Intergraph Standard File Formats (Element Structure)

The Intergraph Standard File Formats (ISFF) are the file formats common to MicroStation and Intergraph's Interactive Graphics Design System (IGDS). ISFF is now available to the public. This enables Intergraph customers and third-party developers to create custom applications for MicroStation that read and write ISFF format without a license from Intergraph.

Index to Element Types

History of this Document

I gather this was dumped from some word processor into raw text format sometime in the early ninties, and then lived in various places on the net as isff.txt. I am not clear on whether this was intended to be public information. It may have come from an appendix of user documentation, if so I would appreciate it if anyone could contact me and fax or otherwise transmit a copy of the original to me as much was lost in the conversion to raw text.

I (Frank Warmerdam - warmerdam@pobox.com) took the document under my wing circa Nov/2000 converted to HTML (for readability), and started adding notes on reverse engineered portions of the format.

Types of Files

ISFF consists of several types of binary files

Design File Header

The first three elements of the design file are called the design file header. (Do they always appear in the common order 9, 8, 10?)

 Type:                      Stores: 
 
 8. Digitizer setup         Used only by IGDS; it is ignored by MicroStation. 
 
 9. Terminal Control Block  Settings that are saved when FILEDESIGN is executed (File menu/Save 
                            Settings). See the appendix "Terminal Control Block (TCB). 
 
 10. Level symbology        The symbology (color, line style, and line weight) that elements on a 
                            level display with in a view for which Level Symbology is on. 
 

Primitive and Complex Elements

The primitive elements are lines, line strings, shapes, ellipses, arcs, text, and cones.

A complex element is a set of elements that logically forms a single entity.

Complex elements are stored in the design file as a header followed by the component elements. Text nodes, complex chains, and complex shapes are stored in the design file as shown in the illustration at right.

Other complex elements are cells, surfaces, solids, and B-splines. See the sections about those elements for information about how their headers and component elements are arranged in the design file.

The complex element header contains information about the entire set of elements, including the number of component elements. Word 19 of the header contains the total length in words of the component elements plus the number of words following word 19 in the header.

The maximum combined length of the header and all component elements cannot be greater than 65535 words.

Element Representation

This appendix shows the formats for ISFF elements. Each figure shows the components of the element, the member names for each structure, and the word (1 word = 16 bits) offsets for each member. The figure represents the element as it appears in the design file and its internal representation on the VAX, PC (DOS), and Macintosh. This is the only figure that is important to most programmers.

Note: The in-memory format of elements on the Intergraph CLIPPER, Sun SPARC, and Hewlett Packard HP700 differs slightly from the figures in this appendix. Long integers always start on even word boundaries, and double-precision, floating point values always start on four-word boundaries in this format.

Byte ordering

Computers differ in their storage byte order, that is they differ in which byte they consider to be the first of a longer piece such a short or long integer.

In design files:

Floating-point values

All floating-point variables are stored in the design file in VAX D-Float format. MDL and MicroCSL automatically convert floating-point variables to the native format of the CPU in use. Bits are labeled from the right, 0-63.

Insert meaningful explanation of D-Float format here.

Elements not described in this appendix

These element types are not described in this appendix. They are not supported by IGDS and versions of MicroStation prior to Version 4.0. They cannot be manipulated directly and must be accessed with MDL built-in functions.

All of these elements begin with the standard element header and display header. Type 34 is a complex element in which the total length of the definition is given in the word following the display header.

Common Element Parameters

The parameters that are common to one or more elements are explained here.

Element header

The first 18 words of an element in the design file are its fixed header -- containing the element type, level, words to follow, and range information. The C declaration for this header is as follows

 
   typedef struct
      {
      unsigned          level:6              ;            /* level element is on */
      unsigned          :1                   ;           /* reserved */
      unsigned          complex:1            ;          /* component of complex elem.*/
      unsigned          type:7               ;          /* type of element */
      unsigned          deleted:1            ;          /* set if element is deleted */
      unsigned short             words       ;           /* words to follow in element */
      unsigned long           xlow           ;            /* element range - low */
      unsigned long           ylow           ;
      unsigned long           zlow           ;
      unsigned long           xhigh          ;           /* element range - high */
      unsigned long           yhigh          ;
      unsigned long           zhigh          ;
      } Elm_hdr                              ;
In addition, the next several components of all displayable elements are identical. This additional header is defined as follows:

   typedef struct
      {
      unsigned    short grphgrp              ;               /* graphic group number */
      short    attindx                       ;               /* words between this and
                                                                             attribute linkage */
      union
         {
         short s                             ;
         struct
            {
            unsigned       class:4           ;         /* class */
            unsigned       res:4             ;        /* reserved by Intergraph */
            unsigned       l:1               ;       /* locked */
            unsigned       n:1               ;       /* new */
            unsigned       m:1               ;       /* modified */
            unsigned       a:1               ;       /* attributes present */
            unsigned       r:1               ;       /* view independent */
            unsigned       p:1               ;       /* planar */
            unsigned       s:1               ;       /* 1=nonsnappable */
            unsigned       h:1               ;       /* hole/solid (usually) */
            } b                              ;
         } props                             ;
      union
      {
         short    s                          ;
         Symbology   b                       ;
         } symb                              ;
      } Disp_hdr                             ;
 Here, Symbology is defined as:
   typedef struct
      {
      unsigned       style:3                 ;            /* line style */
      unsigned       weight:5                ;           /* line weight */
      unsigned       color:8                 ;            /* color */
      } Symbology                            ;           /* element symbology word 652 */

Element type and level

The first word in the header defines the element's type and level.

The fields in the first word are:

 U        clear if element is active; set if the element is deleted 
 
 Type     number that denotes the element's type 
 
 C        set if the element is part of a complex element; otherwise clear 
 
 R        reserved (equals zero) 
 
 Level    number that indicates the element's level (0-63) 

Words to follow

Word 2 of the element header indicates the number of words in the element excluding words 1 and 2; that is the word count to the next element in the design file (commonly referred to as "words to follow" or "WTF").

For complex elements, this defines the length of the header element only and does not include component elements.

Range

Words 3-14 of the element header contain the six long integers that define the element's range -- its low and high x, y, and z coordinates in absolute units of resolution (UOR). These words are middle endian but also in "offset binary" form. Flip the high order bit to convert to two complement or subtract 2^15.

All points in an element must be completely contained in the design plane.

Graphic group number

Word 15 contains the element's graphic group number. If zero, the element is not in a graphic group. If non-zero, the element is in a graphic group with all other elements that have the same graphic group number.

Index to attribute linkage

Word 16 defines the number of words existing between (and excluding) word 16 and the first word of the attribute data. Attribute data is optional and may or may not be present.

Properties indicator

Word 17 descibes the element's properties

 Bit      Indicates: 
 
 H        For closed element types (shape, complex shape, ellipse, cone, B-spline surface header, and 
          closed B-spline curve header), the H-bit indicates whether the element is a solid or a 
          hole. * 0 = Solid 
          * 1 = Hole 
          For a cell header (type 2), if the H-bit is: 
          * 0 = Header for a cell 
          * 1 = Header for an orphan cell (created by GROUP SELECTION or application) 
          For a line, if the H-bit is: 
          * 0 = Line segment 
          * 1 = Infinite-length line 
          For a point string element, if the H-bit is: 
          * 0 = Continuous 
          * 1 = Disjoint 
          The H-bit has no meaning in other elements. 
 
 S        Whether the element is snappable. 
          * 0 = Snappable 
          * 1 = Not snappable 
 
 P        If a surface is planar or non-planar. 
          * 0 = Planar 
          * 1 = non-planar 
 
 R        Element orientation 
          * 0 = Oriented relative to design file 
          * 1 = Oriented relative to screen 
 
 A        Whether attribute data is present 
          * 0 = Attribute data not present 
          * 1 = Attribute data present 
 
 M        Whether the element has been graphically modified 
          * 0 = Not modified 
          * 1 = Has been modified 
 
 N        Whether the element is new 
          * 0 = Not new 
          * 1 = New (set to 1 when the element is placed) 
 
 L        Whether the element is locked. 
          * 0 = Not locked 
          * 1 = Locked 
 
 4-7      Reserved. 
 
 Class    Represented as follows: 
          0. Primary; 1. Pattern component; 2. Construction element; 3. Dimension element; 4. Primary 
          rule element; 5. Linear patterned element; 6. Construction rule element. 

Element symbology

Word 18 defines the element's symbology (color, line style, and line weight).

