Chip 1996 October/CHIP_CD_1996_10_PL.iso/software/ktest/ms95/disk01/readme.txt

Text File | 1996-04-02 | 39.1 KB | 1,002 lines

=======================================================
Product:        MicroStation 95
Version:        05.05.02.23
Language:       English
Date:           April 1, 1996
=======================================================

This document contains important information not available in the
printed or on-line documentation.

* Copyrights
* Getting Started
    Registration and licensing
    Installation troubleshooting for Windows and DOS
    Configuration variables
    Display drivers
    Dual-screen configurations
    Digitizer information
    Semaphore file locking
    Support and services information
* MicroStation 95 Under Microsoft Windows
    Running under Windows 3.1x
    Three-button mice and Windows NT 3.51
    Shelling to DOS
    EDG
* MicroStation 95 Features
    Printing and plotting
    Archiver information
    DWG/DXF import/export
    MSBATCH
    MicroStation BASIC
    Enter data field information
    General graphics information
* 3D
    Rendering Acceleration
    OpenGL under Windows
    Export visible edges
* Adobe Acrobat
* Non-graphic Databases
    General database enhancements
    Xbase
    RIS
    Oracle
    ODBC
    Oracle Workgroup 2000 tools

For "quick" installation instructions and for information
regarding the hardware keyed version of MicroStation 95, see
the file README.TXT on the CD's root directory. For detailed
information about installation, see the "MicroStation 95
Setup Guide."  For information about new features, see the
"MicroStation 95 Upgrade Guide" printed manual.


==========
Copyrights
==========
Copyright 1995, Bentley Systems, Incorporated.
All Rights Reserved

Including software, file formats, and audiovisual displays; may
only be used pursuant to applicable software license agreement;
contains confidential and proprietary information of Bentley
Systems, Incorporated and/or third parties which is protected by
copyright and trade secret law and may not be provided or
otherwise made available without proper authorization.

IGDS file formats Copyright 1981-1988 Intergraph Corporation.
Intergraph Raster File Formats Copyright 1993 Intergraph
Corporation. Used with permission.

RESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGENDS

Use, duplication, or disclosure by the government is subject to
restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights
to Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS
252.227-7013 or subparagraphs (c)(1) and (2) of Computer Software
-- Restricted Rights at 48 CFR 52.227-19 as applicable.
Unpublished rights reserved under the Copyright Laws of the United
States.

U.S. Headquarters                European Headquarters
Bentley Systems, Incorporated    Bentley Systems Europe B.V.
690 Pennsylvania Drive           Polarisavenue 33
Exton, PA  19341                 2132 JH Hoofddorp
                                 THE NETHERLANDS
Phone: [phone]          Phone: [phone]
FAX:   [phone]          FAX:   [phone]

Asia-Pacific Headquarters        Electronic Communications
Bentley Systems Pty. Ltd.        WWW: http://www.bentley.com
Suite 8, 51 City Road            E-mail:  [e-mail]
South Melbourne VIC 3205         CompuServe:  GO MSTATION
AUSTRALIA                        America Online: MSTATION
Phone:  [phone]         FaxBack: (1) 610 458 6485
FAX:    [phone]

==============
End Copyrights
==============


===============
Getting Started
===============
This section contains information about the following:
   Registration and Licensing
   Installation Troubleshooting for Windows and DOS
   Configuration Variables
   Display Drivers
   Dual-screen configurations
   Digitizer information
   Semaphore file locking
   Support and Services information


--------------------------
Registration and licensing
--------------------------
To be eligible for a variety of benefits as well as *unlocking*
MicroStation 95, you should register the product with Bentley.

If you are upgrading from MicroStation V5, please see the
"Important Upgrade Information" card in the Upgrade pack.

The license agreement for MicroStation 95 differs from previous
agreements. We follow what is now standard intellectual property
practice by requiring that you sign a separate agreement, the
Corporate License Agreement (CLA), for concurrent usage (or
license pooling) of MicroStation 95. You incur no charge or
additional obligation under the CLA (in fact, there are several
additional benefits), and MicroStationCSP(sm) subscribers are
automatically eligible. For more information, contact the nearest
Bentley office; phone numbers can be found in the "Support and
Services Guide."


