In ProStructures CONNECT Edition configuration has undergone significant reorganization and many of the changes applied to MicroStation are applicable to ProStructures.

Getting Started with Your ProStructures CONNECT Edition Configuration

CONNECT Edition changes described in the sections below have been used to prepare the "ProStructures CONNECT Edition Configuration Setup Guide". Go to docs.Bentley.com, and select Structural Detailing > Publication: ProStructures CONNECT Edition Configuration Setup Guide.

Here, you will find more about:

Basic information about CONNECT Edition configuration
What changed moving from V8i WorkSpaces to the CONNECT Edition Configuration
How to work with the new setup.
Customization beyond what is delivered in ProStructures

CONNECT Edition Configuration Changes

Terminology Changes: The overall usage of configuration files and configuration variables is now referred to a "Configuration" (previously "Workspaces").
In CONNECT Edition, a "WorkSpace" is a container grouping WorkSets, standards files, and associated configuration files.

The grouping of configuration files and configuration variables used across an entire organization is referred to as the "Organization" level (previously "Site" level). Grouping of files and associated data is now referred to as a "WorkSet" (previously "Project").
Note: "Project" terminology can be problematic, because organizations use the term for a business purpose that is rarely precisely correlated to the data grouping in Bentley Applications. For example, the configuration variable level formerly known as "Project" is now the "WorkSet" level.

In V8i, "Projects" are organized by "User". Selecting a different User changes the list of available Projects, and changes the user preference (.upf) and user configuration (.ucf) files in use. In CONNECT Edition, User has been removed from the user interface. Each CONNECT user has their own personal .upf and .ucf files, associated with their Windows login, so that configuration variables that they set and user preferences that they select are not affected by the WorkSpace or WorkSet they are working on.
Folder Structure Differences: In V8i, the default delivery directory is to a root directory containing the Workspace, and Documentation subdirectories. In keeping with the terminology change discussed above, the Workspace directory is renamed to Configuration. The V8i WorkSpace directory includes Bentley-provided system data in the System subdirectory. That is a disadvantage because some of that data is version specific, so in CONNECT Edition, there is no Configuration\System directory. Its contents are now in a subdirectory within the Program directory typically under Program Files\Bentley\<ApplicationName>.

Configuration Levels: In V8i, there are 5 configuration levels, organized from lowest to highest priority. In CONNECT Edition, there are 7 configuration levels, also organized from lowest to highest priority.

Note: Configuration Variables defined at higher levels override definitions at lower levels.

V8i	CONNECT Edition
0 - System 1 - Application 2 - Site 3 - Project 4 - User	0 - System 1 - Application 2 - Organization 3 - WorkSpace 4 - WorkSet 5 - Role 6 - User

In a V8i configuration file, the level at which Configuration Variables are defined is set using the %level directive, specifying one of the numbers in the left column above (e.g. %level 1). An alternative was to put the level number at which Configuration Files were to be processed in the %include statement.

In a CONNECT Edition configuration file, the level is still set using the %level directive, but now the argument is one of the text values in the right column instead of the number (e.g. %level Application). That improves readability of configuration files. You can still specify a number, but a warning is generated because it is an indication that you might be processing a CONNECT Edition configuration file, and the configuration level number might no longer be correct. Most of the time, the %level directives (or level settings in %include statements) are in Bentley-delivered configuration files that sequence inclusion of user-authored configuration files, rather than in user-authored configuration files. However, advanced users may have used %level directives, and thus might encounter the warning.

Note: See the "Configuration Concepts" help topic for more information (ProStructures help: Setting Up the Environment > Configuration Concepts)

Configuration Variable Changes: Framework Configuration Variables in ProStructures CONNECT Edition that are either new or have been replaced configuration variables in ProStructures V8i.
CONNECT Edition WorkSpace and WorkSet Configuration Enhancements:
- Ability to Select Custom Configuration Directory at Install Time
- Change in Configuration Directory
- Ability to Change the Location of DGN WorkSet (DGNWS) File

Configuration Variables Dialog

This dialog is updated for CONNECT Edition. It is resizable for easier reading, displays more information, has a search function and new output options:

Search - Allows you to conduct search on the contents of the Configuration Variables list box. Type the partial or complete name of the Configuration Variable in search dialog and the variable is displayed on top.
Show Configuration Variables - Lists all the configuration variables along with their name, type, short description, value, and restart requirement in the text file cfgvars.txt. The file is stored in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp\Bentley\<product_name>\<version_number>\ folder.
Print Variable Definitions - Lists all the configuration variables along with their name, type, short description, value, and restart requirement in the text file cfgvars.txt. The file is stored in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp\Bentley\<product_name>\<version_number>\ folder.

Configuration Variables

With the changes to CONNECT Edition relative to Workspaces, the introduction of "Organization", "WorkSets" and "Standards" and the corresponding directory changes, the CONNECT Edition introduces several new configuration variables, and either supersedes and deprecates others.