MicroStation CONNECT Edition Help

Cell Library Dialog

Used to attach cell libraries and activate different types of cells, if one is attached. The name and path of the attached cell library, if one is attached, are displayed in the title bar.

You can access this dialog from the following:

  • Ribbon: Drawing > Annotate > Cells dialog launcher
  • Ribbon: Drawing > Home > Primary > More split button
  • Ribbon: Modeling > Home > Primary > More split button
  • Ribbon: Visualization > Home > Primary > More split button
  • Ribbon: Admin > Home > Primary > More split button
  • Ribbon: Admin > Home > Collections
  • Explorer dialog: Click the Manage option from the reset pop-up menu of Parametric Cell Definition under the File tab.
  • Toolbox: Primary Tools
  • Default Function key menu: <Ctrl+F8>


Key-in: DIALOG CELLMAINTENANCE
SettingDescription
Create
Opens the Create Cell dialog, which is used to add a cell to the attached cell library.

This icon is dimmed unless the following conditions are met:

  1. A cell library is attached (File > Attach) with write access.
  2. The elements to be included in the cell are selected or fenced.
  3. A cell origin is defined with the Define Cell Origin tool.
CREATE CELL [ name ] [ ,description,type ]
CC= [ name ] [ ,description,type ]
Import Cell Definition
Copies the selected cell's definition and creates a local cell definition (shared or parametric) in the active (attached) file, if none already exists. Show Local Definitions should be on to enable this setting.
Update from Library
Updates the local parametric cell definition with any changes made to the parametric content in the source .dgn file.
Show Shared and Parametric Cell Definitions
Toggles the display of local cell definitions (shared and parametric) .

You can export the shared cells from an open file to a new MicroStation cell library using the EXPORT CELLS SHARED key-in.

Note: - indicates attached file formats other than .cell or .dgn.
SET SHARECELL [ OFF | ON | TOGGLE ]
EXPORT CELLS SHARED [destinationCellLibraryName]
Display All Cells In MS_CELLLIST
If on and Show Shared and Parametric Cell Definitions is off, cells are displayed in the following order: first, normal cells from the cell libraries specified by the MS_CELLLIST configuration variable, then normal cells listed in the directory specified by the MS_BLOCKLIST configuration variable.

If on and Show Shared and Parametric Cell Definitions is on, cells are displayed in the following order: local cells (shared and parametric) in the open DGN file, local cells in the attached cell library, cells in the cell libraries listed in MS_CELLLIST, and cells in the directory listed in MS_BLOCKLIST.

List Filter


Lets you filter cells by Name, Description or Type.


Delete
If the selected cell is in a cell library, as indicated in the Where column, and the cell library is writable, deletes the selected cell from the cell library.

If the selected cell is a shared cell, as indicated in the Where column, and the shared cell is unused, deletes the shared cell definition from the open DGN file. You cannot delete a shared cell definition until you first delete all of its instances using Delete Element tool. If the selected cell is a parametric cell definition, deletes all parametric cell instances which refer to it.

In either case, an alert box requires you to confirm the deletion, because it cannot be undone. This icon is dimmed if no cell is selected.

DELETE CELL [ name ]
CD= [ name ]
DELETE SCDEFS < ALL | ANONYMOUS | NAMED >
Note: The DELETE CELL (CD=) key-in cannot be used to delete an unused shared cell definition; this key-in operates only on library cells.
To delete all unused shared cell definitions from the open DGN file, type DELETE SCDEFS ALL.

(DELETE SCDEFS ANONYMOUS deletes all unused anonymous shared cell definitions. DELETE SCDEFS NAMED deletes all named anonymous shared cell definitions.)

Set Active Cell
Makes the selected cell the Active Cell.
Set Active Point Cell
Makes the selected cell the Active Point. Parametric cells are not supported for placing as active point. The Active Point does not need to be a cell. It can also be a zero-length line or a text character or symbol.
ACTIVE POINT [ name ]
PT= [ name ]
Set Active Terminator
Makes the selected cell the Active Line Terminator. Parametric cells are not supported for placing as active terminator.
ACTIVE TERMINATOR [ name ]
LT= [ name ]
Set Active Pattern Cell
Makes the selected cell the Active Pattern Cell. Parametric cells are not supported for placing as active pattern.
ACTIVE PATTERN CELL [ name ]
AP= [ name ]
Display the cell preview
Opens a preview pane at right hand side to display the selected cell.
List Box Headings Sets the order in which the cell list is sorted. All columns are sorted alphabetically. Clicking a column's heading sorts the list in ascending or descending order by that column.
  • Where (home icon) - Cell location.
  • Name - Cell name.
  • Description - Cell Description.
  • Type - Cell type: Graphic , Parametric, Point.
  • Annotation - The annotation icon appears if the cell is an annotation cell.
  • Active - Displays active cell type icon for active cells, active point cells, active terminators or active pattern cells.
List Box Lists the location, name, description, type, annotation, active cell type of cells that are available for placement. They are listed in the order specified by the selected list box heading.

If there are cells with common names in both the design (as shared cells) and in the cell library, the names of the shared cells are shown.

To work with a cell, select its list item. When you select a cell, it is displayed to the right of the list box with its name, type, and size. For a 3D cell, the isometric, top, front, and right views are shown.

If the cell is large, it may take a few moments to display. All the other controls in the Cell Library dialog operate on the selected cell.

Right-clicking a cell presents a list of actions that you can perform on the cell.

  • Place Cell — Makes the cell the active cell and activates the Place Active Cell tool.
  • Place Terminator — Makes the cell the active terminator and activates the Place Active Line Terminator tool.
  • Place Point Cell — Makes the cell the active point and activates the Place Active Point tool.
  • Pattern Linear — Makes the cell the active pattern cell and activates the Linear Pattern tool.
  • Pattern Area — Makes the cell the active pattern cell and activates the Pattern Area tool.
  • Open for Editing — Opens the cell as the active model.
  • New — The effect is the same as clicking the Create icon.
  • Extract Model — Opens the Extract Cell Model dialog, which lets you extract the selected cell definition to a dgn file.
  • Update Cell Definition — If the selected cell is a graphic cell, opens the Replace Cells tool and allows you to update/replace the selected cell. If the selected cell is a parametric cell, opens the Update Parametric Cell dialog, which lets you remap the values of the local outdated variations and variables to that of the changed variations and variables in the source file.
  • Delete — The effect is the same as clicking the Delete icon.
File > New Opens the Create Cell Library dialog, which is used to create a cell library and attach it to the open DGN file.
CREATE LIBRARY
File > Attach File Opens the Attach Cell Library dialog, which is used to attach an existing cell library to the open DGN file.
ATTACH LIBRARY [ cell_library ]
RC= [ cell_library ]
Tip: Using the ATTACH LIBRARY (RC=) key-in can be faster than using the Attach Cell Library dialog.
File > Attach Folder Opens the Attach Cell Library dialog dialog, which is used to attach a folder containing cell libraries to the open DGN file.
File > Detach Detaches the attached cell library.
DETACH LIBRARY
Note: Attaching a different cell library automatically detaches the currently attached cell library, if one is attached.
File > Compress Compresses the open cell library. Compression reorganizes the cell DGN file to occupy the minimum disk space.
COMPRESS LIBRARY