	Product(s):	Promis.e, Bentley Substation
	Version(s):	through 08.11.12.xx
	Environment:	Standalone
	Area:	PowerPlatform Support
	Subarea:	N/A

Problem Description

Symbols and wires that were inserted on-grid suddenly appear to be off-grid. Wires cannot be drawn such that they connect to previously placed symbols.

Reason

This frequently occurs in Promis.e Standalone/MicroStation/PowerDraft and Bentley Substation after the Auxiliary Coordinate System (ACS) was inadvertently activated. This can be done by pressing the F8 function key. Many users are in the habit of using the F8 key to toggle ORTHO or perform other operations on other platforms.

Steps to Resolve

To fix the affected page(s)

Open the page.
From the main pull down menus, select Tools > Coordinate Systems > ACS > Auxiliary Coordinates.
Set the Origin X, Origin Y, and Origin Z (if applicable) values to 0.000. Right-clicking the row where the values are listed and selecting Reset to Global may set all the origin values to 0.000.
Close the Auxiliary Coordinates dialog.

Items inserted before the ACS was activated should be on-grid once again. Newly inserted items may need to be moved or re-inserted.

Repeat this process for other problem pages.

Avoidance

Since V8i SELECTseries 2, the seed files supplied with the software that are used to base new pages on have the ACS origins already set to 0.000, so accidental enabling of the ACS does not cause a problem. However, it is possible to still be using old seed files that specify non-zero ACS origin values after upgrading from older versions. Modify the seed file(s) to set the ACS origins to 0.000.

Determine which seed file(s) to modify. Select [[Options]] > Project Options > Standards > Grid/Snap Settings.
For versions prior to SELECTseries 7, select [[Options]] > Project Options > Default Grid & Snap Settings. Note the file specified in the Seed File column for the affected mode.

Use File > Open to open the seed file.
Follow the steps in the "To fix the affected page(s)" section
Save the seed file.

Repeat this process for remaining seed files.

Another avoidance technique

Since pressing the F8 function key is one way to enable the ACS, remap the F8 key to perform a different function. See [[Assign actions to function keys]].

Original Author:

Matt_P