User’s Guide

SpecMonitor
Standardize your MicroStation® files as you create
them!

Version 10.0 for MicroStation V10 (CONNECT

Edition)

Axiom™
1805 Drew Street
Clearwater, Florida 33765
727-442-7774 voice
727-442-8344 fax
AxiomInt@AxiomInt.com
www.AxiomInt.com
Page 2 SpecMonitor

Copyright © 1998–2017 Axiom and IntelliProp.

All Rights Reserved.
This document was last modified on 24 August 2017 11:48 AM.

Limited Warranty — (Excerpted from the “Axiom End User Software License
Agreement”, see the full text of your “Axiom End User Software License Agreement”
for complete details.) LICENSEE is advised to test the SOFTWARE thoroughly before
relying on it. The SOFTWARE is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, either
expressed or implied, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of
merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose and the entire risk as to the quality
and performance of the SOFTWARE is with LICENSEE.

Governing Law — This Agreement (“Axiom End User Software License Agreement”)
shall be governed by the laws of the State of Florida, United States of America. Venue
for the resolution of any dispute arising out of this Agreement shall be Pinellas County,
Florida, USA or, if that is not possible, the nearest court of competent jurisdiction
thereto.

MicroStation is a registered trademark of Bentley Systems, Incorporated.

SpecMonitor, SpecChecker and RuleManager are trademarks of IntelliProp.
Axiom is a trademark of IntelliProp.
Table of Contents Page 3

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 — Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 5

The purpose of SpecMonitor --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
SpecMonitor overview ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
SpecMonitor allows you to… -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6
What kind of element characteristics can it check for? ------------------------------------------- 6
Correcting elements automatically -------------------------------------------------------------------- 7
SpecChecker ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8
Using SpecMonitor with SpecChecker --------------------------------------------------------------- 8

Chapter 2 — Installation ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9

General installation information ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 9
Environment variable ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9
Before you install ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9
Typical installation ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10
Congratulations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15

Chapter 3 — Uninstalling -------------------------------------------------------------------- 16

Uninstalling Axiom products ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16

Chapter 4 — Quick Start---------------------------------------------------------------------- 17

Quick Start Objectives --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17
Prerequisites --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17
Demonstration Version -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17
The Basics ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18
When should I use SpecMonitor? -------------------------------------------------------------- 18
SpecMonitor tutorial ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18
The main SpecMonitor dialog box ------------------------------------------------------------- 18

Chapter 5 — Using SpecMonitor ---------------------------------------------------------- 20

Running SpecMonitor --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20
The main dialog box ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20
File --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21
File | Cancel----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21
Help -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21
Help | Contents ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21
Help | About ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21
{Display Report} ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21
The “Please select a rules file to use” dialog box ------------------------------------------------ 22
When a standard is violated (the main SpecMonitor dialog box) ----------------------------- 23
{Ignore} --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23
{Ignore All} ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23
{Reject} --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24
Page 4 SpecMonitor

{Reject All} ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24

{Change} -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24
{Change & Update} ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 24
The Report File ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 25

Chapter 6 — Troubleshooting -------------------------------------------------------------- 26

Important note about creating complex elements ------------------------------------------------ 26

Chapter 7 — We’ll Make (Almost) Any Enhancements You Want -------------- 27

We welcome your suggestions ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 27

Chapter 8 — New Features and Fixes --------------------------------------------------- 28

Version 10.0a — 17 August 2017 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 28
Chapter 1 — Introduction Page 5

Chapter 1 — Introduction

The purpose of SpecMonitor

The purpose of SpecMonitor is to automate Quality Assurance and Quality Control — to
greatly assist you in the creation of standard drawings, without the need for tedious,
costly, time-consuming proofreading and correction after-the-fact. By “standard
drawings” we mean adherence to your CAD drawing standards. This includes, for
example, enforcement of symbology standards.
You may already be familiar with SpecMonitor’s sister product, SpecChecker, which
Axiom released in 1991. SpecChecker is used to perform Quality Assurance checks and
make automatic corrections to batches of files. SpecMonitor is different — it works in
real-time, as the draftsperson works, so that drawings are created properly to begin with.
See the RuleManager User’s Guide for information on how to create a rules file.
Note: RuleManager is able to automatically analyze your design files and generate rules
from them automatically — see your RuleManager User’s Guide