 Color             Number (0-255) that indicates the element's color 
 
 Weight            Number (0-31) that indicates line weight 
 
 Style             The line style is represented as follows: 
                   * 0. Solid (SOL) 
                   * 1. Dotted (DOT) 
                   * 2. Medium dashed (MEDD) 
                   * 3. Long-dashed (LNGD) 
                   * 4. Dot-dashed (DOTD) 
                   * 5. Short-dashed (SHD) 
                   * 6. Dash double-dot (DADD) 
                   * 7. Long dash-short dash (LDSD) 

Point coordinates

MicroStation is based on a 32-bit integer design plane. Point coordinates are specified as two or three long integers (for 2D and 3D design files, respectively). Coordinate definitions are assigned by the following C structures

 
   typedef struct
      {
      long     x                             ;
      long     y                             ;
      } Point2d                              ;

   typedef struct
      {
      long     x                             ;
      long     y                             ;
      long     z                             ;
      } Point3d                              ;
Sometimes a point that is not within the design plane needs to be specified. For example, the center point for an arc may be far from the design plane, although the design plane must completely contain the arc. In these cases, points are specified as two or three double-precision (64-bit), floating point values:

   typedef struct
      {
      double      x                          ;
      double      y                          ;
      } Dpoint2d                             ;

   typedef struct
      {
      double      x                          ;
      double      y                          ;
      double      z                          ;
      } Dpoint3d                             ;

Rotation angle (2D) and quaternion (3D)

In 2D design files, rotation is represented by a value, angle, that is counterclockwise from the X-axis. Angle is a long integer with the lower-order bit equal to .01 seconds. The conversion from angle to degrees is expressed as Degrees = Angle/360000.

In 3D design files, an element's orientation is represented by the transformation matrix to design file coordinates. These transformations are stored in a compressed format called quaternions. Quaternions store a 3x3 ortho-normal transformation matrix as four values rather than nine.

The mdlRMatrix_toQuat function (MDL) and the trans_to_quat routine (MicroCSL) generate a quaternion from a transformation matrix. The mdlRMatrix_fromQuat function (MDL) and the quat_to_trans routine (MicroCSL) generate a transformation matrix from a quaternion. See the documentation for these functions for details.

Attribute linkage data

Any element can optionally contain auxiliary data commonly referred to as attribute data or attribute linkage data. This data can consist of a link to an associated database or any other information that pertains to the element.

Attribute data that is not associated with DMRS or a MicroStation-supported database such as Oracle is referred to as a user linkage. A user linkage can co-exist with a database linkage or other user linkages. MicroStation does not attempt to interpret user linkages; these linkages are, however, maintained when MicroStation modifies an element. When an element with a user linkage is copied, the linkage is also copied. Therefore, multiple linkages can occur.

The format of user linkages is described below. As with other linkages, when user linkages are present, the A-bit must be set in the properties word. Individual user linkages cannot exceed 256 words. Multiple user linkages can be attached to an element. The combined length of an element and its linkages must not be greater than 768 words. Considering worst-case element lengths, the length of the linkage area should not exceed 140 words.

User linkages consist of a header word, a user ID word, and user-defined data. The U-bit in the linkage header is set to indicate that the linkage is a user linkage. The ID word should be unique to the software package to which the linkage applies.

Based on reverse engineering selected user linkages I think the following is true of user linkages (see db_link.doc for details of database linkages):

Known User Attribute Linkages

0x0041 - Shape Fill Information

The 0x0041 linkage is used by the Microstation element properties panel to attach fill color information to an element. The fill color is the usual color index. If it differs from the element color the element color is used for outlining after the fill has been applied. If this linkage isn't available for a shape, the shape is not filled.

Start Byte # of Bytes Format Description
0 2 LSB Int16 Header word, always 0x1007.
2 2 LSB Int16 ID code, always 0x0041.
4 4 unknown filler.
8 1 byte Fill color.
9 7 unknown filler.

TCB (Type 9)

TCB apparently standards for Terminal Control Block. This is the first element in a file, and contains a variety of important file wide information. More than one TCB may occur in a file, though it isn't clear to me what purposes additional ones play.

Most of the information in the TCB has not been decoded, but the following key fields are known. Raw integer coordinates in the file must be converted into master user units by dividing by the number of uors per subunit, and the number of master units per subunit.

Start Byte # of Bytes Format Description
0 28 Standard element header.
28 18 various flags
46 1062 9 118 byte ViewInfo structures.
1108 4 DGN Int32 master units per design (?)
1112 4 DGN Int32 Units of resolution per subunit.
1116 4 DGN Int32 Subunits per master unit.
1120 2 char Name of subunits.
1122 2 char Name of master units.
1124 90 unknown
1214 1 byte The 0x40 bit of this byte is 1 if the file is 3D, otherwise 0.
1215 25 unknown
1240 8 VAX Double Global Origin (X) in UORs
1248 8 VAX Double Global Origin (Y) in UORs
1256 8 VAX Double Global Origin (Z) in UORs
1264 272 unknown

Level Symbology (Type 10)

Stores the symbology (color, line style, and line weight) that elements on a level display with in a view for which Level Symbology is on.

The values of the range are zero.

If the high bit in the next-to-last word (yhigh?) of the range is set, then the low three bits are flags for selectively using the three components of the level symobology words.

If the high bit in the next-to-last word of the range is clear, the color, line weight, and line style are used.

The format of each level symbology word is the same as that for Element symbology.

Here, Symbology is defined as:

typedef struct
{
    unsigned       style:3;            /* line style */
    unsigned       weight:5;           /* line weight */
    unsigned       color:8;            /* color */
} Symbology;
Start Byte # of Bytes Format Description
0 28 Standard element header (without Disp_hdr)
28 128 UInt16 64 standard symbology words.

Library Cell Header (Type 1)

Library cell header elements contain information needed to create a cell in a design file. They are found only in cell libraries.

The celltype member indicates the following types of cells:

    0. Graphic cell
    1. Command menu cell
    2. Cursor button menu cell
    3. Function key menu cell (not supported by MicroStation)
    4. Matrix menu cell
    5. Tutorial cell
    6. Voice menu cell (not supported by MicroStation)
The C definition is as follows:

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr           ehdr                 ;            /* element header */
      short          celltype                ;           /* cell type */
      short          attindx                 ;            /* attribute linkage */
      long           name                    ;            /* Radix-50 cell name */
      unsigned short          numwords       ;           /* # of words in description */
      short          properties              ;            /* properties */
      short          dispsymb                ;           /* display symbology */
      short          class                   ;           /* cell class (always 0) */
      short          levels[4]               ;          /* levels used in cell */
      short          descrip[9]              ;            /* cell description */
      } Cell_Lib_Hdr                         ;

Cell descriptions in cell libraries

Each cell description in a cell library is a complex element that contains a library cell header (type 1) followed by component graphic elements.

A cell definition can be nested -- included in another cell. A nested cell definition is stored as a cell header (type 2) that points to a library cell header (type 1). The component elements of a nested cell are not repeated.

When the user places a cell in the design file in IGDS and versions of MicroStation prior to Version 4.0, or as an unshared cell in MicroStation Version 4.0 or later versions, it is placed as a cell header (type 2) followed by its component elements. Each nested cell definition is placed with its cell header (type 2) followed by its component elements.

In MicroStation Version 4.0 or later versions, when the user places the cell in the design file as a shared cell:

Note: Shared cell definition and shared cell instance elements are not described in this appendix. They cannot be manipulated directly and must be accessed with MDL built-in functions.

Cell Header (Type 2)

A cell header element begins

    
   typdef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr           ehdr                 ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr          dhdr                 ;         /* display header */
      unsigned short          totlength      ;       /* total length of cell */
      long           name                    ;         /* Radix 50 name */
      short          class                   ;        /* class bit map */
      short          levels[4]               ;       /* levels used in cell */
      Point2d           rnglow               ;       /* range block low */
      Point2d           rnghigh              ;         /* range block high */
      Trans2d           trans                ;        /* transformation matrix */
      Point2d           origin               ;       /* cell origin */
       } Cell_2d;
       
   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr           ehdr                 ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr          dhdr                 ;         /* display header */
      unsigned short          totlength      ;       /* total length of cell */
      long           name                    ;         /* Radix 50 name */
      short          class                   ;        /* class bit map */
      short          levels[4]               ;       /* levels used in cell */
      Point3d           rnglow               ;       /* range block low */
      Point3d           rnghigh              ;         /* range block high */
      Trans3d           trans                ;        /* transformation matrix */
      Point3d           origin               ;       /* cell origin */
       } Cell_3d;
Each cell header contains an origin (in design file coordinates) and a transformation matrix that describe all manipulations (rotation and scaling) from the cell library definition to the current design file orientation. The transformation matrix is a 2x2 or 3x3 matrix stored as a long integer with the lower-order bit equal to 4.6566E-6 (10,000231).

Note: Shared cells are stored in the design file as shared cell definition and shared cell instance elements. These elements are not described in this appendix. They cannot be manipulated directly and must be accessed with MDL built-in functions.

The radix 50 name field should be interpreted as two separate 16bit radix 50 values producing up to 6 output characters. Radix 50 information is available at various places on the web, and the conversion to ascii is found in dgnlib as the DGNRad50ToAscii() function.

The trans structures are defined as follows.

 
typedef struct 
{
    long    t11;
    long    t12;
    long    t21;
    long    t22;
} Trans2d;

typedef struct
{
    long    t11;
    long    t12;
    long    t13;
    long    t21;
    long    t22;
    long    t23;
    long    t31;
    long    t32;
    long    t33;
} Trans3d;
Corrupt table omitted in html conversion.

Line Elements (Type 3)

Line elements consist of the header information and design plane coordinates of the line endpoints.