------------------------------------------------
Installation troubleshooting for Windows and DOS
------------------------------------------------
For "quick" installation instructions and for information
regarding the hardware keyed version of MicroStation 95,
see the file README.TXT on the CD's root directory. For
detailed information about installation, see the
"MicroStation 95 Setup Guide."


Windows
-------
MicroStation 95 for x86 Windows that is contained on this
delivery set runs under Windows 3.1x, Windows 95 or Windows NT.
The x86 version will not run on DEC Alpha NT, IBM PowerPC NT, or
similar RISC-NT based workstations. You need to obtain the
appropriate RISC-NT version of MicroStation 95 to run on these
other platforms.


DOS
---
The DOS installation program, "install.exe," requires
approximately 360K to run properly. The configuration program,
"usconfig.exe," requires approximately 340K to run properly.


-----------------------
Configuration variables
-----------------------
New Project Configuration files can only be created through a
text editor.

MS_CELLSELECTORDIR determines the directory for the Cell Selector
button configuration (.csf) files.

See also "Printing and Plotting", "Archiver Information" and
"Database."


---------------
Display drivers
---------------
NOTE: Bentley does not endorse any hardware peripherals. This
includes plotters, printers, display adapters, or input devices.

Bentley highly recommends obtaining the latest versions of
video drivers from your graphics vendor.

MicroStation 95 for Windows uses your existing Windows display
drivers. Please consult with your graphics card vendor for
information that you may need regarding various video
configurations.

MicroStation 95 for DOS supports any third party display drivers
that function with MicroStation V5.

Aspect Ratio
------------
MicroStation automatically detects the aspect ratio of the
display screens on most systems. In some configurations
(including some dual screen Windows displays), the video driver
returns incorrect display size information, causing elements to
appear stretched in either the horizontal or vertical direction.
The MicroStation configuration variable MS_ASPECTRATIO
specifies the correct aspect ratio to use in these situations.
This variable should be set to the ratio of the width to the
height of the display area.

For example:

System A: Display screen is 200mm wide by 150mm high. The
aspect ratio is 200/150 = 1.33, so set MS_ASPECTRATIO=1.33.

System B: A dual screen system where each screen is the size
of the System A display and the monitors are arranged
side-by-side. The display area width is 400mm and the aspect
ratio would be 400/150 = 2.67, so set MS_ASPECTRATIO=2.67.

IMPORTANT NOTES: If your display is not distorted, there is
no need to create this configuration variable. If
MS_ASPECTRATIO is set as a system environment variable in
AUTOEXEC.BAT, it will affect operation in both the DOS and
Windows 3.1x, potentially causing a problem in the version
that receives correct information about the display size.
Therefore, it is highly recommended that this variable only
be set through the configuration variable dialog box of
MicroStation 95 (Workspace > Configuration > New dialog).


--------------------------
Dual-screen configurations
--------------------------
MicroStation 95 does not control the primary or secondary video
display under Windows 3.1x, Windows 95 and Windows NT. In these
environments, the operating system and graphics card drivers
handle the video display in single- and multi-head environments.
Please see the "Frequently Asked Questions" card that was included
in the MicroStation 95 delivery for more information.


---------------------
Digitizer information
---------------------
NOTE: Bentley does not endorse any hardware peripherals. This
includes plotters, printers, display adapters, or input devices.

Windows 3.1x, Windows 95 and Windows NT users will need to contact
their digitizer manufacturer for information regarding WINTAB
drivers in order to use specific digitizer tablets or tables in
Windows. Note that 16-bit WINTAB drivers (Windows 3.1x) will not
run in a 32-bit (Windows 95 and NT) environment and vice-versa.

If the digitizer manufacturer does not have a WINTAB compatible
driver, you will have to use the DOS version of MicroStation 95
when digitizing is required.

Please see the "Frequently Asked Questions" card that was included
in the MicroStation 95 delivery for more information.


----------------------
Semaphore file locking
----------------------
For information on this new feature, refer to Chapter 1 in the
Administrator's Guide. Note that the semaphore lock file is
checked for the master design file that MicroStation opens (as in
File > Open, Newfile, etc.) Tools and utilities like File Fence,
Save Fence, MERGE and MDL applications that don't utilize master
design file open do not check for the semaphore lock file.