SpecMonitor overview
SpecMonitor performs Quality Control by enforcing drawing standards (rules) as the
operator works. SpecMonitor analyzes each operator drawing action against customer-
defined standards (rules) and reports and prevents violations of those rules.
For example: A draftsperson is placing text describing an item in the design. Company
standards require all text to go on the level “Annotation”. The active level is still set to
the level “Elevation” (where he was just working). He mistakenly places text on the level
“Elevation”. Without SpecMonitor he might go on for hours placing text and never
realize the mistake. With SpecMonitor active, it will notify him immediately that the text
was placed on the wrong level and, with the click of a button, automatically move the
text to the correct level so the error doesn’t occur in the first place. But SpecMonitor
goes further — with the click of a button he can correct the active settings so that
subsequent text placement will be correct.
SpecMonitor does not attempt to define what geometry is appropriate in the design of
maps, highways, buildings or circuit boards. Such details belong to those specific
disciplines and are the essence of our customer’s business expertise.
SpecMonitor’s role is automatic, real-time Quality Control and the enforcement of
customer CAD standards — the details of how MicroStation features are utilized to
design a car, highway, map or building.
Page 6 SpecMonitor

SpecMonitor allows you to…

• Perform Quality Assurance/Quality Control checks automatically while you work.
• Enforce compliance with your CAD standards automatically as new elements are
entered into a design file.
• Correct violations with the click of a button.
• Virtually eliminate tedious proofreading.
• Create user-definable messages so that MicroStation users know exactly what to do
to remedy standards violations.

What kind of element characteristics can it check for?

You can direct SpecMonitor to accept (or reject) design file elements based on virtually
any combination of the following element characteristics:

• Color
• Level
• Weight
• Style
• Priority
• Transparency
• Font
• Element type
• Number of text characters
• Location of the element on the XY plane or within XYZ cube
• The locked property
• Class
• Complex (or not complex)
• Text which matches wildcards or regular expressions
• Cell names which match wildcards or regular expression
• Rotation angle (text nodes, arcs, ellipses) (2D files only)
• Ellipse primary and secondary axes
• Number of vertices
• Range (size) of an element
• Text justification
Chapter 1 — Introduction Page 7

• Number of enter data fields

• If arc or ellipse is circular or not
• Any word value
• Any bit or bits within a word
• Any long value
• Any floating point value
• Text height and width in UORs or master units
• Graphic group number (GRAFIC)
• Fill color

Correcting elements automatically

SpecMonitor can correct the following element characteristics automatically:
• Level

• Color
• Fill (fill color)
• Text Height
• Text Width
• Font
• Text Justification
• Style
• Weight
• Priority
• Transparency
• Class
• Rotation angle (2D files only)
SpecMonitor performs Quality Control automatically upon attempts to place a non-
conforming element. Once SpecMonitor alerts the draftsperson to the problem, it can be
remedied with the click of a button or MicroStation commands.
Carefully proofing a large design file can take a human proofreader a good deal of time
(hours or days). SpecMonitor saves you time by performing the Quality Assurance check
as you work.
Page 8 SpecMonitor

SpecChecker
SpecChecker analyzes drawings after they have been created. SpecChecker performs
Quality Assurance checks on batches of files — it can report violations of your CAD
drawing standards and automatically correct many of the detected standards violations.
This minimizes or eliminates the time-consuming work of human proofreaders.

