iPlot Engineering Instruction

CreatedBy:DavidKleinot Page1of18

EIPL‐18‐001

5/10/2018

DelawareDepartmentofTransportation

ENGINEERINGINSTRUCTION

Title:CreatingIPARMfiles(.i)forusewithProjectWiseInterPlotOrganizer

IPARMfiles(.i)areusedtogenerateeitherapapercopyorelectroniccopyofaprojectsheetfile,viatheuseoftheProjectWiseInterPlotOrganizer.TogenerateanIPARMfile,followtheworkflowandsettingslistedbelow.ItisimportanttoinstalltheDOT0533Eplotterbeforestartingthisprocess.Ifyoualreadyhavethisplotterinstalled,skiptostep4.1. OnWindows10,presstheWindowskey+RtobringuptheRuncommand.Type

in“Controlprinters”andhitOK.ThiswillbringuptheDevicesandPrinterssectionoftheControlPanel.

2. Clickon“Addaprinter”.Whenthedialogcomesupignoretheprogressbarandclick“TheprinterthatIwantisn’tlisted”.

3. Select“Findaprinterinthedirectory,basedonlocationorfeature”andhitNext.Copyandpastethefollowingtextintothe“Name:”fieldandhit“FindNow”:DOT0533E

SelecttheprinterfromthelistandhitOK.Hit“Next”andthen“Finish”onthenextwindow.Itisrecommendedthatyoudonotsetasdefault.

4. OpentheMicroStationdesignfilethatcontainsthegraphicsyouwouldliketoplot.

5. IfyouareinaDesignorDrawingmodel,thenyouwillneedtoplaceafence

aroundthegraphicsorsheetborderthatistobeplotted.6. ChooseFile>IPLOT…fromtheMicroStationMenuBar.


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7. FromtheIPlot‐Maindialog,selecttheFile>SelectSettings…menuoption.

8. Thiswillopenthedialogwhereyouselectasettingsfile(.set)forthetypeofplotyou’retryingtogenerate.SelecttheappropriatesettingsfileandclicktheOpenbutton.Pleaserefertochapter7oftheCADDmanualforafulllistanddescriptionofthesettingfiles.

Note,youmayseeerrorsintheStatusfieldatthebottomoftheIPLOTwindowsayingthatalevelisnotvalidforthismodel.Thisisnormalandcanbeignored.


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IPLOTStandardEntries

JobName:EnterthenameoftheIPARMfile.RecommendedIPARMfilenamingconventionsarefoundinChapter2–DirectoryandFileNamingoftheCADDManual.

Printer:Thedefaultsettingis“\\DOTASCADD04\DOT0533E”.ThisistheOCEColorWaveplotterthatresidesintheDelDOTAdminbuilding,neartheSurveySection.TheplotterDOT0533EisspecificallysetupforworkingwithiPlot,soifyouhaveotherversionsofDOT0533(ieDOT0533A),onlyuseDOT0533EwithiPlot.

PaperSize:Thedefaultis“ANSID(22x34in)”butmayneedtobeselectedfromthelistifyoudonothaveDOT0533Esetup.Usefullpapersize:Thedefaultis“Checked”.Uncheckingthisoptionwillintroduceprinter/plottermarginsandwillskewyourscale.

PlotArea:Thedefaultis“Fence”,butcanbechangetowhateverisnecessary.View:NotnecessarytosettoanythingunlessthePlotAreaentryissettoView.Units:Thedefaultis“in”.


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Rasterized:Thedefaultissetas“Unchecked”,andneedstobekeptunchecked.Size‐X:Enterthesheetwidth,ininches.TheSize–Yvalue(height)willadjustautomaticallyaswellasthescaleentry.Size‐Y:Enterthesheetheight,ininches.TheSize–Xvalue(width)willadjustautomaticallyaswellasthescaleentry.Scale:Thiswillautomaticallyadjustbasedonthesizeentries.Rotation:Entertheanglethatthefenceisrotatedfromthepositivex‐axis.Anglesmeasuredcounter‐clockwisearetobeenteredasanegativeangle.