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;      /* element header */
      Disp_hdr       dhdr                    ;      /* display header */
      Point2d        start                   ;     /* starting point */
      Point2d        end                     ;    /* ending point */
       } Line_2d;
       
   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;      /* element header */
      Disp_hdr       dhdr                    ;      /* display header */
      Point3d        start                   ;     /* starting point */
      Point3d        end                     ;    /* ending point */
       } Line_3d;

Line String (Type 4), Shape (Type 6), Curve (Type 11), and B-spline Pole Element (Type 21)

Line string, shape, curve, and B-spline pole elements are represented similarly in the design file. The header information is followed by the number of vertices and then the coordinates of each vertex. A maximum of 101 vertices can be in an element of these types. In a shape, the coordinates of the last vertex must be the same as the first vertex. For curves, two extra points at the beginning and end of the vertex list establish the curvature at the ends. Thus, a curve can have just 97 user-defined points.

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr       dhdr                    ;         /* display header */
      short       numverts                   ;        /* number of vertices */
      Point2d        vertice[1]              ;         /* points */
      } Line_String_2d                       ;

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr       dhdr                    ;         /* display header */
      short       numverts                   ;        /* number of vertices */
      Point3d        vertice[1]              ;         /* points */
      } Line_String_3d                       ;
The curve (type 11) element is a 2D or 3D parametric spline curve completely defined by a set of n points. The first two and last two points define endpoint derivatives and do not display. The interpolated curve passes through all other points.

A curve with n points defines n-1 line segments; interpolation occurs over the middle n-5 segments. Each segment has its own parametric cubic interpolation polynomial for the x and y (and z in 3D) dimensions. The parameter for each of these polynomials is the length along the line segment. Thus, for a segment k, the interpolated points P are expressed as a function of the distance d along the segment as follows:

       Pk(d) = {Fk,x(d), Fk,y(d), Fk,z(d)} with 0 <= d <= Dk
Fk,x, Fk,y, and Fk,z are cubic polynomials and Dk is the length of segment k. In addition, the polynomial coefficients are functions of the segment length and the endpoint derivatives of Fk,x, Fk,y, and Fk,z. The subscript k is merely a reminder that these functions depend on the segment.

The cubic polynomials are defined as follows:

    Fk,x = axd3 + bxd2 + cxd + Xk
    cx = tk,x
    bx = [3(Xk+1-Xk)/Dk - 2tk,x - tk+1,x] / Dk
    ax = [tk,x + tk+1,x - 2(xk+1-xk)/Dk] / Dk2
The m variable is analogous to the slope of the segment.

 
 If (|mk+1,x-mk,x| + |mk-1,x-mk-2,x|) <> 0, then:
    tk,x = (mk-1,x|mk+1,x-mk,x| + mk,x|mk-1,x-mk-2,x|)
              / (|mk+1,x-mk,x| + |mk-1,x-mk-2,x|)
 else:
    tk,x = (mk,x+mk-1,x) / 2

 mk,x = (Xk+1 - Xk) / Dk
    
 Fk,y(d) and Fk,z(d) are defined analogously.
NOTE: The original document had else: tk,x = (mk+1,x+mk,x) / 2, which I believe to be in error, and have corrected. Caveat Emptor. See dgnstroke.cpp in the dgnlib distribution for an example of implementing the curve equations.

Text Node Header (Type 7)

Text node header elements are complex headers for groups of text elements, specifying the number of text strings, the line spacing between text strings, the origin of the text node, the node number, and the maximum number of characters in each text string.

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr           ehdr                 ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr          dhdr                 ;         /* display header */
      unsigned short          totwords       ;        /* total words following */
      short          numstrngs               ;       /* # of text strings */
      short          nodenumber              ;         /* text node number */
      byte           maxlngth                ;        /* maximum length allowed */
      byte           maxused                 ;         /* maximum length used */
      byte           font                    ;         /* text font used */
      byte           just                    ;         /* justification type */
      long           linespc                 ;         /* line spacing */
      long           lngthmult               ;       /* length multiplier */
      long           hghtmult                ;        /* height multiplier */
      long           rotation                ;        /* rotation angle */
      Point2d           origin               ;       /* origin */
      } Text_node_2d                         ;

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr           ehdr                 ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr          dhdr                 ;         /* display header */
      unsigned short          totwords       ;        /* total words following */
      short          numstrngs               ;       /* # of text strings */
      short          nodenumber              ;         /* text node number */
      byte           maxlngth                ;        /* maximum length allowed */
      byte           maxused                 ;         /* maximum length used */
      byte           font                    ;         /* text font used */
      byte           just                    ;         /* justification type */
      long           linespc                 ;         /* line spacing */
      long           lngthmult               ;       /* length multiplier */
      long           hghtmult                ;        /* height multiplier */
      long           quat[4]                 ;         /* quaternion rotations */
      Point3d           origin               ;       /* origin */
      } Text_node_3d                         ;

Text node number

Each text node is assigned a unique number (nodenumber). This number is displayed at the node origin when node display is on. Applications can use it to uniquely identify the node.

Line length

The user specifies the maximum number of characters (maxlngth) in a line of text when the node is created. The maximum used (maxused) line length indicates the number of characters currently in the longest text line.

Justification and origin

The justification defines the position of text strings relative to the origin. The origin retained in the design file is the true, user-defined origin. The following justifications are possible

 
 Left/Top (0)                 Center/Top (6)          Right margin/Top (9) 
 
 Left/Center (1)              Center/Center (7)       Right margin/Center (10) 
 
 Left/Bottom (2)              Center/Bottom (8)       Right margin/Bottom (11) 
 
 Left margin/Top (3)                                  Right/Top (12) 
 
 Left margin/Center (4)                               Right/Center (13) 
 
 Left margin/Bottom (5)                               Right/Bottom (14) 

Line spacing

This long integer indicates the number of UORs from the bottom of a text string to the top of the next string.

Complex Chain Headers (Type 12) and Complex Shape Headers (Type 14)

Complex chains (open) and complex shapes (closed) are complex elements formed from a series of elements (lines, line strings, arcs, curves, and open B-Spline curves). A complex chain or complex shape consists of a header followed by its component elements. These structure of the header is identical for both complex chains and complex shapes in 2D and 3D files. The element is a complex shape if the endpoints of the first and last component elements are the same.

 
 typedef struct
   {
   Elm_hdr           ehdr                    ;            /* element header */
   Disp_hdr          dhdr                    ;            /* display header */
   unsigned short          totlength         ;          /* total length of surface */
   unsigned short          numelems          ;           /* # of elements in surface */
   short          attributes[4]              ;            /* to reach min. element size */
   } Complex_string                          ;
Four words of attribute data are included in complex chains and shapes to ensure that they are at least 24 words long, which is the minimum element length required for some Intergraph file processors.

Note that the totlength field is the number of 2byte words following the totlength field to the end of the last shape that is a component in this complex group. It will be the sum of the sizes of the children and the header itself less the 19 words of the header up to the totlength value.

The actual attributes of the complex header can start at word 20, so the attributes[] portion is not necessarily unused. But if there are no real attributes, at least these four bytes of space will still be consumed.

 
 Word                            
 Offset 
 
 0-17   Header                   
 
 18     Words in Description    complex_string.totlngth 
 
 19     Number of Elements      complex_string.numelems 
 
 20     Four Byte               complex_string.attributes 
         
         
 
 21                              
 
 22                              
 
 23                              
 
 24    A                         
       Linkage 

Ellipse Elements (Type 15)

Ellipse elements are specified with a center, rotation angle, and major and minor axes. A circle is an ellipse with the major and minor axes equal. The ellipse element is defined in C as follows

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr       dhdr                    ;         /* display header */
      double         primary                 ;         /* primary axis */
      double         secondary               ;       /* secondary axis */
      long        rotation                   ;        /* rotation angle */
      Dpoint2d       origin                  ;       /* origin */
      } Ellipse_2d                           ;

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr       dhdr                    ;         /* display header */
      double         primary                 ;         /* primary axis */
      double         secondary               ;       /* secondary axis */
      long        quat[4]                    ;         /* quaternion rotations */
      Dpoint3d       origin                  ;          /* origin */
      } Ellipse_3d                           ;

Primary and secondary axes

Ellipse axes are defined by two double-precision floating point values that specify the lengths in UORs of the semi-major and semi-minor axes. The primary axis is not necessarily the longest (semi-major) axis, but rather is the axis whose orientation is specified by the rotation angle or quaternion.

Orientation

The rotation angle or quaternion defines the orientation of the primary axis with respect to the design file coordinate system. The rotation angle should be divided by 360000 to give a value in the range 0-360 degrees.

Origin

The origin (center) of the ellipse is expressed as double-precision floating point coordinates.

