1. ProjectWise 101 Chapter 7 - Environments
Gary Cochrane – Technical Director
Geospatial Sales – North America

2. ProjectWise Environments
Provide additional/custom attributes:
For Documents
Appears to user on Document Properties dialog
On tab> Attributes, and More Attributes
As delivered, these tabs are empty, or undefined
Part of ProjectWise deployment is to work with customer to develop these tabs
Also covered in ProjectWise Administrator class

3. Steps involved Plan the Environment Determine what fields are needed
Decide what type and length the fields should be
Create the layout for the Attribute tab
Create the layout for the More Attributes tab
Configure the fields
Establish default values, pick-lists, formatting, etc.

4. Document Attributes / Properties

5. Lab 1a Use PW Administrator to Create new Environment
Log in to PW Administrator using adminpw account
Drill down to Environment category
Right-click, then choose New> Environment
At the Welcome Screen, select> Next
At the Environment Type screen, accept the default, and select> Next
Note: Second option is not implemented…

6. Lab 1b Create new Environment Wizard Name the Environment:
Name> PW-101
Description> PW 101 Class Environment
Select> Next
On the Database table screen
Choose> Create New table (the default)
Name> env_pw101

7. Lab 1c Create New Environment Wizard Designing new table screen
Press the Add button

8. Lab 1d Define the new attribute as follows: Name> drawnby
Enable> Use Native data types
From the data types pick-list
Choose> varchar
For Length, key-in> 64
Press Add
The new attribute appears in the list, but the Add dialog does not close

9. Lab 1e Add a second new attribute
Use all the same parameters, except Name
Name the new attribute> checkedby
Press the Add button
Note: it makes sense to add similar attributes, and then change parameters

10. Lab 1f Add a third attribute Use the following parameters Press Add
Name> drawndate
Type> datetime
Press Add
Note: On datetime type field, length parameter is not available

11. Lab 1g Add a fourth attribute Use the following parameters
Name> checkeddate
Type> datetime
Rather than pressing Add, simply press OK
Since this is the last one
Press Next to continue

12. Lab 1h Environment Settings screen Leave both options unchecked
Press Next to continue
Press Finish to create the Environment
What if we decide later that we need to add more attributes?
Simply select the Environment, and choose to add attributes
Prior to XM version, it was not possible…

13. Lab 2a Designing the Attributes tab First we need to create a name
You can have multiple layouts for the Attributes tab, so each one must have a name
From PW Administrator, select> Interfaces
Right-click, then choose New> Interface
Name the new interface> English-US
Press> OK
Repeat the process to create another new interface
Name> English-UK

14. Lab 2b Define the English-US Attribute tab Drill down to:
Environments> PW-101> Attribute Layout> English-US> Attributes tab

15. Lab 2c Layout the Attributes tab
Right-click in the right-hand pane, then choose:
Add Attributes
Select all 4 fields (use CTRL+click)
Press OK
Now that all fields are added, arrange/size them to suit your taste
See next slide…

16. Lab 2d Change/correct tab order Select Display tab order button
Make corrections as necessary using buttons>
Move Top, Move Up, Move Down, Move Bottom
Turn off tab order when done

17. Lab 2e Aesthetic changes Double-click> drawnby
Properties dialog for the attribute appears
Change to the Interface tab
Change the label text from “drawnby” to “Drawn By:”
Press OK to accept the change
Repeat the process for the remaining attributes

18. Lab 2f Usability Changes Enter default value for Drawn Date:
Double-click Drawn Date
Change to Value tab
Change Default Value type to> System Variable
Pick browse (…) button by System Variable
Choose> $DATETIME$
Press OK to close the dialog

19. Lab 2g Usability Changes Enter default value for Drawn By:
Double-click Drawn By
Change to Value tab
Change Default Value type to> System Variable
Pick browse (…) button by System Variable
Choose> $USER.DESCR$
Press OK to close the dialog