OriginX/Y:Thisisanoffsetrelativetotheplottedpaperspaceandissetto“0.00000”fornormalprinting.Inspecialcaseswhereyouwanttoonlyprintasmallersectionofthefullsizeplan,thesevaluesarebasedonthelowerleftcornerofthesheet.Inthebelowexample,a60scaleplotisbeinggenerated2”fromtheleftedgeand4”fromthebottomedge.

9. Onceallofthesettingshavebeenadjustedasnecessary,tocreatetheIPARMfile,selectFile‐>SaveAs…


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10. ThisopenstheIPLOT–SaveIPARMAsdialog.SelectthefoldertosavetheIPARMfileandclickontheOKbutton.

Note,theIPARM(.i)filesshouldbesavedinthePlotdirectory.


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CreatingPDFsorPlotsfromIParmFilesUsingInterPlotOrganizerOnceanIPARMfile(.i)hasbeengenerated,PDFsorpaperplotscanbecreatedfromthisfile.TogenerateanoutputfilefromanIPARMfile,youmustprocessthefilethroughtheInterPlotOrganizerapplication,usingthefollowingworkflowandsettingslistedbelow.1. FromMicroStation,selectFile‐>InterPlotOrganizer…orfromWindows,choose

Start>AllPrograms>Bentley>ProjectWiseInterPlotOrganizer.Note,ifyouencounteranyerrorssaying“Errorloadingcustomcommand…”youwillneedtomanuallyuninstallProjectWiseInterPlotOrganizerandthenreinstallitviatheDelDOTCADDInstallScript.

2. Whentheapplicationlaunchesforthefirsttime,youarepresentedwiththefollowingdialog.

Check“Don’tdisplaythisscreenagain”andhit“OK”.3. SelectFile‐>PrintSetup…toopenthePrintSetupdialog.


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4. FromthePrintSetupdialog,selectDOT0533E,oraprinter/plotterthatwillsupportyourdocumentsize.ClickOKtoexitthisdialog.

5. Tocreateplots,selectFile‐>CreatePlots…,thatwillopentheCreatePlotsdialog.

6. ToaddIPARMfiles,clicktheAdd…buttonwhichwillopentheSelectFilesdialogwhereyoucannavigateandselecttheIPARMfile(s)thatyouwishtoplot,thenselecttheOpenbutton.

7. TheCreatePlotsdialogwilllisttheIPARMfilesyouhadselected.ByselectingasettingsfileviatheBrowse…button,youwilloverwriteanysettingsfilesusedwhencreatingtheIPARMfileslistedabove.Itisrecommendedthatthisbeleftblank.ClicktheOKbuttonwhenyouarefinishedaddingIPARMfiles.

8. TheProjectWiseInterPlotOrganizerwindowwillnowhavetheplotsyouselected.Verifyatthispointthatthesizeforeachdocumentmatchesthefinalplottingsizerequired.Asanalternativetosteps5‐7,youcandraganddrop.ifilesdirectlyfromFileExplorerintothiswindow.


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Ifthescaleorsizeisnotcorrect,pleaseconfirmyoufollowedstep#3.

9. IfanychangesneedtobemadetoanyoftheIPARMfiles(suchassize),thenselecttheIPARMfile(s)thatyouwanttoeditbyclickingontheentryunder“PlotName”.Right‐clickthefile(s)selected,andclickProperties.Multiplefilescanbeeditedatonce.ItisnottheintentionofthisdocumenttofullydescribealloftheoptionsavailableinallofthetabsofthePropertiesdialog.Fromahighlevel,thefollowingaredescriptionsofitemsthatcanbefoundineachtab:

a. General Designfilename,colortable,pentable/designscript

b. Area Plotareadefinition(Sheet,Fence,Element,etc.)

c. Layout Papersize,scale,rotation.

d. ReferenceFiles Referencefilesattachedtothemasterdesignfile

e. Levels Levelsturnedon/offinmasterandreferencefiles

f. Display Displaypropertiesturnedon/offinmasterandreferencefiles

g. Variables Locationtosetvariables.

h. Caching Locationtosetcachefilelocation.


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Whencompletewithnecessaryedits,clicktheOKbutton.

10. Whenreadytocreateaplottoanactualdevice,selectFile‐>Print…whichwillopenthePrintdialog.VerifytheprinterselectionandclickOKtosendthejob.