Using SpecMonitor with SpecChecker

Whereas, SpecChecker will catch the mistakes after they are made, SpecMonitor will
catch them as they occur, and allow your CAD users to correct them on the spot! Use
SpecMonitor while your CAD users are creating and modifying files; then use
SpecChecker to do a final quality check on the designs.
Chapter 2 — Installation Page 9

Chapter 2 — Installation

General installation information

The system administrator has two SpecMonitor installation options. SpecMonitor
permanent installation procedure is outlined in the installation section of the
RuleManager System Administrator’s Guide. Installation of the evaluation version is
described here.

Environment variable
The MicroStation environment variable MS_NOEOF_MSGFILE will be defined during
installation. When MicroStation encounters a corrupt design file a message will be
displayed:
MicroStation cannot open this damaged file. The file must be repaired with FileFixer.
Open a healthy file, and then repair the damaged file with FileFixer.

Before you install

This chapter will walk you through a typical Axiom product installation. These
instructions apply to both MicroStation V8 and V10. Microsoft Office Importer for V8
and V10 are used in these examples, but you can use these instructions for other tools
and multi-tool installers for both MicroStation V8/XM/V8i and V10.
To install one or more Axiom products, you need:

• The Axiom product’s downloaded setup program; and

• A license file for the product(s) you are about to install.

Please shut down all MicroStation sessions on your computer before continuing.
Page 10 SpecMonitor

Typical installation
1. Double-click on the Axiom product’s setup program.
2. A box similar to the following will appear.

For questions about which type of installation is best for you, please call
Axiom Support at 727-442-7774 or e-mail Support@AxiomInt.com.
Chapter 2 — Installation Page 11

3. Choose which type of installation you want to perform. The “Typical” installation is
best for most situations and asks the user to make very few decisions. These
instructions will cover only the “Typical” installation path. Choose “Typical” and
click {Next}.
4. Choose the license file for this installation. Click on “I have a license file somewhere
else.” And press {Next}.
Page 12 SpecMonitor

5. Browse to the “axiom.lic” file wherever you have it saved and click {Open}.
6. The licenses contained in your chosen license file will display in the next box (not
shown here). Click {Next}.
7. It is common for one computer to have more than one instance of MicroStation
installed on it. For example, you might have two versions of MicroStation V8
installed or one V8. If prompted, click on the version of MicroStation you want to
associate your Axiom tools with and click {Next}.
Note: Be sure to choose a MicroStation V8 installation if you are installing V8
Axiom tools and a MicroStation V10 installation if you are installing V10 Axiom
tools.

Be sure to choose a MicroStation V8 installation if you are installing V8 Axiom

tools and a MicroStation V10 installation if you are installing V10 Axiom tools.
Chapter 2 — Installation Page 13

8. Since this is a “Typical” installation, all programs for which an Axiom license was
found will already be “checked-on” to be installed. Other items that are also
automatically “checked-on” for installation are the product User’s Guides, individual
product sample files and Axiom’s MicroStation pull-down menu.

9. To proceed with default selections click {Next}.

Note: Once you reach this point in the setup, you cannot go back to an earlier step.
But you can press {Cancel} and start over if you need to change an earlier selection.
Page 14 SpecMonitor

10. The {Next} button is grayed-out unless you accept the agreement.

11. If you accept the license, please choose “I accept the agreement.” And then click
{Next}.
12. This is the final confirmation box before the installation occurs. If everything looks
okay, press {Install}. You can click {Cancel} at any time during the installation.
Chapter 2 — Installation Page 15

13. Your installation is complete. By default the “View Readme.pdf” option is toggled
on and will display the Readme.pdf document when you click {Finish}.

Congratulations
That’s it! You have successfully completed the installation of your Axiom tools.
Page 16 SpecMonitor

Chapter 3 — Uninstalling

Uninstalling Axiom products

Axiom products can be uninstalled easily through the Windows® Start Menu.

1. Go to {Start}, Programs | Axiom.

2. Select “Uninstall V7 products”, “Uninstall V8 products” or “Uninstall V10
products”, depending on the products you want to uninstall. The uninstall process is
consistent for all three MicroStation families.

