Microstation Dgn Viewer Free

Convert DGN to DWG. Convert DGN to DXF. Convert DGN to AutoCAD R2.5-2020 DWG/DXF file. Standalone program, AutoCAD and MicroStation are not required. Supports MicroStation DGN V7 and V8. Batch Conversion. Supports Command Line feature.

I (Frank Warmerdam) have implemented a Microstation DGN reading library on contract to Avenza Systems Inc., makers of MAPublisher. The library will be OpenSource (under my usual X/MIT license), portable and callable from C/C++. While it has been incorporated into my OGR Simple Features library, it is also be usable standalone with minimal overhead. The dgnlib library, and thispage of DGN related information are primarily hosted at http://dgnlib.maptools.org.
  1. The review and markup application for DWF files - Autodesk Design Review - can be used also as a free viewer for Microstation DGN files. You only need to install the 'DGN plugin' module for Autodesk Design Review 2008 or 2009 and the.DGN V8 file format (2D) is added to the list of files for import (or for drag-and-drop operations).
  2. This article describes how to work with a MicroStation DGN file in AutoCAD. There are two options to use a DGN file in AutoCAD. Note: DGN functionality is not available within AutoCAD for Mac products. Importing a DGN file Open a DWG file. Enter DGNIMPORT at the command line or go to the application menu Import DGN. Navigate to and select the DGN file. Note: This will convert the DGN.
  3. DGN is the name used for CAD file formats supported by Bentley Systems, MicroStation CAD programs. The DGN format is used in construction projects, including buildings, highways, bridges, process plants, shipbuilding. DGN is a competing format to Autodesk's DWG. Technical details.

DGNLib

DGNLib is a small C/C++ library for reading and writing DGN files.
  • Where can I get the source code?

    dgnlib-1.11.zip: Current standalone sourcewith dgndump example mainline.

  • Does DGNLib support all DGN elements?

    No, but it does support most 2D and 3D elements. Some of the more esotericelements are read in 'raw data mode', but not interpreted. It does support lines, line strings, curves, bsplines, ellipses, arcs, and text elements, as well as extracting color tables, and mastercoordinate information.

  • Does DGNLib support Microstation V8 DGN Files?

    No, they are a substantially different format, and are not recognised atall. The DGNdirect library from the OpenDWGAlliance does support DGN v8.

  • Is it portable?

    Yes, fairly, though as distributed it may be necessary to tweak the cpl_port.h and cpl_config.h files for different platforms. It was developedon Linux for a client deploying on MacOS, and Windows.

  • Does it require alot of memory?

    Generally speaking no. Only one element at a time is kept in memory. Ifthe file is 'indexed' an additional 12 bytes per element is kept in memoryafter a pre-scan, but this isn't required.

  • Does DGNLib include code to draw DGN elements?

    No, but there is a document that tries toindicate how to properly draw DGN elements given the structures returned byDGNLib. The OGR layer re-interprets the drawing information into OGR Feature Styleformat which is understood by some applications such as UMN MapServer.

  • What is the license?

    DGNLib is under my usual MIT/X style open source license. Thus is can beeasily used in commercial, and free products with no concern about licensingissues. See the header of any source file for the full license text.

  • Is there support for writing DGN files?

    Yes, there is preliminary support for writing 2D and 3D DGN files in recent releases.

  • Is there documentation?

    There is a detailed DGN Library API Reference available. There is currently no tutorial style information on how touse the library, but the dgndump.c utility can serve as a limited example.

  • Is further work going on to improve the library?

    The initial project is complete, but I am interested in fixingbugs and adding minor features. Improvements are welcome.

DGN Related Information

  • ISFF/DGN File Format: I have taken the venerableisff.txt description, and am reformatting it in HTML and filling in missing information.
  • Microstation 95/ISFF Description (pdf): Information on the ISFF/DGN file format as distributed with Microstation 95.
  • The most recently committed code is available in GDAL CVS tree.
  • DGN Library API Documentation
  • DGN Feature Representation: info ondrawing DGN elements properly.
  • Intergraph Notes on Database Linkages (also db_link.doc in MS Word format)
  • The dgnlib@yahoogroups.com mailing list is for discussion of general DGN issues as well as dgnlib in particular. The group includes an email archive and can be subscribed from the following subscribe box. Please confirm your interest with meby email if you are using a relatively anonymous email service so I can verify you aren't a spammer.

Other DGN Viewers/Libraries

  • DGNdirect is a library from the Open Design Alliance that supports reading (and to some extent) writing DGNv8 files. It also supports reading DGN v7 files. The Open Design Alliance offers it under quite reasonable (but not Open Source) licensing terms.
  • Bentley itself offers DGN libraries, and tools as part of theirOpenDGN program.
  • GraphStore has a product calledeCADLite that can be used in demo mode as a DGN viewer.
  • Columbus is a freedocument viewer which includes DGN support.
  • AutoVue from Cimmetry.
  • Safe Software's FME product hasexcellent DGN read and write support, and can be used as a standalone product,or FMEObjects acts as a library.
  • My own OpenEV uses dgnlib for DGN support.

Sample Datasets

  • dgnsamp.zip: DGN Samples from Cybertal
  • Ohio DOT Downloads Page
  • Oregon DOT
Microstation

Credits

I would like to thank:Dgn

Free Dgn Viewer

  • Dennis Christopher (and Avenza Systems Inc) for funding this development, and allowing me to release it asopen source.
  • Rodney Jenson who gave me some hints, and moral support.
  • Patrick van Dijk, for information and code related to Quaternion handling.
  • Cybertal Components, whose's OpenDGN based dumping program was helpful to me in testing. Unfortunately, Cybertal does not appear to still be in business.
  • Ason Kang who provided a sample multi-byte text file and code to handle it properly.
  • The various US DOTs and other government organizations who are progressiveenough to provide mapping information directly in DGN format on the web. It'sa great store of sample data.
  • Mike Cane for held with Radix50 names, and support for cell headers.
  • Jeff Smith (Geographic Software Specialists) who funded DGN write support.
  • Jamie Cecchetto (Century Systems) for funding 3D write support.
  • DM Solutions Group for providing the maptools.org site to host this on, and for funding (also thanks to Tyler Mitchell of Lignum) integration intoOGR.
  • Marius Kintel (Systems In Motion) foradding support for reading 3D cone (23), 3D surface (18) and 3D solid (19) elements.