IfprintingtoaplotternotsetupforInterPlot(DOT0533Eistheonlyinternalplottersetupforthis),itisrecommendedtoprinttoaPDFfirst.


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11. WhenreadytocreateaPDFplotset,selectFile‐>ExportPDF…whichwillopentheExportPDFdialog.

TwooptionsforcreatingPDFsareavailableatthispoint:

a. CreateonePDFfilecontainingallplots‐Createsamulti‐pagePDFwiththeplotfileslisted(orselected).ASavePDFFiledialogopensforyoutochoosethenameandlocationofthePDFtocreate.

b. CreateaseparatePDFfileforeachplot‐CreatesasinglePDFfileforeachplotlisted(orselected).ABrowseforFolderdialogopensforyoutochoosethelocationofwheretheindividualPDFfile(s)willbecreated


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LevelManagementinPlots Leveldisplaycanbenowhandledbythe.setfiles.YoucanalsomanuallyturnlevelsonoroffundertheLevelstabinthepropertiesforthefile(s)intheProjectWiseInterPlotOrganizermainwindow.Levelsthatarecheckedareonandlevelsthatareuncheckedareoff.Youcancheckandunchecklevelsinthedgn(IPLOT_MASTER)andthereferences(i.e.IPLOT_R1,IPLOT_R2orthelogicalname).

ItisimportanttonotethatwhenIPARMfilesarecreated,notalllevelsareincludedinthisIPARM,onlylevelsthathavebeenusedinthisDGN,atthetimeofIPARMcreation.Thisappliestoreferencefilesaswell.IfnewlevelsareusedinthisDGN,aftercreatingtheIPARMfile,youneedtoreloadthesettingsfileusedforeachsheet.


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1. InsidethemainProjectWiseInterPlotOrganizerwindowselectthefile(s)youwanttoupdateandgotoEdit‐>SettingsFile‐>Apply…

2. WhentheSelectaSettingsFilewindowopens,navigateto\\DOTFS08\CADD\Active_Designs\msv8\PenTables\IPlot\SettingsandselecttheappropriatesettingsfileandselectOpen.Notethat,dependingonthenumberoffilesselected,thismaytakeamoment.Foreachfileselected,InterPlotwillsequentiallyupdatethelevelsfromtheDGNanditsreferences,andthenturnallthelevelson/offperthesettingsfileused.IfyouhaveattachednewDGNsasreferencesaftercreatingtheIPARM(.i)file,youwillneedtoupdatethe.ifilefromtheDGN.Todothis,selecttheplotorplotsyouwouldliketoupdate,rightclickandgotoProperties‐>General.Ifyouhaveselectedonefile,youwillseeabuttonsaying“UpdatefromDesignFile”.Ifyouhavemultiplefilesselected,itwillbeacheckbox,whichyouwillhavetocheckandthenhit“OK”.Youwillthenneedtoapplythecorrectsettingsfiles.


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AutomatedcreationofIPARMfiles(.i)

TheaboveprocesshasbeenautomatedtoreducethenumberofstepsittakestocreateIPARMfiles(.i).Somesetupneedstobedonetotakeadvantageofthisautomationfeature.1. InsideaMicroStationdesignmodel,createafencealongtheplotborder.Ifusingthe

“Shape”fencetype,startatthetopleftcornerandgoclockwise.Ifusingthe“Block”fencetype,startatthetopleftcornerandendatthebottomrightcorner.

2. RuntheIPARMGenerator.ThiscanbeloadedthroughtheDelDOTCommonmenubyselectingDelDOTCommon‐>IPARMGenerator‐>RunProgram….Youwillneedtoruntheprogrammultipletimes,soitisrecommendthatyouassignittoafunctionkeyforquickaccess.

a. Toassigntheprogramtoafunctionkey,gotoWorkspace‐>FunctionKeys…Copyandpastethefollowingtextintothedesiredfunctionkey.Intheexamplebelow,ithasbeentiedtoF4.vbarun[IPARM]main.IPARM_Generator


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3. TheprogramwillcreateaParameterBlockintheupperleftcorner.


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4. Theprogramcanacceptthefollowingparameters.Ifnotprovided,thedefaultisused.

