| Product(s): | ProjectWise Publishing Server | ||
| Version(s): | 8.1 | ||
| Original Author: | Bentley Technical Support Group |
What is ProjectWise Publishing Server?
ProjectWise Publishing Server is a single solution for working with enterprise-wide project data spanning multiple files and formats. ProjectWise Publishing Server provides instant and universal access to valuable data, without requiring any change to existing workflows.
ProjectWise Publishing Server gives organizations that create or manage engineering drawings, maps and other geoengineering data and images, the ability to automatically publish, on demand, the most up-to-date version of any engineering document. This powerful, server-based application lets you publish MicroStation files (DGN, CEL), AutoCAD drawing files (DWG, DXF) and images over the Internet. No specialized software is required for viewers on the client side; users can use common Web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer.
What is the difference between ProjectWise Publishing Server and Bentley Project Hosting?
ProjectWise Publishing Server is a server product that you can deploy in your own organization for publishing design files (DGN, DWG) and images. Bentley Project Hosting allows project collaboration by sharing any data files, schedules, resource directories, discussions panels and more over a secure project extranet.
Which formats are supported with ProjectWise Publishing Server?
You can publish MicroStation files (DGN, CEL), AutoCAD drawing files (DWG, DXF) and a wide variety of image formats (HMR, iTIFF, TIFF, GeoTIFF, CIT, COT, C29, RLE, TG4, RGB, CALS, JFIF/JPEG, FPX, BMP, PNG, PCX, Targa, Sun Raster, ImageMapped, Image RGB, RLC, PSS, Image Manager projects and Raster Manager projects). When published to the client, this data is converted to industry-standard publishing formats like JPEG, PNG formats, or the Internet Imaging Protocol (IIP).
Which Web browsers does ProjectWise Publishing Server support?
Designs, projects and images can be viewed using many standard Web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer. Standard Web browsers are available for downloading from the Internet. The required version of these browsers will depend on the type of client solution deployed with ProjectWise Publishing Server. ProjectWise Publishing Server offers solutions that will work on many Web browser versions and will maximize server-side processing. As well, you may use the ProjectWise Publishing Server VPR, an ActiveX control requiring Microsoft Internet Explorer browser.
Can I plot data with ProjectWise Publishing Server?
Yes. The client components used with the ProjectWise Publishing Server will allow plotting. If the ProjectWise Publishing Server VPR ActiveX control is used, it will produce high-quality prints of any size, with scale control, on any printer connected to the Windows client. If only a Web browser is used, the Web browser print capabilities allow simple printing.
Can ProjectWise Publishing Server ensure that the projects I publish will only be viewed by authorized persons?
When ProjectWise Publishing Server is used in combination with a Web server, access to published data is determined by the Web server's access control facilities.
Is there a delay between the changes to a design/project/image and when can it be viewed remotely through a browser?
You can dynamically view the changes to a design/project/image as soon as the data is saved and closed. Data is published live when the request is received from the browser, ensuring that you are viewing the latest version.
Will ProjectWise Publishing Server's performance deteriorate as the request load increases?
Performance is automatically scaled for higher transaction volumes by calling idle publishing engines to service as needed. The only limitations are server hardware and connection bandwidth.
What type of clients can be used with ProjectWise Publishing Server?
ProjectWise Publishing Server can be used with a large variety of clients from very light clients such as a simple Web browser, to thicker clients such as customized applications developed for advanced data queries. For large diverse audiences a server-side processing strategy can be used for generating simple image results that are supported by any browser type. If enhanced viewing and performance of the published data is required, then the ProjectWise Publishing Server VPR ActiveX control can be used.
How does licensing work?
Each copy of the ProjectWise Publishing Server software requires a valid license managed by SELECTserver. If ProjectWise Publishing Server is started without such valid license, it will only run for a period of four hours and will stop automatically.
To obtain a license for ProjectWise Publishing Server, visit the Bentley Registration web page or contact the nearest Bentley office. Contact information can be found here.
What is a "Concurrent User" with regards to ProjectWise Publishing Server Licensing?
When a user accesses ProjectWise Publishing Server, they are automatically logged-on and counted as a concurrent user.
That user is holding a concurrent license for a period of 90 seconds. If a user accesses ProjectWise Publishing Server and there are no licenses available, he will be informed and will need to retry the request later. The number of "Concurrent Users" able to be served by the ProjectWise Publishing Server engine will depend on the licensing package you have purchased.
Do I need a Web server to run ProjectWise Publishing Server?
No. ProjectWise Publishing Server is Web-server independent and can be used as a standalone server for serving MicroStation data. In fact, depending on your needs, a Web server may not be necessary. Although ProjectWise Publishing Server can run without a Web server, it is highly recommended to use it in conjunction with one such that HTML can be distributed.
How should I prepare DGN/DWG for publication?
DGN/DWG files can reside anywhere, as long as they are accessible from the computer running ProjectWise Publishing Server. When setting up ProjectWise Publishing Server, a Logical Path should be established, either in the Web server or the ProjectWise Publishing Server Administration Program, to coincide with each directory you wish to publish files from.
How should I prepare Raster data for publication?
Raster files can reside anywhere, as long as they are accessible from the computer running ProjectWise Publishing Server. When setting up ProjectWise Publishing Server, a Logical Path should be established, either in the Web server or the ProjectWise Publishing Server Administration Program, to coincide with all directories you wish to publish files from.
Can I publish with specific MicroStation Workspaces?
Yes. ProjectWise Publishing Server allows specifying any MicroStation Workspace when publishing. It is possible to either associate a file extension (ex: DGN) to a specific workspace, or to add a new query string (wu=) in the request.
What development tools are available for use with the ProjectWise Publishing Server engines?
Various capabilities are offered to developers for customizing and expanding ProjectWise Publishing Server-based solutions. Depending on the architecture of the site and the client's requirements, developers will have the ability to enhance the server components and/or the client components.
Server side: MicroStation engine have rich capabilities for customization and development. For example, MDL applications, MicroStation BASIC macros, key-ins and MicroStation commands can be used for adding various processing at publish time. The ProjectWise Publishing Server Imaging Engine also offers various image processing capabilities in a scripting language called Picture Script Scenes (PSS).
Client side: The ProjectWise Publishing Server VPR ActiveX control component has a complete API.
How can I configure Bentley Publisher for use with Microsoft's IIS?
Documentation for this can be found within the ProjectWise Publishing Server help file at: Administrator Guide/Setting Up ProjectWise Publishing Server/Site Planning -- Web Server Strategy.
See Also
ProjectWise TechNotes And FAQs
External Links
Bentley Technical Support KnowledgeBase
Comments or Corrections?
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