20. Lab 2h Usability Changes Create pick-list for Checked By:
Double-click Checked By
Change to Value tab
Change Value List type to> Fixed
Pick browse (…) button by Fixed values field
Enter Names and Descriptions for list of checkers
Press Add…

21. Lab 2i Creating the pick-list for Checkers After pressing Add
Enter value> King
Description> Jerry King
Press OK, then press Add again
Enter value> Riddle
Description> John Riddle
Press OK
Note: you must order list properly if you want it ordered…

22. Lab 2j Add one more value to list
Select> King in the list, then press Add
Enter value> Bentley
Description> Keith Bentley
Press OK
Note new item appears above previously selected item
Press OK twice more to close properties dialog
Note pick-list on the Checked By item

23. Lab 2k Designate expanded size for button
Grab bottom handle for Checked By button
Drag down to indicate expanded size
(otherwise button won’t expand)

24. Lab 2L Usability Changes Create automatic value for Checked Date:
Double-click Checked Date
Change to Value tab
Change Update Value type to> System Variable
Pick browse (…) button by System Variables field
Choose> $DATETIME$
Then press> OK

25. Creating a triggered update

26. Lab 2m Create the trigger condition We’re done defining attributes!
Set Update field when> Specific attributes are updated
Choose browse (…) button by specific attributes
Choose Checked By and press the “>>” icon
Press OK
Press OK again to close the properties dialog
We’re done defining attributes!

27. Assigning the Environment
The Environment can now be assigned to PW folders
Each PW folder can be associated with an Environment
But only one Environment. In other words, all documents in that folder are subject to the same attributes
Environments are considered an optional setting for the folder
Prior to PW XM, it was mandatory. In other words, you could not create a folder until you had defined at least one Environment.

28. Lab 3a Assign the Environment to a folder
Close and re-open ProjectWise Explorer
Log in as User1
Create a new folder underneath the User1 folder, using the following parameters
Name> Environment Example1
Description> Class Environment Test
Environment> PW-101
Press OK to create the folder

29. Lab 3b Add some files to the new PW folder
Open Windows Explorer, and browse to
C:\PW-101 Class Files\Environments
Drag/drop files A10.dgn & A11.dgn to the new PW folder
Once done, Open Document Properties for the first file
Change to the Attributes tab

30. Document Properties Notes Dialog title reads Drawn By field
Unsaved Default Values
Drawn By field
Should show> User One
Drawn Date field
Today’s date
Checked By field
Does your pick-list work?

31. Lab 3c Populate the attributes
Drawn By and Drawn Date should have default values
Add Attributes for
Approved by> Jerry King
For Approved Date, do not key-in anything
Either click in another field, or
Press Save
The Approved date field should be triggered
Because the Approved by field was populated

32. Lab 3d Save the Attribute changes
Press Save, and then Close the Properties dialog
Repeat the process, adding attributes to document A11.dgn
Did you notice…
The Interface option is now populated?

33. Interfaces A note on Interfaces
We defined the English-US Interface for the PW-101 Environment,
But did not define the English-UK Interface…
Using the Interface pick-list, we can switch on-the-fly
However the fewer interfaces, the better…
Users should not have to constantly switch interfaces

34. Lab 3e Review the Interfaces
Open Document Properties for A10.dgn again
Change to the Attributes tab
Note it no longer says “Unsaved Default Values”
With the Properties dialog still open
Change to the Interface> English-UK
The dialog should be blank
Change back to Interface> English-US
Close the Properties dialog when done

35. Attribute Exchange
ProjectWise has the ability to synchronize Environment fields with placeholders:
In MicroStation files
Using Tag data
In AutoCAD files
Using Blocks with attributes
In Word docs
Using Word custom property fields
And theoretically in Excel docs

