2012

Table Of Contents
need to import mapping data created with MicroStation into a site plan created
with an AutoCAD-based product. The DGN data can serve as an accurate
reference for creating the site plan.
NOTE DGNIMPORT is not limited to files with *.dgn extensions. It supports all
DGN files, even those that do not have a .dgn extension.
Understand the Limitations
The DGN import and export capabilities are designed to provide a fundamental
exchange of information between MicroStation V7/V8 DGN files and AutoCAD
DWG files. However, translating data from one format to a completely different
format inevitably require compromises and substitutions.
Simple geometric objects such as lines, arcs, and circles, and properties
such as layer assignments correlate directly between the DWG and DGN
data formats.
Data with built-in features or variations are visually approximated. For
example, text and dimensions might have specialized formatting, and
color definitions might be customized.
Some data cannot be translated completely. For example, product-specific
features such as data fields or dynamic blocks can be represented visually
but not behaviorally.
AutoCAD only supports colors for lines so all entities in the DGN file that
have a color property set for a symbol in MicroStation lose the symbol
color when imported as a block.
When importing DGN files that contain multilines, any linetypes associated
with the multilines do not display.
Ensure that you create uniformly scaled blocks in MicroStation. Entities
with DGN line styles in non-uniformly scaled blocks display differently
in MicroStation.
All line style modifier settings of an element in the DGN file are lost when
exporting them from AutoCAD back to MicroStation.
The closed property of a DGN polygon or closed polyline is automatically
set to No when importing a DGN file into AutoCAD. This is done to ensure
that linetypes display properly.
See the DGNIMPORT Conversion Table for specific details about the scope of
importing MicroStation objects and other data.
1858 | Chapter 37 Work with Data in Other Formats