--------------------------------
Support and services information
--------------------------------
Please reference the "Support and Services Guide" for more
information regarding support and services from Bentley.

======================
End of Getting Started
======================


=======================================
MicroStation 95 Under Microsoft Windows
=======================================
This section contains the following:
    Running Under Windows 3.1x
    Three-button mice and Windows NT 3.51
    Shelling to DOS
    EDG

--------------------------
Running under Windows 3.1x
--------------------------
MicroStation 95 no longer relies on Windows Connection to run in
Windows 3.1x. The Windows version of MicroStation 95 runs under
Windows 3.1x, Windows 95 and Windows NT.

Running MicroStation 95 under Windows 3.1x is accomplished using
a Microsoft utility called Win32s (version 1.25.141) that lets
32-bit Windows applications (like MicroStation 95 for x86
Windows) to run under 16-bit Windows 3.1x. Win32s can be installed
from the CD and is found in the \win32s\ directory. You will need
to install Win32s under Windows 3.1x before installing the Windows
version of MicroStation 95. There are complete instructions in the
"MicroStation 95 Setup Guide." Note that you do not need to
install Win32s in Windows 95 or Windows NT.

Win32s is a Windows 3.1x enhancement from Microsoft. Bentley
assumes no responsibility for unexpected behavior resulting from
the installation of Win32s. Please see refer to the appropriate
Microsoft documentation for more information about Win32s.

The DOS versions of MicroStation, MicroStation Review, and
MicroStation PowerDraft use memory resident programs in order to
communicate with graphic cards and input devices. If the DOS
version of any of these programs has been run before starting
Windows to run the Windows version of MicroStation 95, an error
message will be displayed after you attempt to start MicroStation
95 ("Error: resource file is wrong platform, Expected=(Windows),
File=(PC))". You will need to either use MARK.COM and RELEASE.EXE
in DOS to remove these memory resident drivers before getting
into Windows or reboot after running these programs. (Note that
MARK.COM and RELEASE.EXE are only delivered with the DOS version
of MicroStation 95 and can be found in the $(MS)/utils/
directory, please refer to the documentation regarding usage.)

Make sure that you do not have any DOS level environment
variables (like MS_CONFIG and MS) set up to point to DOS versions
of MicroStation products. This will result in messages similar
to what was described in the previous paragraph.

Some users may notice a departure from expected behavior using
Links to and from Microsoft Excel 5.0 (and above) and Microsoft
Word 6.0 (and above). The linking method used by these
applications differs from Microsoft published standards. Linking
with previous versions of these applications will function as
expected. Further, Microsoft Word 6.0 will not properly display
views served by MicroStation 95 running under Windows 3.1x. This
is due to a limitation in the Microsoft Word 6.0's ability to
accept the link format used for served views. Microsoft has
confirmed these be problem with Word and Excel. Bentley is
working with Microsoft to investigate and resolve these issues.
Bentley will post a notification through the customary channels
when more information becomes available.


-------------------------------------
Three-button mice and Windows NT 3.51
-------------------------------------
Due to a known problem within Windows NT 3.51, attempting to
assign the middle button of a three button mouse may not produce
the desired results. Please contact Microsoft or your mouse
manufacturer regarding the availability of updated three button
mouse drivers for Windows NT 3.51.


---------------
Shelling to DOS
---------------
Although the preferred method is to open an MS-DOS prompt
window by double clicking on the MS-DOS icon (usually found in
Windows's Main Program Group,) the NTBANG MDL application
(found in ..\ustation\mdl\examples\ntexmpls\) that is delivered
with MicroStation 95 for Windows enables you to send DOS commands
from within MicroStation. NTBANG users will need to build the
application using BMAKEWIN (in Windows 95/NT) and set the
configuration variable MS_CONSMODE=1 before running the
application. See ..\ustation\mdl\examples\ntexmpls\NTBANG.TXT for
further setup instructions. For those who do not have the proper
setup to build NTBANG, the compiled application file (NTBANG.MA)
is available on Bentley's MAINline FTP site (ftp.bentley.com).


