A saved view is a view definition, which includes the level display for both the active model and references, the clip volume, and other view attributes. The saved level display states are view specific (not global level display) and are copied from the source view window that was used to create the saved view. The view definition is given a name and saved in the DGN file. You create the definition by setting up a source view as a template and saving it. The saved view can be applied to a destination view window.

The Saved Views dialog is used to create, update, apply, copy, import, and delete saved views and edit properties of saved views .

In any view, the saved view graphics can be selected with the Element Selection tool, or by a fence, and manipulated like a standard element.

Detailing symbols are normally integrated with saved views. When you place a detailing symbol (section, elevation, detail, or plan callout), and turn on the Create Drawing check box, a new saved view is created.

You can link multiple callouts to a saved view. For example, if two designers have a plan view of the same building and both want to place a section callout at the same location, they can both link to the same saved view. If you right-click the saved view in the Saved Views dialog and select Generate Callout, you are prompted to identify the drawing to be associated. It will link the new callout to the same saved view as the matching callout, creating two callouts that point to the same saved view.

You can attach a saved view as a reference on a sheet. The display settings and view display of the saved view are used in the reference. If you move a detailing symbol associated with the saved view, it will change the saved view in the design model, and because the saved view was placed on a sheet, it will also change on the sheet. When you change the detailing symbol associated with the saved view, the reference updates automatically.

If a saved view is referenced with the Synchronize View drop-down set to Volume Only, Presentation Only, or All Settings, and you have dimensions pointing to the reference geometry, their alignment with the geometry is maintained even if the clip volume of the saved view is changed; provided there is some overlap between the new clip volume and the original clip volume.

If you create a saved view from a model that contains references, then the display state of the references is saved in the saved view itself. So if you change the display state of the references in the model and again attach the saved view, the reference display state does not change. Following example explains this clearly:

• In a dgn file, say Master.dgn you have two references, say R1 and R2. Out of these, the display of R1 is on and R2 is off.
• Create a saved view, say "Testrefdisplay" in Master.dgn
• Attach the saved view Testrefdisplay to another dgn file, say Ref.dgn. Make sure that the Live Nesting is on with nesting depth set to 1 or more. In the attached saved view R1 will be on and R2 will be off.
• Open Master.dgn and change the reference display state, say R1 and R2, both are turned on.
• Open the Ref.dgn and attach the saved view Testrefdisplay again keeping the same nesting settings.
• You should see the same nested references in first and second Testrefdisplay saved view attachment, that is, R1 is on and R2 is off.
• To attach the saved view with changed reference display state, update the saved view and then attach it to Ref.dgn. You can also update the reference display state of the saved view from the Properties dialog.

The reference display state provides greater display consistency when applying and/or attaching the saved views as references.

When a saved view is created using the dynamic views automation, the detailing symbol style for the saved view assigned from the DGNLib file is copied in the file in which the saved view is stored.

Using the HTML Author dialog ( File > Tools > HTML Author ), you can publish an image of a saved view on the Internet.