Home / Non-Accredited / Graphic Design & CAD / MicroStation Fundamentals Course (3 days)
Quick Look Course Summary:MicroStation Fundamentals Course (3 days)
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Length: 3 day(s)
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Price (at your venue): 1 Person R 21,125 EX VAT 3 Person R 13,658 EX VAT 10 Person R 9,124 EX VAT
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Certification Type:Non-Accredited
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Locations & Venues: Off-site or in-house. We train in all major city centres throughout South Africa.
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MicroStation Fundamentals Course (3 days)
New MicroStation users draft accurate, well-organised 2D drawings and exchange them with AutoCAD users without fuss.
MicroStation remains a standard drafting platform on many South African infrastructure, utility, rail, mining and engineering projects, and new staff – or draughtspersons who learnt on AutoCAD – often struggle with how differently it works. Structured MicroStation training gets them productive quickly, using the precision tools properly instead of guessing their way through.
This three-day fundamentals course covers 2D drafting from the first session to plotted output. Day one covers the interface and view control, seed files and working units, and the two tools that make MicroStation fast and accurate: AccuDraw and AccuSnap. Day two covers placing and changing elements – arcs, SmartLine, shapes, measurement, attributes, manipulation and modification – plus complex elements, levels, selection and fences. Day three covers cells, hatching and patterning, text styles, dimensions, reference files, plotting, older V7 DGN files and working directly with AutoCAD DWG files.
Each topic is demonstrated, then practised on drawing exercises that build up over the three days. Send us your seed file, cell library or a typical drawing and the facilitator can use them, so delegates learn your office's way of working from the start.
Why this course
For your organisation
- New and cross-trained staff productive on MicroStation sooner
- Accurate drawings that follow your levels, cells and text standards
- Smoother exchange of drawings with consultants who use AutoCAD
- Less time lost to rework and slow, manual drafting habits
For your delegates
- Confidence with AccuDraw and AccuSnap for precise drafting
- A clear method for organising drawings with levels, cells and references
- Practice on every tool, with drawing exercises that build day by day
- Course notes and practice files to keep
What delegates will be able to do
- Set up MicroStation files with the right seed file, working units and preferences
- Control views and move around drawings efficiently
- Draft accurately with AccuDraw and AccuSnap
- Place, measure, manipulate and modify 2D elements
- Organise drawings with levels, selection sets and fences
- Create and place cells, hatching and patterns
- Annotate drawings with text styles and dimensions
- Attach reference files and plot drawings to scale
- Open, edit and save AutoCAD DWG files and older V7 DGN files
Who should attend
Draughtspersons, CAD operators, technicians, engineers and students in engineering, infrastructure, mining, utilities and architecture who are new to MicroStation, including AutoCAD users moving to MicroStation. A working knowledge of technical drawing is required.
Course outline
Day 1 – Interface, views and precision input
Getting started
- Starting MicroStation and opening files
- How MicroStation uses the mouse buttons
- A tour of the interface, tool boxes and tool settings
- Finding answers in Help
Views and navigation
- Working with several view windows
- Zoom, pan, fit and view rotation
- Saved views
- View attributes
Setting up to draw
- How MicroStation writes changes to disk as you work
- Seed files and working units
- Creating a custom seed file for your company
- User preferences worth changing
A first drawing session
- Placing lines, blocks and circles
- Copying, moving and deleting elements
- Undo, redo and saving settings
AccuDraw
- Starting AccuDraw and reading its compass
- Typing exact distances and angles
- Rotating the compass to the view or to an element
- Moving the origin and using smart lock
AccuSnap
- Hover snapping and manual snaps
- Snap modes: keypoint, nearest, midpoint, centre, origin, bisector, intersection, tangent and perpendicular
- Combining AccuDraw and AccuSnap for fast, precise drafting
Day 2 – Drawing, modifying and organising
Arcs, circles and SmartLine
- Placing circles, arcs and ellipses
- SmartLine for mixed lines and arcs
- Rounded and chamfered vertices in SmartLine
Shapes and measurement
- Shapes, orthogonal shapes and regular polygons
- Measuring distance, radius, angle and area
- Using measurements to check a drawing
Element attributes
- Colour, line style and line weight
- Transparency and display priority
- Fills for solid elements
- Changing and matching attributes
Manipulating and modifying elements
- Move parallel, scale, rotate and mirror
- Modifying vertices and segments
- Extending elements and extending to an intersection
- Trim and IntelliTrim
- Fillets and chamfers
Complex elements
- Complex chains and complex shapes
- Regions from overlapping shapes
- Dropping complex elements back to simple ones
Levels, selection and fences
- Levels for overlay drafting
- Level display and the Level Manager
- Creating, deleting and filtering levels; level symbology
- Selecting by attributes
- Fences for working on many elements at once
Day 3 – Cells, annotation, references and output
Cells
- What cells are and when to use them
- Creating and placing cells
- Cell libraries and cell types
Hatching and patterning
- Hatch and crosshatch areas
- Pattern settings and methods
- Associative patterns that follow the boundary
- Snappable patterns
Text and annotation
- Placing and editing text
- Text styles for consistent annotation
- Notes with leaders
- Changing text attributes after placing
Dimensions
- Linear, angular and radial dimensions
- Alignment and association lock
- Arrow and dimension text size
References and plotting
- Attaching and managing reference files
- Choosing the final plot scale early
- The print dialogue, printing and PDF output
Working with other formats
- Opening and saving older V7 DGN files
- Referencing and editing AutoCAD DWG files directly
- DWG work mode and save options
- Saving DGN data as DWG for consultants who use AutoCAD
How it is delivered
Three days, 08:30-16:00. In person at your offices anywhere in South Africa, at a BOTI venue, or live online. One delegate or a group of up to about 20, each working on a computer with MicroStation installed; laptops with the software can be supplied on request. Course notes and practice files included. We deliver it at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and anywhere else in South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online for teams in different places.
What our clients say
“The training courses were efficiently scheduled and planned around our timetable. We were impressed by the quality of training. I look forward to working with Business Optimization Training Institute in the future.”
“We were particularly impressed by the quality of facilitation and the practical relevance of the content presented. The programme was delivered with professionalism, clarity, and a strong emphasis on real-world application.”
“The facilitator effectively encouraged participation and used practical examples, discussions and interactive activities to ensure that the concepts were understood and could be applied in the workplace.”
Frequently asked questions
Can you run the course at our offices?
Yes. We train at your offices anywhere in South Africa, at a BOTI venue, or live online, on your own MicroStation installations or on laptops we supply on request.
How many people can attend?
From one delegate to a group of about 20, each at their own computer. The price per delegate drops as the group grows – see the price table, or ask us for a quote.
Is it accredited?
No – it is a non-accredited short course and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance.
Which version of MicroStation do you train on?
The version your team uses. Tell us when you book, because the interface differs between older V8i installations and the newer ribbon-based releases.
Is there a follow-on course?
Yes. The MicroStation 3D Course builds on these fundamentals with 3D solids, surfaces, drawing composition and rendering.
Can the course use our own standards?
Yes. Send us your seed file, cell library, level standards or a typical drawing and the facilitator builds them into the exercises.
Related courses
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Monday to Friday, 08:00–17:00. After hours, we reply on the next working day – or call 011 882 8853.