---
EDG
---
To install EDG and the EDG Help icons in the MicroStation 95 for
Windows Program Group in Windows 3.1x:

   1. Make the MicroStation 95 Program Group "active".
   2. From the Program Manager menu, select File > New...
   3. In the New Program Object dialog, make sure Program Item is
      checked and click OK.
   4. In the Program Item Properties dialog, select the Browse
      button and change directories to $(MS)EDG, where $(MS) is
      the root directory for MicroStation 95 (\win32app\ustation\,
      for example)
   5. Double click EDG.EXE
   6. Click OK in the Program Item Properties dialog

   You should now have the EDG Program Item in your MicroStation
   95 Program Group. Follow steps 1 through 3 and then continue
   with the following steps to install the EDG Help icon:

   4. In the Program Item Properties dialog, select the Browse
      button and change directories to $(MS)HELP\ENGLISH, where
      $(MS) is the root directory for MicroStation 95
      (\win32app\ustation\, for example)
   5. Change the List Files of Type to All Files, then double
      click EDG.HLP
   6. Click OK in the Program Item Properties dialog

   You should now be able to access the EDG and EDG Help icons in
   your MicroStation 95 Program Group.


==============================================
End of MicroStation 95 Under Microsoft Windows
==============================================


========================
MicroStation 95 Features
========================
This section contains information about the following:
   Printing and Plotting
   Archiver information
   DWG/DXF import/export
   MSBATCH
   MicroStation BASIC
   Enter Data Field information
   General Graphics Information


---------------------
Printing and plotting
---------------------
NOTE: Bentley does not endorse any hardware peripherals. This
includes plotters, printers, display adapters, or input devices.

Due to Win32s limitations, printing under Windows 3.1x will
support standard line styles or line weights, but not both. If
an element has both style and weight, then only the style will
be honored. Custom line styles are not affected. Plotting does
not have this limitation.

The following types of plot key-ins are now supported:

      preview (opens plot dialog box in preview mode)
      plot (opens plot dialog box)
      plot view 1
      plot c:\tmp\topview.ini
      plot c:\tmp\topview.ini lpt2
      plot fence
      plot fence lpt2
      plot view 1 "\\printman\laserjet1"

Note that Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path names may now be
used with the key-in.

Plotter driver files are now stored in the $(MSDIR)plotdrv/
directory.

Since the Plot dialog is non-modal in MicroStation 95, placing a
fence while the Plot application is loaded will not automatically
change the Entity from View to Fence. That must be either done
manually or by unloading the Plot application (Plot > Exit) and
then restarting it after a fence has been placed.


--------------------
Archiver information
--------------------
Dragging and dropping a directory icon from the Windows File
Manager will not Archive any files contained in that directory.
You must select each file to be archived, and then drag them to
the MicroStation 95 Archive dialog box.

Long filenames are truncated to the first eight characters when
transferred to an operating system that does not support long
filenames (DOS).

For the Use Path Filter option to have any effect, the Save
Directories option must also be selected.

MS_ARCHIVE is used to select the directories to include in the
search path for Archive (.mar) files.

MS_ARCHIVECLASS is used to select the directories to include in
the search path for Archive class (.mac) files.


---------------------
DWG/DXF import/export
---------------------
Some of the import/export settings can now be set only through a
MicroStation BASIC macro. Please see $(MS)/tables/dwg/dwg.bas
for examples.

The Override Level Names toggle in the Export Drawing File
Settings dialog can be thought of as Use Level Names. If
enabled, Level Name entries will override the respective entry
in the import/export Layer - Level Mapping table.

There is a new "dumptables" option for the batch file processing
feature of the DWG/DXF import application. This option creates a
text file containing all font file and block names that are in a
DWG/DXF file. The syntax is as follows:

msbatch dwgin input:<dwgFile> dumptables [outdgn:<dataFile>]

When the "dumptables" option is specified, a design file is not
created. Instead, the text file <dataFile> is built. This file can
be used as a data source to cut and paste from when mapping fonts
and block names in a MicroStation BASIC macro for import/export.
If outdgn:<dataFile> is not specified on the command line,
<dataFile> will default to <dwgFile>.dmp.

Since font file and cell to/from block name mapping are
supported only through MicroStation BASIC in MicroStation 95,
the "dumptables" option should be used as a convenient starting
point to build the tables, which can then be called in the import
and/or export macro.

