Autocad vs Microstation

GAUG Newsletter Vol. 1 No. 4 June 2004
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I’d like to start off by saying that I am not here to
blatantly bash either product, or the users of said
products.
Since these programs are both utilized in the same
industries, and some of our members are multi-platform
users, I felt that this could be an educational address.
I realize that this is a hot topic which tends to inspire
heated debate, since users can be fiercely loyal to the

program that they first learned on (or completely
frustrated with it). But, as anyone who has actually
worked with both programs can tell you, each has their
strong points and their weaknesses.
This article was written with Autocad 2005 and
Microstation V8.5 in mind.
Before we begin, I will put in a little terminology
translation of equivalent entities, for those of us not
familiar with both products:
Autocad Microstation
Layers = Levels
Blocks = Cells
Attributes = Tags
Polyline = Linestring
Linetype = Linestyle
Xref = Reference File
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Cost
AutoCAD Price: $3,470 software $495 for subscription.
(while subscription is not mandatory, Autodesk is
strongly ‘encouraging’ it, by charging a higher price for 2
version upgrades, and dropping upgrade capabilities for
older versions.)
Microstation Price: $4,785 street price; $4,450 for
subscribers to SELECT, Bentley's annual maintenance
program, which costs $625 a year.
(Subscription is mandatory)
Both companies will allow you to download/order trials of
their products before you purchase.
Formats
Autocad can work with dwg format.
(MAP and Revit can open dgn files)
Microstation can work with dgn and dwg.
Autocad can save down to R2000, or R12 via dxf
(of course, some info is lost. There is also a batch R14
converter available as a download from Autodesk’s
website.)
Microstation can save down to any release.
(some info could be lost)
Autocad, on average, makes a file format change every
2

nd
release.
Microstation has had 2 file formats total.
(As an aside, the maintenance employees I work with
had been using Volo View Express from Autodesk for
viewing my files, but, with the file format change in
R2004, Autodesk dropped support for the free viewer.
So, when I upgraded to 2005 from 2002, I switched them
from Autodesk’s viewer to Bentley View. Bentley View is
a free download and will open dgn and dwg files. There
is a learning curve, but, it was easier than getting
administration to pay $99 a pop for a dozen seats of
Volo View for guys who rarely even turn on their pc’s.)
Workplanes and Origins
Autocad has a model space, and a paper space, which
allows you to draw at a 1:1 scale, and plot at a 1:1 scale.
Microstation has a model space equivalent, which
requires that a drawing border be inserted in model
space at a multiplication factor equal to the final scale of
the drawing. (does this make ms users better at math?
I’ve encountered many acad users who have a hard time
with scale factors. I keep a cheat sheet with conversion
factors myself.)
Autocad allows a single model space, and multiple paper
spaces.
Microstation allows multiple model spaces.
The origin of 0,0 is in the lower-left of the drawing in
Autocad.
The origin of 0,0 could be anywhere in a drawing,
perhaps the center.

Scale Factor
1/16" = 1' = 1/192xp
1/8" = 1' = 1/96xp
1/4" = 1' = 1/48xp
1/2" = 1' = 1/24xp
1" = 1' = 1/12xp
1:2 = 1/2xp
1:4 = 1/4xp
2:1 = 2xp
10:1 = 10xp
50:1 = 50xp
My conversion ‘cheat sheet’. I select the viewport and
choose the zoom command, then key in the factor,
GAUG Newsletter Vol. 1 No. 4 June 2004
7 of 10
(example: key in z <enter> 1/96xp to get to a scale of
1/8” = 1’0”)
This is assuming that my page setup of set to plot 1:1
References
Autocad and Microstation both use references (x-refs) in
a similar manner. The obvious only difference that I am
aware of is that an ms drawing can reference itself.
Microstation is touted as being more intuitive with their
referencing, but I don’t have enough experience in that
area to make the statement myself.
Selection
Autocad is rumored to be stronger with OSNAPS, but,
no, I have nothing to back that up with at this time.
But, Microstation does have keypoint snaps (I am
assuming that this is without the bothersome ‘divide’

command, then snapping to nodes, as it is done in
acad).
GUI
I learned Autocad on R10, so, I am still one of those
dinosaurs who uses the command line for everything. I
think that, for me, was the single most intimidating thing
about trying to use Microstation, which is very mouse
intensive.
(Although, in these more enlightened days of toolbars
and palettes, I find that even Autocad users make fun of
me for that habit.)
Layers
Both programs have layers which have associated color,
linestyle and lineweight.
Autocad can have any number of layers with any name.
Microstation has 63 numbered layers, which cannot be
renamed. (you can associate a name with to the level
number if you choose.)
Colors
Until recently, Autocad had a fixed 256-color palette,
now, of course, they have true-color capabilities (you
can create your own standard palette of colors by
creating a color book.)
In Microstation, each drawing has it’s own unique color
table (e.g., color #1 could be blue in one file and
magenta in another).
Acad uses color to define a plotted thickness, but, in ms,
color is pretty much for display purposes only.
Drawing Entities
Both use basically the same types of objects (one of the

few exceptions would be that there is no equivalent to
acad shapes in ms).
Text Styles
Both programs can utilize True Type and also have
proprietary fonts.
Common Features
Electronic Signatures
Standards Checking
Associative Dimensions
Blocks (ms has a 6 character limit for names)
Attributes (ms does not allow blocks which are
comprised only of attributes)
Experienced Autocad users know that there are probably
a dozen different methods to achieve the same end
result, and knowing Microstation would be just like
adding a few more.
In summary, both of these programs have some strong
advantages over the other, depending upon your needs
and working knowledge. This is an important thing to
keep in mind when you have to work with people who
utilize a different program other than what you are
personally experienced with.
Information for this article was taken primarily from the
following two articles:
AutoCad to Microstation Translation
By: L. Michael Siers
Digital CAD
Using Microstation in a DWG World
By: Nigel Davies of CADventure
BentleyUser.org 01/05/04

(Disclaimer: I would like to note that my personal
experience with Microstation is limited to a single
semester in college, and the information in this article
was gleaned from the Bentley website, and the AUGI
discussion forums [comments from forum users
BillyMonter and 149648 sparked my interest in this
topic]. So, if I am at all amiss, please, go easy on me.)
- Melanie Stone works in Facilities Management, and is an AUGI forum
moderator. She can be reached at