Reference Attachment Properties Dialog

Setting	Description
File Name	Shows the reference's name.
Full Path	Shows the full file specification for the reference, including the directory.
Model	Lists the models within the reference. Used to select the model to be attached to the master model.
Logical Name	Sets the logical name of the model. Since the same model can be attached many times, the logical name helps you distinguish between references.
Description	Sets the optional description for the model. By default, this is the same as the models description in the Models dialog.
Orientation	Sets the view of the model being attached. The list may also include saved views and named boundaries. You can select multiples of a type of orientation to attach. For example, you could attach multiple saved views. Coincident and Coincident World are treated as the same type. Coincident — Aligns the references with regard to design plane coordinates only. Coincident World — Aligns the references with the active model with regard to both Global Origin and design plane coordinates. Geographic – AEC Transform — Calculates the linear transform that gives the best approximation to the results of performing the full reprojection algorithm, if the active model and the reference have geographic coordinate systems. The approximation is acceptable for smaller scale data, such as most man-made structures occupying less than a square kilometer. When the geographic coordinate system is created from placemark monument points, it maintains angles and consistently scales the model relative to the primary placemark monument point and the scale of the data at that point in the coordinate system. For geographic data, the results are unlikely to be acceptable. To evaluate if this method is an acceptable approximation, the maximum error is displayed in the Description field. It is calculated by applying the exact calculation to each corner of the reference range and comparing that position to the position calculated from the transform. For references covering geographically small areas, the errors are typically small fractions of a meter. The advantage of this georeferencing method is that it gives the same performance as other reference attachments, since reprojection is not necessary. When two models use the same base geographic coordinate system with the only difference being their local transforms, MicroStation PowerDraft can calculate an exact linear transform between the two models. Geographic – Reprojected — Reprojects all data in the reference model from the reference model’s geographic coordinate system to the active model’s geographic coordinate system, if the active model and the reference have geographic coordinate systems. The reprojected data is stored only in memory (since the reference is not changed), so the reprojection calculations happen each time the reference is loaded. This increases the time required to open the active model but is more accurate. This orientation mathematically recalculates points in the reference model to align with corresponding latitude/longitude points in the active model. Standard Views — Identifies the views that can be used to display the reference: Top, Front, Right, Isometric, Bottom, Back, Left, or Right Isometric. If the file being attached is 2D, you can choose only the Top view. Saved Views — Identifies the saved views that are available in the reference. Named Boundaries — Identifies the named boundaries that are available in the reference. When a 3D model is selected for attachment, you can expand a named boundary and select a standard rotation to apply to the view attachment. For example, if you select a named boundary, then expand it to select the Top view, the extents of the named boundary are used, and the orientation is the top view. When a named fence is used to attach a reference, all levels are on. If a particular level is desired, then use the named fence as a clip volume for a saved view in the reference, and select the saved view.
Detail Scale	Represents the Master:Ref scale in terms of the sheet scale. For example, if your sheet annotation scale is 1/8 = 1’ and you want to place a detail reference of scale 1/4 = 1’, select the new scale from the Detail Scale drop-down list. It automatically computes the Master:Ref scale as 2:1. When attaching a reference (a design or drawing model) into a sheet model, the referenced model's annotation scale is applied as the default detail scale, and the reference scale (Master:Ref Scale) is calculated from the detail scale and the sheet annotation scale. However, if the reference model’s annotation scale is Full Scale 1:1, the default detail scale is set to be same as the sheet annotation scale and the reference is attached at full size.
Scale (Master:Ref)	Sets the ratio of the master units in the active model to the master units in the attached model.
Named Group	Identifies a named group used to limit the elements displayed in the reference.
Revision	If Design History is on in the referenced model, lets you select the revision to the reference. If the original revision of the reference no longer exists you must reattach the reference.
Level	Sets the level for the reference to be attached. For attached references created prior to MicroStation PowerDraft V8i (SELECTseries 1) — If View Display is off, or if Global Freeze or Viewport Freeze is on for the level on which the reference is placed, elements in the reference are not displayed. For attached references created in MicroStation PowerDraft V8i (SELECTseries 1) or later — If View Display or Global Display is off, or if Global Freeze or Viewport Freeze is on for the level on which the reference is placed, elements in the reference are not displayed. For DWG attachments — If a level is frozen, references on that level are not displayed. For more information, see level display setting.
Nested Attachments	Determines how nested references (the references attached to the model selected as the reference) are handled for this reference attachment. See Nested Attachments list box in the Information Panel of the References dialog.