EX: msbatch dwgin input:dwgfile.dwg dumptables outdgn:acad.dmp

The command line above will create the text file acad.dmp in the
directory specified by MS_DGNOUT. This file will contain font file
and block names that exist in the file dwgfile.dwg. No translation
will take place.

EX: msbatch dwgin input:dwgfile.dwg dumptables

The command line above will create the text file dwgfile.dmp in
the directory specified by MS_DGNOUT. This file will contain font
file and block names that exist in the file dwgfile.dwg. Note that
the name of the text file (dwgfile.dmp) is obtained from the input
file (dwgfile.dwg) as outdgn: is not specified on the command
line. Again, no translation will take place because the
"dumptables" option is specified.

If the macro setting MbeDWGImportSettings.ignoreEmptyLayers =
MBE_OFF for DWG import, MicroStation 95 will "purge" unused layers
in the DWG file. However, a layer in a DWG file may contain an
erroneous flag value, which may produce incorrect results. To
correct this situation in R12, you can SAVE/SAVEAS the file
before exiting. In R13, you will have to PURGE your file. If you
set MbeDWGImportSettings.ignoreEmptyLayers = MBE_ON, which is the
default, this situation will not occur.


-------
MSBATCH
-------
When using MSBATCH with the import/export applications, some
users may experience limits to the number of files that are
operated on with one batch process. This limit is related to the
exhaustion of available system resources and can vary from
system to system. Typically, more physical memory and/or
available swap space will increase the number of files that can
be operated on in a single batch process.


------------------
MicroStation BASIC
------------------
In the MicroStation BASIC Guide, the examples for
MbeCExpressionLong, MbeCExpressionDouble and
MbeCExpressionString are not correct. The substring "mdl"
should be "Mbe". For example:

Dim nextNodeNum as Long
nextNodeNum = MbeCExpressionLong ("tcb->canode")

Dim trueNorthAzimuth as Double
trueNorthAzimuth = MbeCExpressionDouble ("tcb->azimuth")

Dim altLibraryName as String
altLibraryName = MbeCExpressionString ("tcb->altLibraryName")


----------------------------
Enter data field information
----------------------------
EDIT SINGLE and AUTO EDIT are sensitive to the text preference
for text editor style. These commands should always take input
from the keyin field for compatibility with Version 5 user
commands, scripts, Settings Groups and command menus. EDIT
SINGLE and AUTO EDIT work the same way PLACE TEXT does.


----------------------------
General graphics information
----------------------------
A new tool, DELETE SYMBOL, has been added to delete symbols from
a line style resource file. The syntax is 'DELETE SYMBOL
<symbolName>' To use it, a line style library must be active
while in a design session. If the line style editor is open, the
library that is currently being accessed by the editor is used.
Otherwise, the most recently opened library in the session is
used. This is the same as 'CREATE SYMBOL <symbolName>'.

A symbol that is currently referenced by any Point component
cannot be deleted. In this case, the message "Symbol <symbolName>
cannot be deleted because it is in use" is displayed in the error
field. If the symbol is deleted successfully. the message,
"Symbol <symbolName> deleted from library" is displayed in the
status field.
===============================
End of MicroStation 95 Features
===============================


==
3D
==
This section contains information about the following:
   Rendering Acceleration
   OpenGL under Windows
   Export Visible Edges


----------------------
Rendering Acceleration
----------------------
MicroStation 95 can be optionally configured to make use of
advanced graphics acceleration interfaces to improve performance
of rendered images. Support for acceleration is through an MDL
extension which may be supplied by Bentley or a third-party
vendor. Bentley supports OpenGL on available platforms in
MicroStation 95.

The primary reason for using a graphics acceleration interface
like OpenGL is to improve rendering performance, but there can
be a tradeoff between increased performance and visual quality
for rendered views. A toggle button labeled "Graphics
Acceleration" has been added to the Settings > Rendering > View
Attributes dialog. It marks the view as eligible to be drawn
using OpenGL or (depending upon platform) some other graphics-
acceleration interface. If toggled on, the view will be
accelerated on all platforms that have an accelerator extension
installed. If off, the view is drawn without acceleration.


--------------------
OpenGL under Windows
--------------------
OpenGL is available in Windows NT and is expected to be available
in a future upgrade to Windows 95. These systems support OpenGL
regardless of hardware configuration. However, using OpenGL will
not significantly improve MicroStation 95 performance except on
systems that are configured with a hardware graphics accelerator.

