We are working with a new client. They are new to MicroStation and although a number of us consultant firms suggested they work with us before jumping in, that fell on deaf ears. So in addition to badly collected survey data, we are also dealing with an arbitrary coordinate system.

They did supply us with an Esri PRJ file but did not actually provide any shapefiles.

I have looked at the PRJ file and although it is ASCII, I am no GIS expert, not am I deeply familiar with geographic projections. Generally, I know they exist and are heavily used, but as long as my data is in the proper datum, I simply move on.

I could probably spend enough time that I would eventually figure it out, but since Map has native support for shape files and as part of our Bentley Civil products, I now have access to Map, this seemed like the place to go. I already posted a question on creating a custom coordinate system. My problem is, I do not know how to read or what to use from what I read, from the PRJ file to be used in the dialog boxes that make up the custom coordinate system creation process.

So, does anyone have a 1 to 1 explanation of the data in a PRJ file and where it needs to go?

Or is there a way I can open a DGN in MAP, and tell it to use the PRJ file as though it were a shape file, so I can get the data to and from state plane coordinates?

Any suggestions are welcomed. And naturally, the budget has no room for me to spend hours on this process.