Arc Elements (Type 16)

Arc elements are defined by the center, the rotation, start, and sweep angles, and the major and minor axes. The C structure definitions are as follows

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr       dhdr                    ;         /* display header */
      long        startang                   ;        /* start angle */
      long        sweepang                   ;        /* sweep angle */
      double         primary                 ;         /* primary axis */
      double         secondary               ;       /* secondary axis */
      long        rotation                   ;        /* rotation angle */
      Dpoint2d       origin                  ;       /* origin */
      } Arc_2d                               ;

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr       dhdr                    ;         /* display header */
      long        startang                   ;        /* start angle */
      long        sweepang                   ;        /* sweep angle */
      double         primary                 ;         /* primary axis */
      double         secondary               ;       /* secondary axis */
      long        quat[4]                    ;         /* quaternion rotations */
      Dpoint3d       origin                  ;       /* origin */
      } Arc_3d                               ;

Arc parameters

 
 Parameter:          Description  
 
 Primary and         Defined by two double-precision floating point values that specify the lengths 
 secondary axes      in UORs of the semi-major and semi-minor axes. The primary axis is not 
                     necessarily the longest (semi-major) axis, but the axis whose orientation is 
                     specified by the rotation angle or quaternion. 
 
 Orientation         Rotation angle or quaternion defines the orientation of the primary axis with 
                     respect to the design file coordinate system. 
 
 Origin (center)     Expressed as double-precision floating point coordinates. The center itself 
                     need not be within the design plane although the entire arc definition must be 
                     within the design plane. 
 
 Start angle         Expressed in the same format as a 2D rotation angle. It defines the 
                     counterclockwise angle in the plane of the arc from the primary axis to the 
                     starting point of the arc on a unit circle. 
 
 Sweep angle         Represents the sweep of the arc along a unit circle. It is in the same format 
                     as a 2D rotation angle except that the sign bit indicates the direction of 
                     sweep, 0=counterclockwise, 1=clockwise. Note that MicroStation interprets the 
                     special case of a 0d sweep angle as a 360d sweep angle. 
 
 

Text Elements (Type 17)

A text element stores a single line of text. The C structures are as follows.

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr       dhdr                    ;         /* display header */
      byte        font                       ;         /* text font used */
      byte        just                       ;         /* justification type */
      long        lngthmult                  ;       /* length multiplier */
      long        hghtmult                   ;        /* height multiplier */
      long        rotation                   ;        /* rotation angle */
      Point2d        origin                  ;       /* origin */
      byte        numchars                   ;        /* # of characters */
      byte        edflds                     ;       /* # of enter data fields */
      char        string[1]                  ;       /* characters */
      } Text_2d                              ;

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr       dhdr                    ;         /* display header */
      byte        font                       ;         /* text font used */
      byte        just                       ;         /* justification type */
      long        lngthmult                  ;       /* length multiplier */
      long        hghtmult                   ;        /* height multiplier */
      long        quat[4]                    ;         /* quaternion angle */
      Point3d        origin                  ;       /* origin */
      byte        numchars                   ;        /* # of characters */
      byte        edflds                     ;       /* # of enter data fields */
      char        string[1]                  ;       /* characters */
      } Text_3d                              ;
These parameters define the text.

 Parameter:            Description 
 
 Font                  A single byte is used to store the font for a text element. This number 
                       corresponds to the appropriate font definition in the font library. 
 
 Length and height     The basic character size is 6 UORs wide and 6 UORs high (4 UORs of width 
 multipliers           and 2 of spacing). The length and height multipliers specify the scale 
                       factors to be applied to the basic character size to determine the true 
                       size of the text string. The multipliers are stored as long integers with 
                       the lower order bit set. Mirrored text is identified by a negative length 
                       multiplier. The maximum multiplier value is 2,147,483.648 (231/1000). The 
                       maximum text size is therefore 12,884,898 UORs (6 x 2,147,483.648). 
 
 Orientation           The rotation angle or quaternion defines the orientation of a text element 
                       relative to the design file coordinate system. 
 
 Justification and     At the time of placement, the active text justification determines how text 
 origin                is positioned about the user-defined origin. The origin stored in a text 
                       element is always the lower left of the text element. It is necessary to 
                       use the justification value to compute the user-defined origin. There are 
                       nine possible justifications for text elements: 
 
 Enter data fields     Areas within a text element that can be easily modified by the user. Each 
                       enter data field in a text string is specified by three bytes appended to 
                       the element. The first byte specifies the character number in the string 
                       (relative to 1) that is the first character in the enter data field. The 
                       second byte specifies the number of characters in the field. The third byte 
                       defines the justification of the non-blank characters within the field 
                       (-1=left, 0=center, +1=right). Note that if the number of characters is 
                       odd, the first enter data field specification does not lie on a word 
                       boundary, and if there are no enter data fields, there are no specification 
                       bytes. 
 
 
 
 Left/Top (0)               Center/Top (6)             Right/Top (12) 
 
 Left/Center(1)             Center/Center (7)          Right/Center (13) 
 
 Left/Bottom(2)             Center/Bottom (8)          Right/Bottom (14) 
 

3D Surface Header (Type 18) and 3D Solid Header (Type 19)

A surface or solid is a complex 3D element that is projected or rotated from a planar boundary element (line, line string, curve, arc, or ellipse). The surface or solid header precedes an ordered set of primitive elements that define boundaries, cross sections and rule lines.

A solid (type 19) is capped at both ends -- it encloses a volume. A surface (type 18) is not capped on the ends -- it encloses no volume. Surface and solid headers are identical except for their type number. The C definition is as follows:

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr           ehdr                 ;            /* element header */
      Disp_hdr          dhdr                 ;            /* display header */
      unsigned short          totlength      ;          /* total length of surface */
      unsigned short          numelems       ;           /* # of elements in surface */
      byte           surftype                ;           /* surface type */
      byte           boundelms               ;          /* # of boundary elements-1 */
   #ifdef   unix
      short          filler
   #endif
      short          attributes[4]           ;            /* unknown attribute data */
      } Surface                              ;

Method of creation

Each surface or solid header has a type number describing its method of creation.

 For surfaces, the following values are used.
    0=Surface of projection
    1=Bounded Plane
    2=Bounded Plane
    3=Right circular cylinder
    4=Right circular cone
    5=Tabulated cylinder
    6=Tabulated cone
    7=Convolute
    8=Surface of revolution
    9=Warped surface
    
 For solids (capped surfaces), the following values are used.
    0=Volume of projection
    1=Volume of revolution
    2=Volume defined by boundary elements
    
 Word                            
 Offset 
 
 0-17   Header                   
 
 18     Words in Description    surface.totlngth 
 
 19     Number of Elements      surface.numelems 
 
 20     Surface Type            surface.type 
 
 21    A                         
       Linkage 
 

Elements in surfaces and solids

Any line, line string, curve, arc, or ellipse can be a boundary element of a surface or solid. A complex element cannot be a component of a surface or solid. Rule elements are restricted to lines and arcs.

Elements are stored in a surface or solid in a strict order. Boundary elements (class=0) appear first after the surface/solid header. The second boundary element immediately follows the first boundary and is followed by any rule lines connecting the first and second boundary. If additional boundary elements are included they should follow this same pattern with the boundary elements preceding the rule lines that connect it to the previous boundary.

Point String Elements (Type 22)

A point string element consists of a number of vertices with orientations defined at each vertex. They are useful in specialized applications that need to specify orientations as well as point locations, such as a "walk through.

Point strings can be defined as either contiguous or disjoint. Contiguous point strings are displayed with lines connecting the vertices. Disjoint point strings are displayed as a set of discrete points. Both types are placed and manipulated in the same way, but exhibit slightly different characteristics when snapping or locating.

It is impossible to define a point string structure in C because all point locations are stored before any of the orientations.

                       Description 
 
 Range                 The range of the point string element is the range of the points. 
 
 Properties            The H-bit (bit 15) of the properties word indicates the type of point string 
                       (0 = continuous, 1 =  disjoint) for display purposes. The setting of the 
                       planar bit indicates whether the points are coplanar. 
 
 Number of points      The maximum number of vertices allowed in a single point string is 48. A 
                       longer series of points is formed by combining multiple elements in a complex 
                       chain. 
 
 Point coordinates     An array contains the X and Y coordinates for 2D points or the X, Y, and Z 
                       coordinates for 3D points as integer values. 
 
 Point orientations    An array contains the rotation matrices (2D) or quaternions (3D) describing 
                       the points' orientations with respect to the drawing axes. The coefficients 
                       of the matrices, as well as the quaternions, lie within the range of -1 to 1. 
                       These values are stored as signed double-precision integers with the 
                       low-order bit equal to 1/(231-1). Therefore, to convert these coefficients to 
                       floating point, the integers must be divided by 231-1. 

Cone Elements (Type 23)

A circular truncated cone is described by two circles lying in parallel planes in a 3D design file. If the radius of both circles is identical, the cone represents a cylinder. The cone can be skewed by adjusting the positions of the circles. The C structure is

 
   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr       dhdr                    ;         /* display header */
      short       unknown                    ;         /* unknown data */
      long        quat[4]                    ;         /* orientation quaternion */
      Dpoint3d       center_1                ;        /* center of first circle */
      double         radius_1                ;        /* radius of first circle */
      Dpoint3d       center_2                ;        /* center of second circle */
      double         radius_2                ;        /* radius of second circle */
      } Cone_3d                              ;

Cone type

The cone type word describes characteristics of the cone. Valid cone types include

Bits 3-14 of the cone type word are reserved and should be set to zero. Bit 15 indicates whether the cone is a surface or a solid (0=solid, 1=surface).