Nesting Depth	Sets the number of levels of nested references that are displayed. Child references can have their own referenced models, which, in turn, can have more referenced models, and so on. See Nesting Depth in the Information Panel section. `REFERENCE` `SET` `NESTDEPTH=` [ `number_of_levels` ]
Display Overrides	Controls how overrides are saved for nested references. For each nested reference, overrides allow you to control the settings for reference display, locate, snap, raster reference display, and level display. See Display Overrides list box in the Information Panel section. `REFERENCE` `SET` `NESTOVERRIDES=` < `ALLOW` \| `ALWAYS` \| `NEVER` >
New Level Display	Specifies whether a reference displays new levels. See New Level Display in the Information Panel section. `REFERENCE` `SET` `NEWLEVELDISPLAY=` < `ALWAYS` \| `FROMCONFIG` \| `NEVER` >
Global Line Style Scale	Controls the scaling of cosmetic custom line styles. Every model can have a global line style scale factor that is applied to every line style within the model. This factor is set in the Properties dialog when the Line Style Scale is set to Global Line Style Scale or Compound Scale. Alternatively, you can use the ACTIVE LINESTYLESCALE key-in to set the global scale factor for custom line styles. The specified scale factor has the same effect as the Scale Factor setting in the Properties dialog. The Line Style Scale can also be set to follow the Annotation Scale, in which case this value will be ignored, or it can be set to Compound which will scale by both the Annotation scale and the Global Linestyle Scale. The scale of line styles within a reference can be affected by the global line style scale of either the active model, the referenced model, both, or neither. None — Neither the active model's nor the reference model's global line style scale is used to scale the cosmetic custom line styles. Master — The active model's global line style scale is used to scale the cosmetic custom line styles. Reference — The referenced model's global line style scale is used to scale the cosmetic custom line styles. Master * Reference — The active global line style scale is multiplied by the referenced models' global line style scale to scale the cosmetic custom line styles. `REFERENCE` `SET` `GLOBALLSSCALE=` < `BOTH <file_spec>` \| `MASTER <file_spec>` \| `NONE <file_spec>` \| `REFERENCE <file_spec>` >
Synchronize View	When you attach a saved view, set this drop-down to All Settings to synchronize with the original saved view. To attach the saved view in unsynchronized state, set this drop-down to Volume Only, Presentation Only, or None. In order to change the appearance of a reference, you have to modify the saved view that it is synchronized with. This is to ensure fidelity of display properties such as view attributes, view display, clip volume, display styles and others. When synchronized, the reference location is also realigned. Specifically, when the reference is synchronized with the saved view, the reference center and saved view center remain aligned. You can see the effect of this in two ways: In an unsynchronized state, that is when this drop-down is set to Volume Only, Presentation Only, or None, the reference is first shifted and then synchronized. When synchronized, that is when this drop-down is set to All Settings, the saved view center is changed; for example, the saved view is stretched. In case of Volume Only, the clip volume and camera position is taken from the saved view. So if you change the original saved view, its clip volume as well as camera position will be changed. Also, the clipping is computed from the saved view boundary. Hence you cannot clip or mask the reference in Volume Only. The Presentation Only option is similar to Volume Only, except that in Presentation Only, you can modify the reference clip boundary. In the reference attachments that are created in versions prior to MicroStation PowerDraft V8i (SELECTseries 3), the unsynchronized references are listed as Clip Only. In this case, if you change the original saved view, only its clip volume will be changed and the camera setting will remain as it is.
Drawing Boundaries	(Available only when the active model is a sheet model) Shows the list of vacant drawing boundaries in the selected sheet. When attaching a reference on a sheet, you can optionally select an existing drawing boundary or create a new drawing boundary. A drawing boundary describes a drawing on a sheet. For example, if there are four references on a sheet (top, front, right, and isometric), you create four drawing boundaries to demarcate the four references. It plays a crucial role in automatically linking callouts across sheets. Properties such as Name, Detail Scale, and Identifier are displayed in the callouts in the form of fields. You can create a new drawing boundary by selecting New in the drop-down list. The list of drawing boundaries displayed in the drop-down list are filtered by the type of saved view selected in the Orientation section.
Name	(Available only when New is selected in the Drawing Boundaries drop-down list) Lets you enter a name for the new drawing boundary.
Visible Edges	Sets the visible edges display option. Options are: Dynamic - In this mode, the reference file and the visible edge process are always kept in a live state, that is, they are updated whenever you do operations such as file opening, viewing references, modifying references and so on. Cached - In this mode, a local cache is stored for the visible edge process. The reference is kept live but the visible hidden edge display is not regenerated. The default cache synchronization option is `Automatic with Alert`. You can change this by defining the MS_REF_VISEDGE_ATTACH_STATE configuration variable. This option is available only when a 3D model is attached directly to a 2D model. You can change the default selection of this drop-down list by defining the MS_REF_VISEDGE_ATTACH_STATE configuration variable.
Toggles	Defines settings for the reference. The icons correspond to columns in the References list box and information panel. If an icon is pressed, the setting is on. Click the icons to toggle the settings on or off.