Type Code DescriptionCoordinates #.#,#.# Thiscontainsthenorthingandeastingofeachcornerof

theprintarea.Thisshouldbegeneratedbytheprogramandcannotbeomitted.

IPARMsavePath PTH ThisiswheretheIPARMfile(.i)willbesaved.DefaultlocationisthePlotfolderwithintheprojectdirectoryoftheopendesignfile.Ifthiscannotbefound,itwillbethesamelocationasthedesignfile.Note:MicroStationhasafeaturewithinthetexteditorthatlooksforcharactercodesandreplacesthemwithpre‐assignedvalues.Anexampleofthiscodeis“\294”.MicroStationreplacesthiswithan“H”.Togetaroundthis,youneedadditionalbackslashes“\”.Thepathwillthenbecome:“Y:\\NEWCASTL\\294\\road\\T201404101\\Plot\\”Note,onceyouexitthetexteditor,youwillnolongerseetheextrabackslashes.TherecommendedfontisDelDOT_61.

IPARMname NAM Thisisthenameofthe .ifile.DefaultnameisthesameastheDGN.


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Settingsfile SET Thisisthesettingsfiletobeused.DefaultSettingsfileis_Default.set.Itisimportanttospecifythecorrectsettingsfile,as_Default.setwillnotsetupthecorrectlevelsordesignscript,andyouwillneedtosetthecorrectdscriptinsideofProjectWiseInterPlotOrganizer.

Rotation ROT ThisisnotrequiredandwillsupersedetherotationoftheParameterBlock.Ifyouareworkinginarotatedview,specificallyonerotatedtoyoursheetborder,enter“ROT=0”.Beawarethatthiswillcauseissuesifyoutrytoplotinanun‐rotatedview,soitisnotrecommendedthatthisbeused.

SilentMode NJA ThisflagdetermineswhethertheprogramwillruninSilentMode.InSilentMode,theuserwillnothavetointeractwithanydialogboxesandwillnotbeinterruptedifanyerrorsareencountered.Iferrorsareencountered,thedefaultvalueslistedabovewillbeused.AllerrorsandwarningswillbeloggedintheMessageCenter.

5. SelecttheParameterBlockandruntheprogramagaintogeneratetheIPARMfile(.i).

Note:IfonlythecoordinatesarespecifiedintheParameterBlock,theprogramwillcreateafence,loadiPlot,andsetuptheplotter,sheetsizeandrotation.Theuserwillneedtospecifyadscript.Thisisusefulifyoudonotwanttheleveldisplaycontrolledbythesettingsfile.


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CreatingMultipleIPARMfiles(.i)fromoneDGN.Itispossibletocreatemultiple.ifilesfromoneDGN.Todothis,theuserwillneedtocopytheParameterBlockforeach.ifiletobecreated.

1. CopytheParameterBlockofftothesideandchangetheparametersasnecessaryfor

each.ifiletobecreated.Donotmodifythecoordinatevalues.

Itisrecommendthatthe“PTH”,“NAM”,“SET”befilledoutcorrectlyandtestedbeforeattemptingtorunmultipleParameterBlocks.Itisalsorecommendthat“NJA”besetsothatalldialogboxesanderrormessagesaresuppressed.

2. SelecttheParameterBlocksthatyouwanttocreateplotsfromandruntheprogram.


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Itisimportanttobeawareofthefollowing:

1. YoudonotneedtosetLevelDisplayOn/OffthroughtheDelDOTcommonmenubeforerunningtheprogram,astheprogramhandlesthisautomaticallythroughthesettingsfiles.Itisimportantthatyouspecifythecorrectsettingsfile.PleaserefertotheCADDManualformoreinformationoneachsettingsfile.

2. Ifthe“NJA”flagisset,youwillseedialogwindowspopupandthendisappear,donotattempttoclosedialogsorinteractwiththem.

3. TheprogramusestheMessageCentertodisplaywarningsanderrors.IferrorsoccurwhiletheNJAflagisset,youwillnotbenotified.ItisimportanttochecktheMessageCentertodetermineifanythingwentwrongduringtheprocess.

WithintheMessageCenter,clickingonanentrywilldisplayadditionaldataabouttheerrorthatwasencountered.

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