Parameters

 
Parameters         Description 
 
 Orientation       The orientation for both circles is defined by a single set of quaternions. 
 
 Radii             The radii for the circles are stored as double-precision floating point 
                   values. Either of these values may be zero to cause a pointed cone. 
 
 
 Word                            
 Offset 
 
 0-17   Header                   
 
 18                             cone.rsrv 
 
 19     Quaternion              cone.quat 
         
 
 20                              
 
 21     Q1                       
 
 22                              
 
 23     Q2                       
 
 24                              
 
 25     Q3                       
 
 26                              
 
 27     X1                      cone.center 1 
 
 28                              
 
 29                              
 
 30                              
 
 31     Y1                       
 
 32                              
 
 33                              
 
 34                              
 
 35     Z1                       
 
 36                              
 
 37                              
 
 38                              
 
 39     R1                      cone.radius 1 
 
 40                              
 
 41                              
 
 42                              
 
 43     X2                      cone.center 2 
 
 44                              
 
 45                              
 
 46                              
 
 47     Y2                       
 
 48                              
 
 49                              
 
 50                              
 
 51     Z2                       
 
 52                              
 
 53                              
 
 54                              
 
 55     R2                      cone.radius 2 
 
 56                              
 
 57                              
 
 58                              
 
 59    A                         
       Linkage 

B-spline Elements (Type 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)

Rational, non-rational, uniform, and non-uniform B-spline curves and surfaces are represented in the design file by several different element types.

B-spline curves

Four element types are used to represent B-spline curves. A B-spline Curve Header Element (type 27) stores curve parameters. A B-spline Pole Element (type 21) stores poles. If the B-spline curve is rational, the pole element is immediately followed by a Bspline Weight Factor Element (type 28) that stores the weights of the poles. If the B-spline curve is non-uniform, the knots are stored in a B-spline Knot Element (type 26) immediately following the header. The order of these elements is fixed and is

  1. B-spline Curve Header Element (type 27)
  2. Optional: B-spline Knot Element (type 26) if the curve is non-uniform
  3. B-spline Pole Element (type 21)
  4. Optional: B-spline Weight Factor Element (type 28) if the curve is rational

B-spline Surfaces

Five element types are used to represent B-spline surfaces. A B-spline Surface Header Element (type 24) stores surface parameters. Subsequent B-spline Pole Elements (type 21) store separate rows of poles. If the surface is rational, each pole element is immediately followed by a B-spline Weight Factor Element (type 28). If the surface is non-uniform, a B-spline Knot Element (type 26) immediately follows the header. Finally, if the surface is trimmed, one or more B-spline Surface Boundary Elements (type 25) precede the first pole element. The order of these elements is fixed and must follow the order specified below

  1. Uniform, non-rational surfaces (type 24, 21, 21, 21...)
  2. Uniform, rational surfaces (type 24, 21, 28, 21, 28, 21, 28...)
  3. Non-uniform, non-rational (type 24, 26, 21, 21, 21...)
  4. Non-uniform, rational (type 24, 26, 21, 28, 21, 28, 21, 28...)
  5. Boundary immediately precedes poles (all type 25s must precede type 21, but follow type 26, if present. The order of the elements is fixed and can be either:
        type 24, 25, 25, 25, ... , 21, 21, 21... or
        type 24, 25, 25, 25, ... , 21, 28, 21, 28... or
        type 24, 26, 25, 25, 25, ... , 21, 21, 21... or
        type 24, 26, 25, 25, 25, ... , 21, 28, 21, 28...
    

B-spline curve header (type 27)

A B-spline curve header begins the definition of a B-spline curve and defines parameters describing the curve.

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr           ehdr                 ;            /* element header */
      Disp_hdr          dhdr                 ;            /* display header */
      long           desc_words              ;            /* # of words in descr. */
      struct
         {
         unsigned       order:4              ;            /* B-spline order - 2 */
         unsigned       curve_display:1      ;          /* curve display flag */
         unsigned       poly_display:1       ;           /* polygon display flag */
         unsigned       rational:1           ;            /* rationalization flag */
         unsigned       closed:1             ;           /* closed curve flag */
         unsigned       curve_type:8         ;          /* curve type */
         } flags                             ;
      short          num_poles               ;          /* number of poles */
      short          num_knots               ;          /* number of knots */
      } Bspline_curve                        ;

Range

The range of a B-spline curve is the range of the control polygon. All points on the stroked curve lie within this range.

Curve parameters

A word of data is included that contains various parameters. A number two less than the B-spline order is stored in bits 0-3. Bit 7 is set for closed curves and cleared for open curves. Bit 6 is set for rational B-splines and cleared for non-rational splines. If bit 6 is set, a weight factor element must be included. Bit 5 is set to indicate if display of the polygon is enabled; bit 4 is set if curve display is enabled.

Number of poles

The maximum number of poles is 101.

Number of knots

For uniform B-spline curves, the number of knots is 0. The number of knots stored in the type 26 element for non-uniform B-spline curves is calculated as follows

 #KNOTS = #POLES - ORDER                 (open curves) 
 
 #KNOTS = #POLES -1                      (closed curves) 
 
 Word                            
 Offset 
 
 0-17   Header                   
 
 18     Words in Description    Bspline_curve.dhdr.totlngth 
 
 19                              
 
 20                             Bspline_curve.flags 
 
 21     Number of Poles         Bspline_curve.num_poles 
 
 22     Number of Knots         Bspline_curve.num_knots 
 
 23    A                         
       Linkage 

B-spline surface header (type 24)

A B-spline surface header begins the definition of a B-spline surface and defines parameters describing the surface.

 
   typedef struct bspline_surface
      {
      Elm_hdr           ehdr                 ;            /* element header */
      Disp_hdr          dhdr                 ;            /* display header */
      long           desc_words              ;            /* # words in description */
      struct
         {
         unsigned       order:4              ;            /* B-spline U order - 2 */
         unsigned       curve_display:1      ;          /* surface display flag */
         unsigned       poly_display:1       ;           /* polygon display flag */
         unsigned       rational:1           ;            /* rationalization flag */
         unsigned       closed:1             ;           /* closed U surface flag*/
         unsigned       curve_type:8         ;          /* surface type */
         } flags                             ;
      short          num_poles_u             ;           /* number of poles */
      short          num_knots_u             ;           /* number of knots */
      short          rule_lines_u            ;          /* number of rule lines */
      struct
         {
         unsigned short v_order:4            ;                /* B-spline order - 2
                                 (v Direction) */                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
         short       reserved1:2             ;           /* reserved */
         unsigned       short arcSpacing:1   ;          /* rule lines spaced by
                                 arc length */
         unsigned       short v_closed:1     ;            /*closed curve flag */
         unsigned       short reserved2:8    ;           /* reserved */
         } bsurf_flags                       ;
      short          num_poles_v             ;           /* number of poles */
      short          num_knots_v             ;           /* number of knots */
      short          rule_lines_v            ;          /* number of rule lines */
      short          num_bounds              ;            /* number of boundaries */
      } Bspline_surface                      ;

Range

The range of a B-spline surface is the range of the control polygon. All points on the stroked surface lie within this range.

Surface parameters in U direction

A word of data is included that contains various parameters of the surface in the U direction. Parameters in the V direction are stored in a different word. A number two less than the B-spline U order is stored in bits 0-3. Bit 7 is set for surfaces closed in U and cleared for surfaces open in that direction. Bit 6 is set for rational B-splines and cleared for non-rational B-splines. If bit 6 is set, a weight factor element must follow every pole element. Bit 5 is set to indicate if display of the polygon is enabled; bit 4 is set if the surface display is enabled.

Number of poles in U direction

The maximum number of poles is 101 for each row of the surface, as each row is stored in a separate type 21 B-spline Pole element.

Number of knots in U direction

For uniform B-spline surfaces, the number of stored knots is 0. The number of knots stored in the type 26 element for non-uniform B-spline surfaces is the sum of the number of knots in the U direction plus the number of knots in the V direction. The number of knots in the U direction is calculated as follows

 #KNOTS_U = #POLES_U - ORDER_U                    (surfaces open in U) 
 
 #KNOTS_U = #POLES_U -1                           (surfaces closed in U) 

Number of rules in U direction

The maximum number of rule lines is 256 for each direction of a B-spline surface.

Surface parameters in V direction

A word of data is included that contains various parameters of the surface in the V direction. Parameters in the U direction are stored in a different word. A number two less than the B-spline V order is stored in bits 0-3. Bit 7 is set for surfaces closed in V and cleared for surfaces open in that direction. Bit 6 is set if the rule lines are to be displayed spaced evenly by arc length. It is cleared if the rule line is to be spaced evenly throughout the parameter interval 0.0 to 1.0. The other bits in this word are reserved at this time.

Number of poles in V direction

The is no limit to the number of poles in the V direction of the surface, as each row is stored in a separate type 21 B-spline Pole element. Each row can contain a maximum of 101 poles.

