Florida DOT
Working with Google Earth and Shapefiles in
MicroStation Select Series 2 (Webinar)
Frank DeSimone
Senior MicroStation Application Engineer
Instructor Introduction
• Frank DeSimone
• Email frank.desimone@Bentley.com
• Bentley employee for over 6 years
• 30 years experience in the industry with Bentley/MicroStation
and Intergraph 3D CAD Applications
.
Webinar Details
We will cover the Google Earth environment and its integration with
MicroStation. This connectivity allows DGN and DWG models to be
published (used as overlays) in the Google Earth environment.
MicroStation provides data to the Google Earth application as KML (Keyhole
Markup Language) files, which are an XML based data structure.
A “shapefile” is a popular geospatial vector data format for GIS software. It
is developed and regulated by Esri as a standard or open specification for
data interoperability among Esri and other software products such as
MicroStation.
“Shapefiles” store geometric location and associated attribute information
that can be read with the “Item Browser” within MicroStation V8i.
A “shapefile” is actually a set of several files. Three files are Mandatory to
store the core data:
.shp — shape format; the feature geometry itself
.shx — shape index format; a positional index of the feature geometry to allow
seeking forwards and backwards quickly
.dbf — attribute format; columns of attributes for each shape, in dBase IV format
3 | WWW.BENTLEY.COM
Geo-Coordination Tools – let you
specify the position of your design on
the earth’s surface
• A geographic coordinate system (GCS) can be selected from
MicroStation’s extensive library of predefined GCSs.
• Another way is to assign the GCS of an attached reference to
the active model.
• You can also assign the GCS from a model in another design
file to your current model, even if it is not attached as a
reference.
• When a geographic coordinate system is assigned to a model,
that coordinate system appears in the Auxiliary Coordinates
dialog (ACS)
Item Browser
• The Items dialog is used to display the non-graphical items
contained in a DGN file or a Shape file.
• Select File > Item Browser or use the icon on the Primary
Toolbar.
• The Items dialog contains nodes representing the item types
of the data in the file. The nodes group the items by type and
when you expand them, you can see the individual items, or
component instances, contained in the file.
• You can view items in a model by setting highlighting,
zooming, isolation or transparency in the Items dialog. Tools
are at the top of the dialog.
Transparent
Zoom
Highlight
Isolate
Google Earth and MicroStation
• You can export geometric data from MicroStation into
Google Earth and have it geo-located.
• MicroStation provides data to the Google Earth application as
KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files, which are an XML based
data structure.
• MicroStation geometry exported to KML retains the reference
and level structure that is defined in a model.
• First, in Google Earth, create a placemark at the required
location and save it as a KML file, by right clicking the
placemark and selecting Save As.
• Second, in the design, use the Define Placemark Monument
tool to define a monument point that matches the location of
the Google Earth placemark.
• Third, in the design, use the Export Google Earth (KML) File
tool to export to a Google Earth KML or a KMZ file.
Thanks For Attending!
Frank.desimone@bentley.com