	Product(s):	Promis.e, Bentley Substation
	Version(s):	through 08.11.13.140
	Environment:	N/A
	Area:	PowerPlatform Support
	Subarea:	N/A

How can I make custom text styles, line styles, dimension styles, display styles, etc. available on every project page or every symbol I create? How can I make a style the default style for various drawing tools?

Background

In general, custom styles can be made available to subsequently created project pages by adding the styles to the seed file, or template, DGN file(s) on which new pages are based. Similarly, symbols are also based on such seed files. This concept also applies to promis.e for AutoCAD, although the tools for working with styles will of course be different than described in this document.

For existing project pages, new styles must be added to each page as needed. It is possible to import text styles and dimension styles from other design files using Style > Import in the Element > Text Styles and Element > Dimension Styles tools respectively.

New styles can be added to existing symbols by enabling the "Apply the seed file when modifying a symbol" option and specifying the "Symbol Creation Seed File" containing the new style on step 1 of the [[Create Symbol]] wizard.

Modifying the text styles included with the software and/or activating such a text style as default is not recommended.

An alternative approach is to add the custom styles to a custom .DGNLIB file. With this approach, the custom styles will be available for use in existing drawings. See the [[Customizing the Interface]] article for information about creating a custom .DGNLIB file.

Steps to Accomplish

This example will use the example of a custom text style, but the concept applies to other styles as well.

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 mode in which the style is to be available.

Create the style in the seed file

Make a backup copy of the seed file noted in the previous section. This file should reside in the:
- "\[[Promise Data folder|Promise Data]]\Templates\Page" folder if using Promis.e
- "\[[Substation Data folder|Substation Data]]\Templates\Page" folder if using Bentley Substation
Select File > Open from the main pull down menus and open the seed file.
Use Element > Text Style to create a text style with the desired settings. See MicroStation Help for details. Modifying a text style supplied with the software is not recommended.

Make the style the default style (optional)

On the Text Styles dialog, right click the new text style and select "Activate" from the context menu. This makes it the default style.

Activating a text style supplied with the software is not recommended.

In versions 08.11.12.47 - 08.11.12.137, activating a text style was found to cause error messages and other problems when trying to assign wire numbers on pages with an activated text style. In these version, setting a text style as the default style is not recommended; leave "Style (none)" as the active text style.

Save the style and seed file

On the Text Styles dialog, select Style > Save All.
Close the Text Styles dialog.
Select File > Save Settings.
Select File > Save.

Test the availability of the style

Use [[Project Manager]] to create a new page. Be sure the Initial Mode field on the New Page dialog is set to a mode that uses the modified seed file (see the "Determine which seed file(s) to modify" section).
Select the Place Text tool from the Drawing Task group.

If the style was activated in the "Make the style the default style" section, it should automatically be the active style specified in the Text Style field on the Place Text settings box. Otherwise, the custom style should now be available for selection in this field.

Make custom styles available for all pages, symbols