Number of knots in V direction

For uniform B-spline surfaces, the number of stored knots is 0. The number of knots stored in the type 26 element for non-uniform B-spline surfaces is the sum of the number of knots in the U direction plus the number of knots in the V direction. The number of knots in the V direction is calculated as follows

 
 #KNOTS_V = #POLES_V - ORDER_V                    (surfaces open in V) 
 
 #KNOTS_V = #POLES_V -1                           (surfaces closed in V) 

Number of rules in V direction

The maximum number of rule lines is 256 for each direction of a B-spline surface.

Number of boundaries

The total number of boundaries in the surface is stored in this word. This may differ from the total number of type 25 boundary elements stored with the surface as a single boundary may require more than one type 25 element to represent it.

Sense (Inner/Outer) of the boundaries

If the surface contains boundaries, the Bspline_surface.dhdr.props.b.h bit of the display header determines whether the area inside (Bspline_surface.dhdr.props.b.h is FALSE) or outside (Bspline_surface.dhdr.props.b.h is TRUE) of the boundaries is to be removed from the surface. This flag corresponds to the holeOrigin flag of the MSBsplineSurface data structure.

 
 Word                            
 Offset 
 
 0-17   Header                   
 
 18     Boundary Number         Bsurf_boundary.number 
 
 19     Number of Vertices      Bsurf_boundary.numverts 
 
 20     X1                      Bsurf_boundary.vertices[0] 
 
 21                              
 
 22     Y1                       
 
 23                              
 
 24     X2                       
 
 25                              
 
 26     Y2                       
 
 27                              
 
                                 
 
                                 
 
                                 
 
        XN                      Bsurf_boundary.vertices[n-1] 
 
                                 
 
        YN                       
 
       A                         
       Linkage 

B-spline pole element (type 21)

see Line String (Type 4), Shape (Type 6), Curve (Type 11), and B-spline Pole Element (Type 21).

B-spline surface boundary element (type 25)

The format of the B-spline Surface Boundary element is as follows.

   typedef struct bsurf_boundary
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr       dhdr                    ;         /* display header */
      short       number                     ;       /* boundary number */
      short       numverts                   ;        /* number of boundary vertices */
      Point2d        vertices[1]             ;        /* boundary points (in UV space)*/
      } Bsurf_boundary                       ;

Boundary number

This word indicates which boundary of the surface is being represented by this type 25 element. Subsequent type 25 elements may be used to define a single surface boundary by sharing the same boundary number. For example, the first and second type 25 elements in a surface may have a boundary number of 1 assigned to them, while the third, fourth, and fifth type 25 elements may have the boundary number 2 assigned to them. The represented surface would have two boundaries, one defined by two elements, the other defined by three.

Number of points

This word contains the number of points in this boundary element. The maximum number of points in any single boundary element is 151.

Vertices

The coordinates of the points defining the boundary element are stored as double-precision integer values in the U-V parameter space of the surface with the low order bit equal to 1/(231-1). Only integers between 0 and 231-1 are acceptable, giving an effective range of 0.0 to 1.0 in both coordinates.

 
 Word                            
 Offset 
 
 0-17   Header                   
 
 18     Boundary Number         Bsurf_boundary.number 
 
 19     Number of Vertices      Bsurf_boundary.numverts 
 
 20     X1                      Bsurf_boundary.vertices[0] 
 
 21                              
 
 22     Y1                       
 
 23                              
 
 24     X2                       
 
 25                              
 
 26     Y2                       
 
 27                              
 
 
        XN                       
 
                                 
 
        YN                       
 
       A                         
       Linkage 

B-spline Knot element (type 26)

The format of the B-spline Knot element is displayed below.

   typedef struct bspline_knot
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr    dhdr                       ;         /* display header */
      long        knots[1]                   ;     /* knots (variable length) */
       } Bspline_knot;

Knots

For non-uniform B-spline curves and surfaces, the values of the interior non-uniform knots are stored as double-precision integers with the low order bit equal to 1/(231-1). Only integers between 0 and 231-1 are acceptable, giving an effective range of 0.0 to 1.0 for the interior knot values. For non-uniform surfaces, all the interior knots in the U direction are stored before the interior knots in the V direction.

 Word                            
 Offset 
 
 0-17   Header                   
 
 18     K1                      Bspline_knot.knots[0] 
 
 19                              
 
 20     K2                       
 
 21                              
 
                                 
 
                                 
 
                                 
 
        KN                      Bspline_knot.knots[n-1] 
 
                                 
 
       A                         
       Linkage 

B-spline Weight Factor element (type 28)

The format of the B-spline Weight Factor element is

   typedef struct bspline_weight
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr       dhdr                    ;         /* display header */
      long        weights[1]                 ;         /* weights (variable length) */
      } Bspline_weight                       ;

Knots

For rational B-spline curves and surfaces, the values of the pole weights are stored as double-precision integer values with the low order bit equal to 1/(231-1). Only integers between 0 and 231-1 are acceptable, giving an effective range of 0.0 to 1.0 for the weight values. For rational surfaces, each type 21 pole element must be followed by a weight factor element giving the weights of that row of poles.


 Word                            
 Offset 
 
 0-17   Header                   
 
 18     W1                      Bspline_weight.weights[0] 
 
 19                              
 
 20     W2                       
 
 21                              
 
                                 
 
                                 
 
                                 
 
        WN                      Bspline_weight.weights[n-1] 
 
                                 
 
       A                         
       Linkage 

Tag Value (Type 37)

There is a Microstation concept of "tag sets" and "tags" which allows text with a "tag" identifier that is part of a named "tag set" to be stored in DGN files. The tag sets are defined by level 24 application elements (type 66), but type 37 elements are used to hold tag values within a dgn file.

Start Byte # of Bytes Format Description
0 36 Standard element header, including display parameters.
36 4 LSB Int32 tag value
40 2 LSB Int16 version
42 2 LSB Int16 flags
44 24 Not sure, perhaps 2 3d points for positioning?
68 4 LSB Int32 setDefId - Id for the tagset this tag is related to.
72 2 LSB Int16 Tag id - used to find the entry in the tag list of a tag set definition.
74 2 LSB Int16 dataType (1=string, 3=integer, 4=float, 5=attr (4bytes))
76 74 unknown
150 2 LSB Int16 dataBytes
152 2 LSB Int16 newDataBytes
154 variable value

Raster Header Element (Type 87)

Raster data consists of a complex raster header followed by scanline data in raster data elements (type 88). The header element contains the orientation of the image in the design file as well as data format information. The only difference between 2D and 3D raster header elements is the format of the vertices of the clipping polygon.

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr           ehdr                 ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr          dhdr                 ;         /* display header */
      unsigned long           totlength      ;       /* total length of cell */
      Raster_flags            flags          ;        /* misc. raster data*/
      byte           foreground              ;
      byte           background              ;
      unsigned short          xextent        ;
      unsigned short          yextent        ;
      short          reserved[2]             ;
      double            resolution           ;
      double            scale                ;
      Point3d           origin               ;
      unsigned short          numverts       ;
      Point2d           vert2d[1]            ;
       } Raster_hdr2d;

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr           ehdr                 ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr          dhdr                 ;         /* display header */
      unsigned long           totlength      ;       /* total length of cell */
      Raster_flags            flags          ;        /* misc. raster data */
      byte           foreground              ;
      byte           background              ;
      unsigned short          xextent        ;
      unsigned short          yextent        ;
      short          reserved[2]             ;
      double            resolution           ;         /* currently unused */
      double            scale                ;
      Point3d           origin               ;
      unsigned short          numverts       ;     
      Point3d           vert3d[1]            ;
      } Raster_hdr3d                         ;
The raster flags are described in a C structure as follows:

   typedef struct
      {
      unsigned       right:1                 ;
      unsigned       lower:1                 ;
      unsigned       horizontal:1            ;
      unsigned       format:5                ;
      unsigned       color:1                 ;            /* not used by MicroStation */
      unsigned       transparent:1           ;
      unsigned       positive:1              ;            /* not used by MicroStation */
      unsigned       unused:5                ;
      } Raster_flags                         ;

Justification

The justification of a raster element indicates which corner of the element is the origin and the direction of the scan lines. Currently MicroStation supports only raster elements with upper left justification and horizontal scan lines.

Format

MicroStation currently supports three raster formats. Format 1 is straight binary with a single bit for each pixel and format 9 is run length encoded binary. For formats 1 and 9, a foreground and background color is stored in the element and used to determine the color for pixel values of one and zero, respectively. Format 2 stores a byte for each pixel and is used to store color images.

Transparent background

If the transparent bit is set, a raster element has a transparent background and pixels are not set if they are set to the background color.

Background and foreground colors

For format 1 (binary) and 9 (run length binary), the foreground and background colors indicate the color indexes for pixel values of 0 and 1, respectively.

Pixel extents

The x pixel extent is the number of pixels in the raster image along the x axis, and the y pixel extent is the number of pixels along the y-axis.

Device resolution

Unused; reserved for future use.

Pixel to UOR conversion factor

The number of UORs per pixel.

UOR origin

This defines the relative position of the raster image in the design file. It is the coordinate of the origin of the raster data.

Clip box

The clip box for a raster element is drawn prior to the display of the raster data but does not currently affect the raster data display. The display of the clipping box can be omitted by setting the number of vertices to zero.