3. Choose “Select all.” or “Select components to uninstall.” If you choose “Select

components to uninstall.” then each product in the list can be manually checked or
unchecked. This allows for any combination of products to be uninstalled. Only
installed products will be shown in the list.
Note: At the bottom of the list of products you also have the option to uninstall sample
design files, user’s guides and even the Axiom pull-down menu.

4. Once you’ve made your selections, click the {Uninstall} button to complete the
uninstall process.
That’s it! You have successfully completed the uninstallation of your Axiom tools.
Chapter 4 — Quick Start Page 17

Chapter 4 — Quick Start

Quick Start Objectives

The purpose of this Quick Start is to introduce you to the basic features of SpecMonitor
so that you can immediately use the program.
This Quick Start should take less than 30 minutes.

Prerequisites
1. MicroStation CONNECT 10.01.xx.xx or later.
2. SpecMonitor must be installed on your computer. You can verify this by selecting
the the SpecMonitor icon from the “Axiom” ribbon in MicroStation. If the
SpecMonitor icon or the “Axiom” ribbon does not appear, follow the instructions in
the Installation chapter of your User Guide.
3. You will need some design files to practice with. The sample files that are delivered
with SpecMonitor are used in this quick start.
4. You can run SpecMonitor with any production file.

Demonstration Version
Demonstration versions of SpecMonitor will only work on design files of 100 KB in size
or less. Licensed versions of SpecMonitor do not have this restriction.
Page 18 SpecMonitor

Note: SpecMonitor will remain loaded until you exit MicroStation. If you have a demo
version of SpecMonitor, you may wish to exit MicroStation now.

The Basics

When should I use SpecMonitor?

SpecMonitor’s mission is to ensure design file consistency by requiring that
MicroStation users adhere to standards from the creation of the first design file to the last
element placed.
SpecMonitor starts automatically when MicroStation is loaded and stays hidden in the
background. It comes to the front and notifies users of a standard violation only when
they attempt to place an element that would violate your standards. Once activated,
SpecMonitor can be unloaded only by the System Administrator.

SpecMonitor tutorial
Open the sample file “C:\ProgramData\Axiom\V10\monitor\Sample
Files\Quickstart.dgn” that comes with SpecMonitor. Instructions in this design file will
lead you through the brief tutorial.

The main SpecMonitor dialog box

SpecMonitor continues operating in the background as you work in your design file. If
you want to check the name of the operating rules file, type the word monitor in the
MicroStation key-in area. You will see the SpecMonitor main dialog box.

This box also displays the name of the report file that logs SpecMonitor’s activity.
Press the {Display Report} button to see the report.
You have now seen SpecMonitor in action with a very basic rules files.
Chapter 4 — Quick Start Page 19

The Rule Wizard, a user-friendly component which will help you in creating and
modifying rules files, is accessible via RuleManager. The Rule Wizard is described in
the RuleManager System Administrator’s Guide.
To find out more about various “rules” that you can use with SpecMonitor, see the
RuleManager System Administrator’s Guide.
Page 20 SpecMonitor

Chapter 5 — Using SpecMonitor

After installing SpecMonitor, the system administrator should set up SpecMonitor to load
automatically each time MicroStation is started. These steps are described in the
RuleManager System Administrator’s Guide.
SpecMonitor enforces the rules you define. Rule definition is covered at length in the
RuleManager System Administrator’s Guide.
Note: Axiom’s RuleManager application can generate rules automatically by analyzing
your design files!
The RuleManager System Administrator’s Guide describes how to configure
SpecMonitor so that your users never have to fuss with rules files.

Running SpecMonitor
Once SpecMonitor has been installed it will load automatically when you start up
MicroStation.
In most cases we expect that SpecMonitor will run constantly and invisibly in the
background until some rule is violated.
Note: If you have SpecMonitor running, it will be temporarily disabled when
SpecChecker is opened and will be reactivated when SpecChecker is closed.