In order to use OpenGL with MicroStation 95, the system display
driver must be set for at least 32768 colors in the Windows
Control Panel.

Wireframe views may be displayed using OpenGL, but the greatest
performance improvement from OpenGL is realized when displaying
rendered views. This performance advantage diminishes if texture
maps are enabled since most hardware accelerators do not
accelerate this operation.

Phong rendering is not supported by OpenGL. Selecting Phong
rendering in an OpenGL accelerated view will result in an
unaccelerated rendering.

Rendering large files with the View Cache toggle on in the OpenGL
Settings dialog can consume a lot of virtual memory. Make sure
that you have plenty of free disk space when using this feature.

Due to an operating system bug in Windows NT 3.50, double
buffering may not be possible in some systems.


--------------------
Export visible edges
--------------------
In Chapter 2 - File Menu of the on-line Reference Guide, under
Export > Visible Edges..., the sentence "If off, text and
dimensions are not included in the output. The default is
on." should read "If off, text and dimensions are
displayed without any test for visibility. That is, they
will show regardless of depth in view. The default is on."

In some instances (i.e.: 12 point font at 640x480), the Visible
Edges dialog is too big to fit on the screen -- the
OK/Preview/Cancel push buttons along the bottom of the dialog
will not display. Since the dialog is modal, you can press the
<Esc> key to get out of the dialog. If you encounter this
situation, you can use a shorter, but wider, version of the
dialog by using the command EDGES WIDEDIALOG instead of EDGES
DIALOG.

To automatically activate this dialog from the menu bar, use the
Customize tools to change the File > Export > Visible Edges...
key-in to MDL KEYIN EDGES EDGES WIDEDIALOG.
=========
End of 3D
=========


=============
Adobe Acrobat
=============
Documentation is provided in PDF (Portable Document Format) files
that can be browsed, searched, or printed with the supplied
Acrobat Reader from Adobe Systems Incorporated. All printed
product documentation as well as additional technical information
is supplied in PDF format.

For information about installing Acrobat Reader, see
"acroread.txt" in the \acrobat\ directory on the CD. For
information about using Acrobat Reader, see "help_r.pdf," which
is installed in Acrobat Reader's "help" directory.

Here are some quick instructions for viewing the PDF documents:

1. In the File Manager, go to the CD's \docs\ directory and
   double-click the "readfrst.pdf" file.

   or

   In Acrobat Reader, choose Open from the File menu. Go to
   the CD's \docs\ directory and select "readfrst.pdf."

   The Home Page opens. As you move the pointer across the Home
   Page, it turns into a hand with a pointing finger when it
   passes over hypertext links.

2. Open the desired document by pointing at its title and
   clicking it.

   The document's Table of Contents opens.

3. Open the desired section by pointing at a topic and clicking
   it.

You can use bookmarks to "jump" to a specific topic. Click the
Bookmark Icon (the second icon from the left on the toolbar)
to open a list of bookmarks.

The blue boxes at the beginning of sections, chapters, and tables
of contents move you "up" a level and, eventually, back to the
Home Page.

Alternately, you can open PDF documents by double-clicking them
in the File Manager. Each sub-directory in the \docs\ directory
contains an on-line "book." Within each "book" sub-directory,
each PDF file corresponds all or part of a chapter. For example,
the PDF files for the On-line Reference are in the "ref" sub-
directory; the file "ref02.pdf" is Chapter 2.

Note: In the MDL documentation, each topic is contained in a
separate PDF file.

If you experience unexpected results when printing the PDF files,
it is recommended that you contact your printer vendor to obtain
the latest printer drivers for the device that you're using.

The Adobe Acrobat Reader is an Adobe product and is supported by
that organization. Although we would like to be informed about
any problems that you encounter with the Reader, please contact
Adobe for technical support with regard to that product.