 Word                            
 Offset 
 
 0-17   Header                   
 
 18     Words in Description    raster_hdr.totlngth 
 
 19                              
 
 20                             raster_hdr.raster_flags 
 
 21                             raster_hdr.foreground.background 
 
 22     X Pixel Extent          raster_hdr.xextent 
 
 23     Y Pixel Extent          raster_hdr.yextent 
 
 24     Reserved                raster_hdr.reserved 
 
 25                              
 
 26     Resolution              raster_hdr.resolution 
 
 27                              
 
 28                              
 
 29                              
 
 30     Scale                   raster_hdr.scale 
 
 31                              
 
 32                              
 
 33                              
 
 34     X Origin                 
 
 35                              
 
 36     Y Origin                 
 
 37                              
 
 38     Z Origin                 
 
 39                              
 
 40     Number of Vertices      raster_hdr.numverts 
 
 41     X1                      raster_hdr.vertice(0) 
 
 42                              
 
 43     Y1                       
 
 44                              
 
 45     X2                       
 
 46                              
 
 47     Y2                       
 
 48                              
                                 
 
        XN                       
 
                                 
 
        YN                       
 
                                 
 
       A                         
       Linkage 

Raster Data Elements (Type 88)

A scan line element contains the pixel information for all or part of a single scan line of raster data. Scan line elements have the same format for the first 18 words. They differ in the actual data stored. The size of an element is limited to 768 words.

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr           ehdr                 ;            /* element header */
      Disp_hdr          dhdr                 ;            /* display header */
      Raster_flags            flags          ;           /* flags */
      byte           foreground              ;
      byte           background              ;
      unsigned short          xoffset        ;
      unsigned short          yoffset        ;
      unsigned short          numpixels      ;
      byte           pixel[1]                ;
      } Raster_comp                          ;

Range

The range block for the scanline includes the spacing around the pixels. Thus, if the pixel to UOR scale is 10, there are 5 pixels in the scanline, and the origin is (0,0), the range is (-5,-5) to (45,5).

Pixel offset

These are the x and y pixel offsets from the origin. Thus, for a raster image with upper left origin and horizontal scanlines, an offset of (0,2) represents the first pixel of the third scanline.

Number of pixels

The number of pixels in the element.

Pixel data

The data that determines the color of each pixel can be stored in several formats. The same format must be used for each scanline in a raster element. The formats supported as of this writing are

 Word                            
 Offset 
 
 0-17   Header                   
 
 18                             raster_comp.raster_flags 
 
 19                             raster_comp.foreground.background 
 
 20     X Pixel Offset          raster_comp.xoffset 
 
 21     Y Pixel Offset          raster_comp.yoffset 
 
 22     Number of Pixels        raster_comp.numpixels 
 
 23                             raster_comp.pixel 

Group Data Elements (Type 5)

Type 5 elements are commonly referred to as group data elements. They store non-graphic data such as reference file attachments and named views. The different type 5 elements are distinguished by level. The type 5 elements used by MicroStation and also supported by IGDS are documented in this section.

Reference file attachment element (type 5, level 9)

Type 5 reference file attachment elements are stored on level 9. They contain all the information necessary to define a single reference file attachment. The C structure is
 
   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr     ehdr                       ;            /* element header */
      Disp_hdr    dhdr                       ;            /*display header */
      short    file_chars                    ;            /* no. of chars. in file spec */
      char     file_spec[65]           /*file specification */
      byte     file_num                      ;           /* file number */
      Fb_opts     fb_opts                    ;            /* file builder options mask */
      Fd_opts     fd_opts                    ;            /* file displayer options mask*/
      byte     disp_flags[16]                ;           /* display flags */
      short    lev_flags[8][4]               ;          /* level on/off flags */
      long     ref_org[3]                    ;            /* origin in ref file uors */
      double      trns_mtrx[9]               ;          /* transformation matrix */
      double      cnvrs_fact                 ;            /* conversion factor */
      long     mast_org[3]                   ;           /* origin in master file uors */
      short    log_chars                     ;          /* characters in logical name */
      char     log_name[22]                  ;          /* logical name (padded) */
      short    desc_chars                    ;            /* characters in description */
      char     description[42]               ;          /* description (padded) */
      short    lev_sym_mask                  ;          /* level symbology enable mask*/
      short    lev_sym[63]                   ;           /* level symbology descriptor */
      long     z_delta                       ;            /* Z-direction delta */
      short    clip_vertices                 ;            /* clipping vertices */
      Point2d     clip_poly[1]               ;          /* clipping polygon */
      } Ref_file_type5                       ;
   typedef struct
      {
      unsigned    multi_attach:1             ;           /* multi-attach */
      unsigned    one_one_map:1              ;            /* 1:1 mapping */
      unsigned    slot_in_use:1              ;            /* slot in use */
      unsigned    upd_fildgn:1               ;          /* update on file design */
      unsigned    db_diff_mf:1               ;          /* database dif than mas file */
      unsigned    snap_lock:1                ;           /* snap lock */
      unsigned    locate_lock:1              ;            /* locate lock */
      unsigned    missing_file:1             ;           /* missing file */
      unsigned    unused:8                   ;           /* unused */
      } Fb_opts                              ;
   typedef struct
      {
      unsigned    view_ovr:1                 ;            /* view override */
      unsigned    display:1                  ;          /* display */
      unsigned    line_width:1               ;          /* lines with width */
      unsigned    unused:13                  ;          /* unused */
      } Fd_opts                              ;
For information about the MicroStation reference file attachment element (type 66, level 5) and when a reference file attachment must be stored as that type rather than a type 5, see MicroStation Application Elements (Type 66).

Named view element (type 5, level 3)

Type 5 elements on level 3 are used to store named views. A named view is created when the SAVE VIEW command is executed.

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr     ehdr                       ;               /* element header */
      short    grphgrp                       ;               /* graphics group number */
      short    attindx                       ;               /* words between this and
                                 attributes */
      short    properties                    ;               /* property bits
                                 (always same) */
      unsigned    num_views:3                ;              /* number    of views */
      unsigned    reserved:13                ;              /* reserved for Intergraph */
      char     viewdef_descr[18]             ;              /* view definition descr. */
      byte     full_scr1                     ;
      byte     full_scr2                     ;
      Viewinfo    view[1]                    ;
      char     rest_of_elem[1]               ;             /* record has variable len. */
      }Named_view_type5                      ;
   typedef struct
      {
      unsigned    fast_curve:1               ;             /* fast curve display */
      unsigned    fast_text:1                ;              /* fast text */
      unsigned    fast_font:1                ;              /* fast font text */
      unsigned    line_wghts:1               ;             /* line weights */
      unsigned    patterns:1                 ;               /* pattern display */
      unsigned    text_nodes:1               ;             /* text node display */
      unsigned    ed_fields:1                ;              /* enter data field underlines */
      unsigned    on_off:1                   ;              /* view on or off */
      unsigned    delay:1                    ;               /* delay on */
      unsigned    grid:1                     ;             /* grid on */
      unsigned    lev_symb:1                 ;               /* level symbology */
      unsigned    points:1                   ;              /* points */
      unsigned    constructs:1               ;             /* line constructs */
      unsigned    dimens:1                   ;              /* dimensioning */
      unsigned    fast_cell:1                ;              /* fast cells */
      unsigned    def:1                      ;
      } Viewflags                            ;
   typedef struct
      {
      Viewflags         flags                ;           /* view flags */
      short       levels[4]                  ;          /* active levels (64 bit array) */
      Point3d        origin                  ;          /* origin (made up of longs) */
      Upoint3d       delta                   ;           /* delta to other corner of view*/
      double         transmatrx[9]           ;            /* view transformation matrix */
      double         conversion              ;            /* conv. from digitizer to uors */
      unsigned    long     activez           ;            /* view active z */
      } Viewinfo                             ;

Color table element (type 5, level 1)

Color table elements are type 5 elements stored on level 1. One color table element can be stored for each screen (left and right). When MicroStation opens a design file it searches for color table elements and adjusts the graphics controller(s) to match the color table found. A byte value is stored for red, green and blue intensities for each element color and the background (0=background + 255 element colors).

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;               /* element header */
      Disp_hdr       dhdr                    ;               /* display header */
      short       screen_flag                ;              /* screen flag */
      byte        color_info[256][3]         ;             /* color table info. */
      } Color_table_type5                    ;

MicroStation Application Elements (Type 66)

Type 66 elements are similar to type 5 elements in that they store non-graphical data. Since the data in a type 66 element is not associated with a level, levels distinguish between types of data. For example, level 8 in type 66 is reserved for digitizing data.

Type 66 elements are not supported by IGDS. Early versions of IGDS may report that the type 66 elements are invalid when MicroStation design files are uploaded to a VAX. This problem was corrected in later versions. In MicroStation, type 66 elements can be deleted from a design file with one of the DELETE66ELEMENTS commands.

MicroStation reference file attachment element (type 66, level 5)

Type 66 reference file attachment elements are stored on level 5. They contain all the information necessary to define a single reference file attachment. The structure is identical to that of the type 5 reference file attachment element, except that some of the values can be different.

