Microstation 8.5 problems in Windows 7

Those who hope to use Microstation 8.5 today must use Windows XP on virtual machines for incompatibilities with Windows 7. Mention the text editor problem, which I mentioned how to solve it before, and also refer to image manager and ODBC connection. Let’s see how these issues are resolved.

Problem with Raster Manager

Is not a debate matter why people still use this version 10 years later. The truth is that 2004’s Microstation V8 was all innovation. People loved this version for its potential after suffering last years with a dgn which was still 16-bit. Now could read and edit the AutoCAD’s 2006 dwg/dxf native file, integrated historical record, left on one side the MDL painful language adopting Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and, of course, exploited the dgn v8 potential which was not already limited to 64 levels or number of objects.

Despite the above tool development was still on Clipper, with a limited graphical interface in the transparencies handling and the cursor interaction, to a kind of refreshment in the image form that returned the object in black tone. But out of these things, having an own environment that was not proportional to the equipment’s RAM, in an impressive way could handle large amounts of data efficiently.

Bentley promised to get a really “windows” version, promising not to damage potential. So in 2006, the XM series appeared, although strangely people wondered why advertised it with a message of “not be the latest, and to wait something more”. It was until a couple of years after that appeared V8i, which brought all that Bentley now operates under the concept of i-model.

Of course that this version is obsolete with what now you can do with Bentley Map or any version of Microstation V8i. But if someone developed on VBA for that version, will not change easily if the program meets its basic needs; much less if the development was going on a vertical such as Microstation Geographics, ProjectWise, Geoweb Publisher, or if it exploited dgn capabilities of that date as the historic.

Bla , Bla , Bla … history. Let’s see how to solve the problem:

Returning to the Raster Manager problem, everything is in Microstation cache change’s management, which was defined in different variables, including MS_RASTER_CFILE_FOLDER.

For XM, Bentley integrates a different management, and, of course, folders locations change coming after Windows XP makes not possible to reach the cache… much more with 64-bit, where rights are more complex in certain folders. But the functionality exists because it does not happen like with primitive files such as jpg, only happens with compressed files, as .ecw, .hmr or .tiff.

The easiest way to resolve the matter is by copying the hrfecwfile.dll file, which is what solved this in the first testings we did with Microstation XM.

So, what is required is search in Internet Microstation XM, install it, and search for this file. Then overridden in the location where the common files are:

C:Program Files (x86)Common FilesBentley sharedRasterFileFormatsECWhrfecwfile.dll

Problem with the ODBC driver for Microsoft Access in 64-bit

For Microstation Geographics users’ case, it was very robust connection to a database using an Oracle Driver, Microsoft Access via ODBC. While Geographics is obsolete with respect to Bentley Map, which was still used by many projects, to the extent that it is not strange to still see developments using these features in the Be Inspired.

The problem for those who do not usually read, is that on 64-bit, Windows 7 can not make an ODBC connection to Access or Excel.

If we access the ODBC connection in a traditional way:

Start / Control Panel / Administrative Tools / System and Security / Administrative Tools / ODBC Data Sources

You can see that only drivers can be added to SQL Server. But this is because the first option is to run this from 32 bits, with which administrator permissions are not enabled in the Odbcad32.exe file from the address

C:WindowsSystem32

In theory it could be enabled Properties right click, modify the administrator rights, but in some cases it could not afford it, so,

What we do is to seek the same command but under the 64-bit environment, on the route:

C:WindowsSysWOW64

Here we seek Odbcad32.exe command. And indeed, when you run the command we see all the options we hope.