Automated Technical Support
     Adobe Products:          206-628-2757
     Adobe Consumer Products: 206-628-2752

FaxYI Fax-on-Demand Support
     All Products:            206-628-5737

BBS - Support info, filters, drivers, etc. 206-623-6984
FTP - Support info, filters, drivers, etc. ftp.adobe.com
WWW - Support info, filters, drivers, etc. http://www.adobe.com/
====================
End of Adobe Acrobat
====================


=====================
Non-graphic Databases
=====================
This section contains information about the following:
   General database enhancements
   Xbase
   RIS
   Oracle
   ODBC
   Oracle Workgroup 2000 Tools


-----------------------------
General database enhancements
-----------------------------

- FI= statement where the mslink value is null:

  If the where clause on an FI= statement is such that it
  specifies only a single row, and the mslink column is
  null or zero, (i.e. unpopulated) and the linkage mode is
  duplicate, the mslink column for that row will automatically
  get assigned the next highest one, and will be used as the AE.
  If, in the case of the above scenario, there is more than one
  row that satisfies the where clause, that will cause an error.
  You will see the message - Unable to assign mslink. Version
  4.0 functionality has been restored. FI= works where the
  mslink value is null in both New and Duplicate linkage mode.

- Now allows decoding of a DB linkage without having server.ma
  running or being connected to a database. mdlDB_decodeLink
  will set link->tablename to an empty string if not connected
  to a database.

- All servers are DLMs (for faster performance), except for
  Oracle and RIS on DOS.

- The following describes the add row without locking functions:
  If MS_DBNOLOCKING is defined (value does not matter) then
  MicroStation 95 will not lock the table to add a new row. The
  server will get the largest mslink in the table, add one to
  it, and try to insert the new row. If the insert fails, the
  mslink is incremented and another insert is attempted. This
  process continues until the row has been successfully
  inserted or MS_DBMAXATTEMPTS is reached. The maximum number
  of attempted inserts defaults to 10 when MS_DBMAXATTEMPTS is
  undefined.

- Configuration Variable "MS_DBMSFORMS"
  MicroStation 95 has the new capability of using temporary
  (randomly generated) table names for the "msforms" data. This
  is to better accommodate multi-user situations, so different
  users don't use the same msforms table. Those database
  systems that use external forms managers need to know the
  name of this msforms table. That is not possible if a new
  name is generated for each database connection. The variable
  "MS_DBMSFORMS" solves this by allowing the user to specify the
  name of the msforms table. So, each workstation using the
  database would have a different name, and the forms trigger
  would refer to the msforms name assigned for that workstation.
  If the variable is set to something, its value will be used
  as the msforms table name. If it is not set, then, in the
  non-Xbase case, the name of the msforms table will be
  "msforms". In the Xbase-case, if the "Use temporary ae/msforms
  tables" User Preference is set such that temporary tables ARE
  used, then a randomly generated table name will be used as
  the msforms table. Otherwise, "msforms" will be used.

  Note that the user preference setting for msforms only applies
  to Xbase.


-----
Xbase
-----

  Some significant progress has been made in the improvement of
  performance in the Xbase servers. The affected areas are:

  Fence Reporting
  Fence Filters
  FI= (setting the active entity)
  Loading Displayable Attributes (forms and non-forms mode)
  Cursor processing
  mdlDB_readColumn function

  There are now Xbase specific implementations of cursor open,
  fetch and close. They are in rdbmslib.ml, so the prototypes can
  be found in rdbmslib.fdf. The interface is exactly the same as
  with the normal cursor functions, except for
  mdlDB_openCursorXbase. Its extra parameter is an indicator from
  the caller as to whether any more than just the column's values
  are desired. If the other information in the MS_sqlda structure
  is not needed by the caller, set this parameter to FALSE. That
  will result in better performance.

  Also, mdlDB_simpleSelectXbase is a new function. It provides
  the MDL developer the ability to issue a select statement and
  receive a single row's column values back without the overhead
  of opening and closing a cursor. This is an improvement over
  mdlDB_sqlQuery because as many columns as desired can be
  specified in the select statement.

- XBASE Sample files added. The data dictionary files for the GIS
  example are now included in the delivery. This means that you
  can connect to GIS simply by using the menu - right out of the
  box. No additional configuration needed. There is no need to
  run build.bat or initialize the data dictionary to connect to
  the sample XBASE, XBASENDX or XBASEFOX databases.

- If you are a single user of an Xbase database, be sure to set
  the configuration variable "MS_DBMODE" to "nonshared". (Note
  that not defining it at all is not adequate.) This will improve
  performance of activities that require the generation of a new
  MSLINK value (e.g. ATTACH AE while LINKAGE MODE is "New").