A reference file attachment must be stored as a type 66 element if any of the following are true:

MicroStation digitizer element (type 66, level 8)

The digitizing transformation and associated digitizing parameters are stored in a type 66 element on level 8. The C structure is

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;            /* element header */
      Disp_hdr       dhdr                    ;            /* display header */
      Uspoint2d         extentlo             ;           /* bottom left of active area of
                              tablet */
      Uspoint2d         extenthi             ;           /* top right of active area of
                              tablet */
      Uspoint2d         origin               ;          /* origin for the screen-mapped
                              portion */
      Uspoint2d         corner               ;          /* corner for the screen-mapped
                              portion */
      short       defined                    ;            /* TRUE = transform valid */
      double         trans[3][4]             ;           /* trans. from digitizer to dgn.
                              file coords. */
      double         stream_delta            ;          /* sampling delta (UORs) */
      double         stream_tol              ;            /* shortest segment that must
                              be saved */
      double         angle_tol               ;          /* angle above which point must
                              be saved */
      double         area_tol                ;           /* area above which point must
                              be saved */
      short       extrawords[8]              ;            /* currently unused */
      } MicroStation_dig                     ;

MicroStation extended TCB element (type 66, level 9)

A type 66 element on level 9 is used to store MicroStation-specific TCB variables (those that are not supported by IGDS). The C structure is

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;            /* element header */
      Disp_hdr       dhdr                    ;            /* display header */
      double         axlock_angle            ;          /* axis lock angle */
      double         axlock_origin           ;            /* axis lock origin */
      Ext_viewinfo         ext_viewinfo[8]   ;          /* ext'd view info. strucs.*/
      Ext_locks         ext_locks            ;          /* extended lock bits */
      long        activecell                 ;            /* active cell (Radix 50) */
      double         actpat_scale            ;          /* active patterning scale */
      long        activepat                  ;          /* active patterning cell */
      long        actpat_rowspc              ;            /* active patterning row
                                    spacing */
      double         actpat_angle            ;          /* active patterning angle */
      double         actpat_angle2           ;            /* active patterning angle */
      long        actpat_colspc              ;            /* active patterning column   
                              spacing */
      long        actpnt                     ;          /* active point (Radix 50) */
      double         actterm_scale           ;            /* active line terminator
                                    scale */
      long        activeterm                 ;            /* active line terminator */
      short       hilitecolor[2]             ;           /* hilite color for two
                                    screens */
      short       fullscreen_cursor          ;  /* keypoint snap flag */
      short       keypnt_divisor             ;           /* divisor for keypoint
                                    snapping */
      char        celfilenm[50]              ;            /* local cell lib. name */
      short       xorcolor[2]                ;           /* exclusive or color */
      } Mstcb_elm                            ;
The Ext_viewinfo and Ext_locks structures are defined as follows:

   typedef struct ext_viewinfo
      {
      Ext_viewflags ext_flags                ;                    /* extended flags */
      short       classmask                  ;          /* class masks */
      short       unused                     ;          /* reserved for future use */
      double         perspective             ;           /* perspective disappearing
                                 point */
      short       padding[52]                ;           /* reserved for future use */
      } Ext_viewinfo                         ;
   typedef struct ext_viewflags
      {
   #ifndef (mc68000)
      unsigned       fill:1                  ;          /* true if element fill enabled */
      unsigned       unused1:15              ;            /* reserved for future use */
      unsigned       unused:16               ;          /* reserved for future use */
   #else
      unsigned       unused:16               ;          /* reserved for future use */
      unsigned       unused1:15              ;            /* reserved for future use */
      unsigned       fill:1                  ;          /* true = element fill enabled */
   #endif
      } Ext_viewflags                        ;
   typedef struct ext_locks
      {
   #ifndef mc68000
      unsigned       axis_lock:1             ;           /* Axis Lock */
      unsigned       auxinp:1                ;           /* auxiliary input device */
      unsigned       show_pos:1              ;            /* continuous coordinate
                                 display */
      unsigned       autopan:1               ;          /* automatic panning */
      unsigned       axis_override:1         ;          /* override Axis Lock */
      unsigned       cell_stretch: 1         ;          /* cell stretching */
      unsigned       iso_grid:1              ;            /* isometric grid */
      unsigned       iso_cursor:1            ;          /* isometric cursor */
      unsigned       full_cursor: 1          ;           /* full screen cursor (PC only)*/
      unsigned       iso_plane:2             ;           /* 0=Top, 1=Left, 2=Right,
                                 3=ALL*/
      unsigned       selection_set:1         ;          /* enable selection set */
      unsigned       auto_handles:1          ;           /* select elements upon
                              placement */
      unsigned       single_shot:1           ;            /* single shot tool selection */
      unsigned       dont_restart:1          ;           /* set if command doesn't
                                 want to be restarted */
      unsigned       view   Single_shot:1    ;           /* single shot view commands */
      unsigned       snapCnstplane:1         ;             /* snap to construction plane */
      unsigned       cnstPlanePerp:1         ;             /* snap perpendicular to
                              construction plane */
      unsigned       fillMode:1              ;               /* not currently used */
      unsigned       iso_lock:1              ;               /* isometric lock */
      unsigned       unused2:12              ;               /* reserved for future use */
 #else
      unsigned       unused2:12              ;               /* reserved for future use */
      unsigned       iso_lock:1              ;               /* isometric lock */
      unsigned       fillMode:1              ;               /* not currently used */
      unsigned       cnstPlanePerp:1         ;             /* snap perpendicular to
                                 construction plane */
      unsigned       snapCnstplane:1         ;             /* snap to construction plane */
      unsigned       viewSingle_shot:1       ;              /* single shot view commands */
      unsigned       dont_restart:1          ;              /* set if command doesn't want
                                 to be restarted */
      unsigned       single_shot:1           ;               /* single shot tool selection */
      unsigned       auto_handles:1          ;           /* select elements when placed */
      unsigned       selection_set:1         ;             /* enable selection set */
      unsigned       iso_plane:2             ;              /* 0=Top, 1=Left, 2=Right,
                                 3=ALL */
      unsigned       full_cursor: 1          ;           /* full screen cursor (PC only)*/
      unsigned       iso_cursor:1            ;             /* isometric cursor */
      unsigned       iso_grid:1              ;               /* isometric grid */
      unsigned       cell_stretch: 1         ;             /* cell stretching */
      unsigned       axis_override:1         ;             /* override Axis Lock */
      unsigned       autopan:1               ;             /* automatic panning */
      unsigned       show_pos:1              ;               /* continuous coord. display*/
      unsigned       auxinp:1                ;              /* auxiliary input device */
      unsigned       axis_lock:1             ;              /* Axis Lock */
   #endif
      } Ext_locks                            ;

Application startup element (type 66, level 10)

A type 66 element on level 10 is used to automatically start an application when a design file is opened. The C structure is

 
   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr     ehdr                       ;                  /* element header */
      Disp_hdr    dhdr                       ;                  /* display header */
      char     startappcommand[256]          ;                 /* app. command line */
      short    reserved[110]                 ;
      } MicroStation_Startapp                ;

Application data element (type 66, level 20)

Application-specific data is stored in a type 66 element on level 20. The specific element format is at the discretion of the application developer. However, the maximum element size is 768 words, and word 18 must contain the signature value assigned by Bentley Systems, Inc.

The general format is shown as a C structure below.,p>

   typedef struct
      {
      Elm_hdr        ehdr                    ;         /* element header */
      Disp_hdr       dhdr                    ;         /* display header */
      short       signature                  ;       /* assigned signature */
      .  
      .                 /* application data */
      .  
      } Ms_appdata                           ;)

Tag Set Definition (type 66, level 24)

There is a Microstation concept of "tag sets" and "tags" which allows text with a "tag" identifier that is part of a named "tag set" to be stored in DGN files. The actual tag values are stored in type 37 elements, but the definition of tag sets is kept in type 66 (level 24) elements ... tag set definitions.

A tag set has a name, a few poorly understood flags, and a list of tag definitions. Each tag definition includes a name, type, prompt, default value and some flags.

Start Byte # of Bytes Format Description
0 36 Standard element header, including display parameters.
36 8 unknown, usually 0x0100810F00000000.
44 2 LSB Int16 tag count
46 2 LSB Int16 flags?
48 variable string (zero term.) tag set name.
variable 1 zero byte, meaning unknown.

This header section is followed by the following information for each tag defined.

Start Byte # of Bytes Format Description
start+0 variable string (zero term.) tag name.
variable 2 LSB Int16 Tag id.
variable variable string (zero term.) User Prompt
variable 2 LSB Int16 Tag type string (1=string, 3=integer, 4=float)
variable 5 Five zero bytes, meaning unknown.
variable variable variable Default value. If type is 1 this is a zero terminated string. If type is 3 this is an LSB Int32. If 4 it is an 8 byte Vax floating point value.
Tag sets definitions normally have an 8 byte user attribute linkage. The first four bytes are 0x03 10 2f 7d followed by a LSB Int16 tag set identifier number that matches the setDefId value in the tag value element.