36. Attribute Exchange w/ MicroStation
In MicroStation, we need tag data placeholders
Drawings A10.dgn & A11.dgn have this
Let’s take a look
Double-click A10.dgn
Zoom to lower right corner
Choose the MicroStation Tag Edit command (T-2)
Pick any of the yellow text in the titleblock
Record the Tag Set name, and Tag item Names
I’ve done it for you on the next slide…
Exit MicroStation when done

37. MicroStation Tag Set Notes: Tag Set Name Individual tags
tb (in lower case)
Individual tags
description, title2
site1, site2
facility1, facility2
sheet
drawnby, drawndate
approvedby, approveddate
version, scale

38. Lab 4a Configuring Attribute Exchange Open PW Administrator
Log in as adminpw
Drill down to:
Attribute Exchange Rules> MicroStation Title Blocks
Right-click, and choose:
New> Attribute Class
Name the Attribute Class> tb
(it should match the Tag Set name from MicroStation)
Press OK

39. Lab 4b Adding individual attributes
Select the new attribute class (tb)
Then right-click, and choose New> Attribute
We need to tell PW what the placeholder names are within MicroStation, and which PW attribute to map to them
Since our Environment was a quickie, we don’t have a PW match for everthing that was in the DGN file tags
At the Wizard Welcome screen
Choose> Next

40. Lab 4c Create mapping for the description tag
On the Attribute Name screen
Enter> description (remember this was one of the tags in the MicroStation file)
Press> Next
On the Binding the Attribute screen
Press> Add
(we now need to choose which attribute in PW will be mapped to the description tag in MS)

41. Binding the attribute
Choose from standard properties, or Environment properties

42. Lab 4d Bind to Document Properties> Description
Choose the default properties group
Document Properties
Then select> DocDescription
Press OK when done
Press Next to advance the wizard
On the Format screen
Highlight the item, then press Default Format
Press Next
Press Finish

43. Lab 4e Add a binding for Drawn By Select the new attribute class (tb)
Then right-click, and choose New> Attribute
At the Wizard Welcome screen
Choose> Next
On the Attribute Name screen
Enter> drawnby (this is the tag name in the DGN file)
Press> Next
On the Binding the Attribute screen
Press> Add

44. Lab 4f Choose a PW attribute for Drawn By
Choose the Environment properties group
Then select> drawnby
Press OK when done
Press Next to advance the wizard
On the Format screen
Highlight the item, then press Default Format
Press Next
Press Finish

45. Lab 4g Add a binding for Drawn Date
Select the new attribute class (tb)
Then right-click, and choose New> Attribute
At the Wizard Welcome screen
Choose> Next
On the Attribute Name screen
Enter> drawndate (this is the tag name in the DGN file)
Press> Next
On the Binding the Attribute screen
Press> Add

46. Lab 4h Choose a PW attribute for Drawn Date
Choose the Environment properties group
Then select> drawndate
Press OK when done
Press Next to advance the wizard
On the Format screen
Highlight the item, then press Format
Choose a Date format, and press OK
Press Next, and then press Finish

47. More of the same
We could add the rest, but it’s just repetition at this point
So we’ll skip it for the sake of brevity
But we do need to establish when the synchronization between PW and MS will occur

48. Lab 4i In PW Administrator Right-click> MicroStation Title Blocks
Choose Properties
Enable only:
Document is Opened
Press OK

49. Lab 5a Test the Attribute Exchange Close and re-open PW Explorer
Log-in as User1
Navigate to folder> Environment Example1
Open Document Properties for A10.dgn
Enter a better description value
Description> FIRST FLOOR PLAN
Press Save, and Close
Double-click the file to open MicroStation
Exit file, and check-in when done

50. Title Block Notes Attribute Exchange
Is one-way, from PW to MicroStation
Tag edits in MS will be overwritten at the next file open
You can push tag edits back to PW using key-in:
titleblock updatedms
You can also modify PW properties from within MS
Using key-in> titleblock modify