File Name

Shows the reference's name.

Full Path

Shows the full file specification for the reference, including the directory.

Model

Lists the models within the reference. Used to select the model to be attached to the master model.

Logical Name

Sets the logical name of the model.

Since the same model can be attached many times, the logical name helps you distinguish between references.

Description

Sets the optional description for the model. By default, this is the same as the models description in the Models dialog.

Orientation

Sets the view of the model being attached. The list may also include saved views and named boundaries. You can select multiples of a type of orientation to attach. For example, you could attach multiple saved views. Coincident and Coincident World are treated as the same type.

Coincident — Aligns the references with regard to design plane coordinates only.
Coincident World — Aligns the references with the active model with regard to both Global Origin and design plane coordinates.
Geographic – AEC Transform — Calculates the linear transform that gives the best approximation to the results of performing the full reprojection algorithm, if the active model and the reference have geographic coordinate systems. The approximation is acceptable for smaller scale data, such as most man-made structures occupying less than a square kilometer.
When the geographic coordinate system is created from placemark monument points, it maintains angles and consistently scales the model relative to the primary placemark monument point and the scale of the data at that point in the coordinate system.

For geographic data, the results are unlikely to be acceptable. To evaluate if this method is an acceptable approximation, the maximum error is displayed in the Description field. It is calculated by applying the exact calculation to each corner of the reference range and comparing that position to the position calculated from the transform. For references covering geographically small areas, the errors are typically small fractions of a meter. The advantage of this georeferencing method is that it gives the same performance as other reference attachments, since reprojection is not necessary.

When two models use the same base geographic coordinate system with the only difference being their local transforms, MicroStation PowerDraft can calculate an exact linear transform between the two models.
Geographic – Reprojected — Reprojects all data in the reference model from the reference model’s geographic coordinate system to the active model’s geographic coordinate system, if the active model and the reference have geographic coordinate systems. The reprojected data is stored only in memory (since the reference is not changed), so the reprojection calculations happen each time the reference is loaded. This increases the time required to open the active model but is more accurate.
This orientation mathematically recalculates points in the reference model to align with corresponding latitude/longitude points in the active model.
Standard Views — Identifies the views that can be used to display the reference: Top, Front, Right, Isometric, Bottom, Back, Left, or Right Isometric. If the file being attached is 2D, you can choose only the Top view.
Saved Views — Identifies the saved views that are available in the reference.
Named Boundaries — Identifies the named boundaries that are available in the reference. When a 3D model is selected for attachment, you can expand a named boundary and select a standard rotation to apply to the view attachment. For example, if you select a named boundary, then expand it to select the Top view, the extents of the named boundary are used, and the orientation is the top view.
When a named fence is used to attach a reference, all levels are on. If a particular level is desired, then use the named fence as a clip volume for a saved view in the reference, and select the saved view.

Detail Scale

Represents the Master:Ref scale in terms of the sheet scale. For example, if your sheet annotation scale is 1/8 = 1’ and you want to place a detail reference of scale 1/4 = 1’, select the new scale from the Detail Scale drop-down list. It automatically computes the Master:Ref scale as 2:1.

When attaching a reference (a design or drawing model) into a sheet model, the referenced model's annotation scale is applied as the default detail scale, and the reference scale (Master:Ref Scale) is calculated from the detail scale and the sheet annotation scale. However, if the reference model’s annotation scale is Full Scale 1:1, the default detail scale is set to be same as the sheet annotation scale and the reference is attached at full size.

Scale (Master:Ref)

Sets the ratio of the master units in the active model to the master units in the attached model.

Named Group

Identifies a named group used to limit the elements displayed in the reference.

Revision

If Design History is on in the referenced model, lets you select the revision to the reference. If the original revision of the reference no longer exists you must reattach the reference.

Level

Sets the level for the reference to be attached.

For attached references created prior to MicroStation PowerDraft V8i (SELECTseries 1) — If View Display is off, or if Global Freeze or Viewport Freeze is on for the level on which the reference is placed, elements in the reference are not displayed.

For attached references created in MicroStation PowerDraft V8i (SELECTseries 1) or later — If View Display or Global Display is off, or if Global Freeze or Viewport Freeze is on for the level on which the reference is placed, elements in the reference are not displayed.

For DWG attachments — If a level is frozen, references on that level are not displayed.

For more information, see level display setting.

Nested Attachments

Determines how nested references (the references attached to the model selected as the reference) are handled for this reference attachment. See Nested Attachments list box in the Information Panel of the References dialog.

Nesting Depth

Sets the number of levels of nested references that are displayed. Child references can have their own referenced models, which, in turn, can have more referenced models, and so on. See Nesting Depth in the Information Panel section.