The main dialog box

The main dialog box can be viewed by entering “monitor” in the MicroStation key-in
field. This dialog is for information only. It displays the name of the active rules file and
report file.
Chapter 5 — Using SpecMonitor Page 21

File

File | Cancel

This will close the dialog box. It will not unload SpecMonitor.

Help

Help | Contents
This opens the SpecMonitor User’s Guide (in Windows Help format.)

Help | About
This will display an informational box that shows the current version, the license type
and copyright information.

{Display Report}

Push this button to display the SpecMonitor activity report.

Page 22 SpecMonitor

The “Please select a rules file to use” dialog box

When opening a design file and no default rules file was set up by the System
Administrator, the following dialog box appears.

This dialog is useful if you do not have SpecMonitor running automatically on your
machine. You can start up SpecMonitor from the Axiom menu, select a rules file using
this dialog box and have SpecMonitor monitor your work.
Selection of a rules file from this dialog causes SpecMonitor to enforce those rules, but
only until another design file is opened or until MicroStation is exited. This is useful
when first learning about SpecMonitor. The System Administrator can configure
SpecMonitor so that rules are automatically associated with design files and you never
have to fuss with rules file selection.
If you do not specify a rules file, you can only open a design file read-only.
Tip: System Administrators can define a default rules file. Just create rules as usual, but
save them to a file named “default.rul”, and place that file in the directory containing
“monitor.ma”. If you do this, “default.rul” will be used and the above dialog will not
display.
Warning: If you do not specify a rules file, and your design file is opened read-only,
you can still place elements on the screen, but they are not saved and disappear the next
time the screen is updated.
The only indication that you are in read-only mode is the following tiny symbol that may
appear in the corner of the status bar:
Chapter 5 — Using SpecMonitor Page 23

When a standard is violated (the main SpecMonitor dialog

box)
When you attempt to place an illegal element in your design, the following dialog box
displays:

This dialog displays

1. The name of the rules file being enforced (in title bar).
2. The text message that describes the rule that has been violated. (You create this
yourself and put it into the rules file. See the RuleManager User’s Guide for more
information about creating rules.)
3. Six buttons, some of which will be disabled when inapplicable.
4. Any auto-correction that is possible by pressing the {Change} button (this would be
specified in the rules file).
Click one of the non-grayed buttons to close the dialog and resume work.

{Ignore}

The {Ignore} button is inactive by default. If your System Administrator has activated
this feature, press {Ignore} to skip enforcement of the current rule for the current
violation. You will be allowed to place the element despite the rule violation.

{Ignore All}

The {Ignore All} button is inactive by default. If your System Administrator has
activated this feature, press {Ignore All} to skip enforcement of the current rule until the
design file is closed. You will be allowed to place the element (and other elements)
despite the rule violation.
Note: If you select {Ignore All}, that ignored rule will not become active again until the
design file is re-opened.
Page 24 SpecMonitor

{Reject}

Press this button to reject the placement of the element. The element will disappear.

{Reject All}

This applies to multi-element operations. Rather than pressing {Reject} once for each
element (you could be changing hundreds!) press {Reject All} once to reject all queued
elements.

{Change}

Press this button to have SpecMonitor automatically change some attribute of the
element you just placed. The actual change is displayed in the dialog box next to the
label “Correction:.”
Note: Your CAD manager or systems administration defines the correction actions
inside the rules file.
Tip: Shared cells are an unusual case. If SpecMonitor detects a non-conforming shared
cell, it will normally mean an earlier type 34 (shared cell definition) is bad somewhere in
the file and should be recreated or replaced. If a type 35 (shared cell instance) violates
your rule, the corresponding shared cell definition should be replaced manually with
MicroStation’s Tools | Main | Cells | Replace Cells feature. When SpecMonitor detects a
non-conforming shared cell instance (type 35) it will gray out the {Change} button,
allowing you to select {Ignore}, {Ignore All} or press the reset button. This paragraph
applies when you attempt to place a type 35 (shared cell instance), not a type 2 cell.