- Configuration variable "MS_XBFORMITEMSIZER"
  This allows the user to have the fields of an Xbase form
  automatically adjusted to better accommodate longer values.
  Because the font used for dialog item values is a proportional
  one, depending on the characters that are in the actual value
  the entire value may or may not be visible if the size of the
  item is set to a string that has "wide" characters (capital W,
  for instance). This configuration variable allows you to
  specify how much bigger each field will be, relative to the DBF
  files' column width. MS_XBFORMITEMSIZER should be set to a
  string like "x.y". This means the field size will be adjusted
  according to the below formula:

  dialogItemWidth = columnWidth + x + columnWidth ^ 0.y
  ("^" means "raised to the power of").

  This causes the fields for small columns to be enlarged
  relatively more than that for wider columns. If
  MS_XBFORMITEMSIZER is not set, the default value is "0.0",
  meaning there will be no adjustment at all. If there is a
  picture clause for the item, that will take precedence, and
  MS_XBFORMITEMSIZER will be ignored for that field.

  Hint:  A good value for MS_XBFORMITEMSIZER would be something
  in the range of "3.5".

- XBASE forms with Memo Fields are not supported in MicroStation
  95. MicroStation 95 will bypass these field and not display
  memo data on the form.


---
RIS
---

- RIS is not supported under Win32s (in Windows 3.1x)

- The RIS DOS client was created with 4.3 tools and can not
  connect to a RIS 5.x server. At present, Intergraph does not
  plan to generate RIS 5.x tools for DOS.


------
Oracle
------

- Oracle native is not supported under Win32s Windows 3.1, it is
  supported under Win32s Windows 3.11 (WFW). You can also connect
  with Intersolv ODBC Oracle drivers.

- Oracle DOS does not support sql statements or return data greater
  than 2000 characters.

- MicroStation 95 adds support for Oracle Forms 4.5 on Intel. If
  Settings > Database > Dialog > Text Forms is selected,
  MicroStation 95 will invoke the Oracle Forms 4.5 runform program
  (f45run.exe) displaying database information in a user defined
  form when elements are reviewed for database information (review
  attributes).

  The configuration variables that effect Oracle forms execution
  is MS_FORMSMANAGER. This specifies the forms manager executable
  that MicroStation 95 will use to display Oracle forms. When
  undefined MicroStation 95 uses 'f45run.exe' as the Oracle Forms
  runtime executable. Use this variable to specify a different
  forms executable.

  MS_FORMSARGS - This specifies arguments to invoke the forms
  manager. Normally, MicroStation 95 does not use any arguments
  when it invokes the forms manager. Use this variable if you want
  to invoke the Oracle Forms Manager with arguments.


----
ODBC
----

- In MicroStation 95, users must run under NT 3.51 (NOT 3.5) to
  successfully connect using the Microsoft Access ODBC driver.
  The supported Intersolv drivers work under both NT 3.5 and
  NT 3.51.

- MicroStation 95 will support ODBC Access forms. MicroStation 95
  supports other forms managers under Windows. Setup procedures
  will be issued in a technical note after release.

- Access ODBC driver does not support columns with "view" in the
  name (such as SQLVIEW). Therefore the create MSCATALOG function
  will not execute successfully. As a workaround, you can create
  the MSCATALOG in Access or import an existing one into Access.


---------------------------
Oracle Workgroup 2000 tools
---------------------------

  To get the Workgroup server tools (16 bit) to connect up under
  NT, when you install 16 bit SQL*Net TCP/IP (under NT), you must
  select Winsock dlls, Windows NT 3.1/3.5 transportation layer. If
  you are under Windows 3.11 select Windows for Workgroups 3.11
  TCP/IP (VDx). This allows you to use the Workgroup Server 2000
  Tools to manage network databases: startup / shutdown, operate
  in tables, resize databases, etc. If you also have a local
  Oracle 7 database under NT, you must install the 32 bit Server
  version of SQL*Net TCP/IP or Named Pipes. It gets confusing,
  but in essence you are running the 32-bit server listener and
  connecting from 16 bit client tools on the same box.

  You can also manage UNIX databases with these tools.
============================
End of Non-graphic Databases
============================

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