REFERENCE SET NESTDEPTH= [

 
					 number_of_levels

]

Display Overrides

Controls how overrides are saved for nested references. For each nested reference, overrides allow you to control the settings for reference display, locate, snap, raster reference display, and level display. See Display Overrides list box in the Information Panel section.

REFERENCE SET NESTOVERRIDES= < ALLOW | ALWAYS | NEVER >

New Level Display

Specifies whether a reference displays new levels. See New Level Display in the Information Panel section.

REFERENCE SET NEWLEVELDISPLAY= < ALWAYS | FROMCONFIG | NEVER >

Global Line Style Scale

Controls the scaling of cosmetic custom line styles. Every model can have a global line style scale factor that is applied to every line style within the model. This factor is set in the Properties dialog when the Line Style Scale is set to Global Line Style Scale or Compound Scale. Alternatively, you can use the ACTIVE LINESTYLESCALE key-in to set the global scale factor for custom line styles. The specified scale factor has the same effect as the Scale Factor setting in the Properties dialog. The Line Style Scale can also be set to follow the Annotation Scale, in which case this value will be ignored, or it can be set to Compound which will scale by both the Annotation scale and the Global Linestyle Scale.

The scale of line styles within a reference can be affected by the global line style scale of either the active model, the referenced model, both, or neither.

None — Neither the active model's nor the reference model's global line style scale is used to scale the cosmetic custom line styles.
Master — The active model's global line style scale is used to scale the cosmetic custom line styles.
Reference — The referenced model's global line style scale is used to scale the cosmetic custom line styles.
Master * Reference — The active global line style scale is multiplied by the referenced models' global line style scale to scale the cosmetic custom line styles.

REFERENCE SET GLOBALLSSCALE= < BOTH <file_spec> | MASTER <file_spec> | NONE <file_spec> | REFERENCE <file_spec> >

Synchronize View

When you attach a saved view, set this drop-down to All Settings to synchronize with the original saved view. To attach the saved view in unsynchronized state, set this drop-down to Volume Only, Presentation Only, or None.

In order to change the appearance of a reference, you have to modify the saved view that it is synchronized with. This is to ensure fidelity of display properties such as view attributes, view display, clip volume, display styles and others.

When synchronized, the reference location is also realigned. Specifically, when the reference is synchronized with the saved view, the reference center and saved view center remain aligned. You can see the effect of this in two ways:

In an unsynchronized state, that is when this drop-down is set to Volume Only, Presentation Only, or None, the reference is first shifted and then synchronized.
When synchronized, that is when this drop-down is set to All Settings, the saved view center is changed; for example, the saved view is stretched.

In case of Volume Only, the clip volume and camera position is taken from the saved view. So if you change the original saved view, its clip volume as well as camera position will be changed. Also, the clipping is computed from the saved view boundary. Hence you cannot clip or mask the reference in Volume Only.

The Presentation Only option is similar to Volume Only, except that in Presentation Only, you can modify the reference clip boundary.

In the reference attachments that are created in versions prior to MicroStation PowerDraft V8i (SELECTseries 3), the unsynchronized references are listed as Clip Only. In this case, if you change the original saved view, only its clip volume will be changed and the camera setting will remain as it is.

Drawing Boundaries

(Available only when the active model is a sheet model) Shows the list of vacant drawing boundaries in the selected sheet. When attaching a reference on a sheet, you can optionally select an existing drawing boundary or create a new drawing boundary. A drawing boundary describes a drawing on a sheet. For example, if there are four references on a sheet (top, front, right, and isometric), you create four drawing boundaries to demarcate the four references. It plays a crucial role in automatically linking callouts across sheets. Properties such as Name, Detail Scale, and Identifier are displayed in the callouts in the form of fields. You can create a new drawing boundary by selecting New in the drop-down list. The list of drawing boundaries displayed in the drop-down list are filtered by the type of saved view selected in the Orientation section.

Name

(Available only when New is selected in the Drawing Boundaries drop-down list) Lets you enter a name for the new drawing boundary.

Visible Edges

Sets the visible edges display option. Options are:

Dynamic - In this mode, the reference file and the visible edge process are always kept in a live state, that is, they are updated whenever you do operations such as file opening, viewing references, modifying references and so on.
Cached - In this mode, a local cache is stored for the visible edge process. The reference is kept live but the visible hidden edge display is not regenerated. The default cache synchronization option is Automatic with Alert. You can change this by defining the MS_REF_VISEDGE_ATTACH_STATE configuration variable.

This option is available only when a 3D model is attached directly to a 2D model.

You can change the default selection of this drop-down list by defining the MS_REF_VISEDGE_ATTACH_STATE configuration variable.

Toggles

Defines settings for the reference.

The icons correspond to columns in the References list box and information panel.

If an icon is pressed, the setting is on. Click the icons to toggle the settings on or off.