MicroStation
2023 onwards, Side-by-Side installation is supported for
all Major Releases. Minor Release updates will upgrade the Major Release and a Major
release and Minor Release will not be able to sit Side-by-Side. Users will have the
ability to run multiple major releases
MicroStation
on the same
machine. The installation of
MicroStation
2023 and later versions,
will by default, occur alongside any previous installations. Removing previous versions
of
MicroStation
will require a manual uninstall. Please read The application version naming FAQ for more information on
major and minor releases.
Set the default Delivered Configuration directory during Installation
During the installation of
MicroStation
2026, you must define the same directory path as of the Delivered
Configuration directory of the earlier MicroStation version. The default Delivered
Configuration directory path is C:\ProgramData\Bentley\MicroStation
2026\. Change this directory path to C:\ProgramData\Bentley\
MicroStation (earlier version) as shown in the following example images:
Figure 1. Example: Delivered configuration path for Side-by-Side installation of
MicroStation 2025 and MicroStation 2026
Note: When installing
MicroStation
2023
and later versions, if you installed the Delivered Configuration to a custom
directory, you must select the same custom directory during the installation of
MicroStation
2026.
Set Custom Configuration directory
during Installation
During the installation of
MicroStation
2026, if you wish to share your existing Custom Configuration,
then you must set the same directory path as of the Custom Configuration directory of
the earlier
MicroStation
version already installed on your machine.
Please refer to the following example images:
Figure 2. Example: Custom configuration path for Side-by-Side installation of
MicroStation 2025 and MicroStation 2026
Note: MicroStation Configurations are not version dependent.
Bentley tries to minimize any disruptions to Configurations, however in some Open
products there may be instances where some configuration changes take place. Please
refer to the release documents of those products.
Copy and Paste the "prefs" folder
after Installation
If you wish to use Preferences and User Configuration from the earlier version, then
after installation, launch
MicroStation
2026 and close the session to set the default preferences at
"C:\Users\<user.name>\AppData\Local\Bentley\MicroStation\26.0.0"
directory.
Now copy the "prefs" directory from
"C:\Users\<user.name>\AppData\Local\Bentley\MicroStation\earlier
version" and paste at
"C:\Users\<user.name>\AppData\Local\Bentley\MicroStation\26.0.0"
to replace the existing "prefs" directory.
Figure 3. Example: Preference folder path for Side-by-Side installation of MicroStation
2025 and MicroStation 2026
MicroStation
2026 should work seamlessly with the existing configurations.
This configuration will be shared between
MicroStation
2026 and any earlier versions (MicroStation 2023 onwards that
support a side-by-side installation).