{Change & Update}

Pressing the {Change & Update} button will not only change the current element but
will also change the active MicroStation setting(s) so they comply with the current
correction statements.
For example, the rule says “all circles must be red, change to red” and you press
{Change & Update}, then not only is the newly placed circle now red, but the active
color in MicroStation is also now red. SpecMonitor’s {Change & Update} function has
the ability to change active angle, area, class, color, fill color, font, level, line style, line
Chapter 5 — Using SpecMonitor Page 25

style name, line weight, text node justification, text height, text justification, and text
width.
Note: With {Change & Update}, the “ANGLE” keyword updates Active Angle when
applied to Text elements only.
The “HBIT” correction keyword updates Active Area Mode (hole or solid).
The “JUSTIFICATION” keyword intelligently updates active text node justification (like
the key-in “active tnj”) only when applied to text node elements. Likewise, it updates
active text justification (like the key-in “active txj”) only when applied to text elements.
Tip: Only those active MicroStation settings that correspond to a correction command in
your active rule statement will be changed. That is, if you only correct color, only the
active color setting will be changed when you press {Change & Update}.

The Report File

Following is an example of a SpecMonitor report file showing what was done while
SpecMonitor was in use:
SpecMonitor 10.0a
Copyright (c) 1991-2017 Axiom
Wednesday, 25 January 2017 at 1:51 pm.
Loading method: USER
C:\ProgramData\Axiom\V10\Monitor\Sample Files\Main.dgn
4000019, ID=0 -- Sorry, only red circles are allowed.
4000020, ID=0 -- Sorry, the rules defined in the active rules file allow
creation of red circles only. <Change> button automatically corrects the
color. <Change & Update> will correct color and update your active settings.
4000021, ID=0 ++ Sorry, the rules defined in the active rules file allow
creation of red circles only. <Change> button automatically corrects the
color. <Change & Update> will correct color and update your active settings.
4000022, ID=0 ++ Sorry, the rules defined in the active rules file allow
creation of red circles only. <Change> button automatically corrects the
color. <Change & Update> will correct color and update your active settings.
REPORT SUMMARY
6 elements checked.
2 elements passed.
0 violation ignored.
2 violations corrected.
2 elements rejected.
The number before the '--' (or '++') indicates the number of the element
which was rejected. The message after the '--' is the rejection message.
If an element is corrected then the '--' will be changed to a '++'.
Page 26 SpecMonitor

Chapter 6 — Troubleshooting

Important note about creating complex elements

When creating complex elements out of existing elements, MicroStation deletes the
existing elements from the design file before creating the new, complex element. If you
push {Reject} or {Reject All} to cause SpecMonitor to prevent the creation of the
complex element, the original existing elements cannot be restored by SpecMonitor. In
this case, use MicroStation’s Undo command to restore the original existing elements.
Chapter 7 — We’ll Make (Almost) Any Enhancements You Want Page 27

Chapter 7 — We’ll Make (Almost) Any

Enhancements You Want

We welcome your suggestions

SpecMonitor is a powerful program. Nonetheless, we realize that you, a skilled and
creative MicroStation user, will think of ways in which it can be improved. We invite
you to tell us your ideas.
For ten years we’ve listened to you, the skilled MicroStation professional, and have
implemented the features you’ve requested. Every widely acclaimed product we’ve ever
developed, including FileFixer, evolved in this manner.
We’d like to make SpecMonitor perform every function you could ever imagine such a
product being able to do. We intend to make you such a satisfied SpecMonitor customer
that you can’t wait for the next user group meeting so you can tell your friends and
associates how much you like SpecMonitor and how strongly you recommend it.
Your suggestions on how to improve SpecMonitor are most welcome.
Page 28 SpecMonitor

Chapter 8 — New Features and Fixes

Version 10.0a — 25 August 2017

New: This is the first release of SpecMonitor for MicroStation CONNECT Edition
(V10)!