51. Environments made easy
You may export an Environment definition to a text file
Someone else can import it, rather than creating from nothing
You may also Export/Import Title Block mappings

52. Lab 6a Import a previously exported Environment From PW Administrator
Drill down to Environments, right-click, and select Import
Browse to:
C:\PW-101 Class Files\Environments
Select> plant-env aam
Press> Open, then select Close when done
An Environment named Plant is imported:
Including an Interface named> Standard

53. Lab 6b Drill down to look at the new Environment
Environments> Plant> Attribute Layout> Standard
Attributes, and More Attributes
Now import corresponding Title Block Mapping
Right-click Attribute Exchange Rules, choose> Import Mappings
Answer Yes to warning
Browse to folder> C:\PW-101 Class Files\Environments
And choose file> plant-tb-mapping ini
Select> Open

54. Analysis Your mappings were overwritten
But a complete set for the Plant environment was imported
Had the names not conflicted, then the old ones would have been preserved

55. Lab 7a Test the Plant Environment Close and re-open PW Explorer
Log in using User1
Under User1 folder, create a new subfolder:
Name> Environment Plant
Description> Plant Environment Test
Environment> Plant
Press OK to create the folder

56. Lab 7b Import files From Windows Explorer, browse to:
C:\PW-101 Class Files\Environments
Drag/Drop files A1.dgn – A5.dgn into new PW folder
When done, change Interface to> Standard
Scroll through Document Properties for each new document
Specifically the Attributes/More Attributes tabs
What would happen if we opened in MicroStation?
Any values in the file would be overwritten with null values

57. Lab 7c Bulk Attribute Update
Batch mode tool to populate PW from attribute values in DGN (or DWG) files
Open tool from Start menu
All Programs> Bentley> ProjectWise V8i> Idesktop_integration> Attribute Bulk Update
Log in using adminpw account
You’ll need to choose the datasource as well

58. Lab 7d Choose folder: User1/Plant Environment Select> Mark
Will mark all files in the folder for processing
Press Next
Document Summary screen> Press Next
Options screen, accept defaults, press Next
You could create a log file if desired
Perform bulk update screen
Press> Start Update

59. Lab 7e Results screen Press close Return to PW Explorer
Press F5 to update the view
Descriptions should appear
Scroll through Properties dialog for each document
Look at Attributes, More Attributes tabs

60. Lab 8a Import an Environment for Word attribute exchange
From PW Administrator
Right-click Environments, choose Import
Select file> purchase-orders-env aam
Choose Open
Press close when done

61. Lab 8b Import Attribute mapping for Word docs From PW Administrator
Right-click Attribute Exchange Rules, choose Import
Select Yes to continue
Select file> po-tb-mapping ini
Choose Open
Expand MS Office Attribute support
Review results

62. Lab 8c Import files for Word Attribute Exchange
Close and re-open PW Explorer
Log in using User1
Create a new folder as follows:
Name> Environment Purchase Orders
Description> Purchase Orders test
Environment> Purchase Orders
Press OK to create the folder

63. Lab 8d Open Windows Explorer Browse to:
C:\PW-101 Class Files\Environments
Drag/Drop to import file> PO doc
Once imported, open Document Properties
Add some values such as:
P.O. Number, Purchasing Agent, Region/Group
Add some items to be purchased
Quantity, Catalog No., Description, Price
Save and Close properties

64. Lab 8e Test the attribute exchange
Double-click the document to open MS Word
VBA Macro runs at Word startup to perform attribute synchronization (transparently to the user)
Must set Macro security level such that Bentley/PW VBA macros can run
Close Word, and check the file back in

65. Review Topics covered in this Chapter Creating a new Environment
Creating layouts for the Attribute and More Attributes tabs
Assigning the Environment to folders
Importing a pre-existing Environment
MicroStation Attribute (title-block) Exchange
Attribute Bulk Update
MS Word Attribute Exchange