Display Prompt at Cursor Pointer


 Product:MicroStation
 Version:CONNECT Edition
 Feature:User Interface

The Situation
Do you find yourself frequently referring to the command prompt to see what information MicroStation is looking for?

Solution

Be more productive by displaying the MicroStation prompt at the cursor pointer.

When working with the various tools and features found in MicroStation, it is very common to frequently refer to the command prompt, located in the lower left corner of the user interface.

And while observing the prompt in the lower-left corner has long been the standard in MicroStation, a new option is available. You can display the command prompt at the cursor pointer by simply setting the value of the configuration variable MS_CURSORPROMPT = 1.

This then displays a Cursor Prompt window that follows the mouse.

Links
    •  YouTube     •  MicroStation Blog     •  MicroStation Help

When working with the various tools and features found in MicroStation, it is very common to frequently refer to the command prompt, located in the lower left corner of the user interface. This prompt helps identify what is needed next and is a part of the three-step rule for working with commands in MicroStation.

Three-Step Rule:

  1. Pick the tool.
  2. Adjust the settings (Tool Settings window).
  3. Follow the prompt.

A pinned ribbon group will display the pin icon. The pinned group is now displayed, regardless of the active ribbon tab.

And while observing the prompt in the lower-left corner of the application window has long been the standard in MicroStation, a new option is available. You can display the command prompt at the cursor pointer by simply setting the value of a configuration variable.

This is accomplished by setting the configuration variable MS_CURSORPROMPT equal to 1 (the default value of this variable is undefined):

MS_CURSORPROMPT = 1

This then displays a Cursor Prompt window that follows the mouse.

Set the MS_CURSORPROMPT configuration variable:

  1. Open the Configuration Variables dialog.
  2. From the Configuration Variables dialog, in the Search field, type Prompt. This will help easily locate the variable to be modified.
  3. From the list of variables, pick MS_CURSORPROMPT. (see Illustration 1)
  4. Click the Edit button.
  5. From the Edit Configuration Variable dialog, in New Value, type 1. (see Illustration 2)
  6. Click OK.
  7. In the Configuration Variables dialog, click OK.
  8. When prompted, in the Alert dialog, click Yes. (see Illustration 3)
  9. Exit and restart MicroStation. It is typically considered a “best practice” to exit and restart MicroStation after setting or modifying a configuration variable.
  10. In the view window, observe the cursor prompt following the mouse. (see Illustration 4)

(Illustration 1)

(Illustration 2)

(Illustration 3)

(Illustration 4)

Note: System Administrators and CADD Managers can set this for multiple users by adding this variable to their overall configuration (such as a corporate or workgroup configuration file), affecting all users that access that configuration file.