This page contains a compilation of the most frequently asked questions posted in the various programming related forums and "Contact Us" submissions.
FAQs
Access to most Bentley product SDKs is reserved only for members of the Bentley Developer Network. This is a Bentley program available to both Bentley SELECT subscribers and industry-related commercial developers of software products. The Bentley Developer Network page on www.bentley.com provides the basic information on this program.
For members of the Bentley Developer Network, most Bentley SDKs are available via the Bentley Fulfillment Center through Bentley CONNECT > Software Downloads. Once you are on the Software Downloads page, from the left hand filters list, select Development Type > SDK.
You must be an active member of the Bentley Developer Network to access the SDKs. If you know your company has a SELECT subscription and is a member of the BDN please contact your Bentley product administrator and request the BDN Download permission for your CONNECT sign-in account. Your administrator can grant you that permission, visit and submit a new My Service Requests, or Contact Us.
Depending on the product, you can write programs in languages such as VBA, .NET all the way to any language supported in Microsoft Visual Studio. Some products, [example here] also support open languages such as PERL scripting but this is less often the case. Special note, although there are ways of developing a program using a non-traditional or open source language, in general, these are not supported by Bentley's Developer Support group. However, given the very active user community you may find help from a fellow user of Bentley product.
No. Bentley product SDK are available only through the Bentley Developer Network. This requires at the very least, a SELECT subscription to at least one Bentley product which is associated to an existing company (corporate, LLC or some other business entity.) The other alternative is to purchase a BDN Commercial subscription, however, the product you are interested in developing undergoes an evaluation process that will likely be rejected due to the lack of a business entity.
Most Bentley SDKs require a valid license for a Bentley product, Microsoft Visual Studio and, of course, the SDK properly installed on your computer. There are a few exceptions to this requirement. If you have a specific product SDK you aren't sure of, leave a question in the General Programming Question Forum.
Good question! Yes there is. First, there is a introductory text book titled "Learning MicroStation VBA" available in the Bentley Institute Bookstore (select the Modeling and Visualization category). There are also programming-related online learning resources available to Bentley LEARN subscribers in BentleyLEARN.
The "Developers and Programming" community here on Bentley Communities is the ideal place to ask your programming related questions. You can start in the "General Programming Questions" forum, or, if one exists, you can post your question to one of several product specific forums. Here is a list of the forums you can try:
To explore career opportunities please visit the "Careers at Bentley Systems" web page. For a list of open positions, click the LEARN MORE link located under the "WORK WITH US" section of the page.
The Bentley Developer Network (BDN) page on bentley.com is a great place to start! You will find detailed information about the products and services provided through this exciting program.