January 18, 2018 1
MicroStation Workflow Using Axiom Microsoft Office Importer
Table of Contents
MicroStation Workflow Using Axiom Microsoft Office Importer ................................................................. 1
Introduction: ............................................................................................................................................. 1
Copying Data from Excel or Word: ........................................................................................................... 1
Setup .INI Settings Files: ............................................................................................................................ 3
Pasting the Data into MicroStation: ......................................................................................................... 3
Updating the MicroStation data: .............................................................................................................. 6
Introduction:
Axiom Microsoft Office Importer can import data from Microsoft Excel spreadsheets or Word
documents, for example: seeding schedules, girder schedules, storm water ID markers or general notes.
Changes made in Excel or Word can be updated very quickly in MicroStation.
Copying Data from Excel or Word:
There are templates available for various types of tables.
When the Excel or Word file has been formatted by the designer, confirm that the fonts and text sizes
are correct. The fonts and text sizes are:
Title of table – Lucida Sans Unicode – 12 point
Data subtitles – Lucida Sans Unicode (may be italic) – 10 point
Data input – Lucida Sans Unicode Italic – 10 point
The Excel spreadsheet templates have been set up to accommodate the height and width for the rows
and columns after font conversion in MicroStation. Adjustments to the column widths and row height in
the Excel file can be made if needed.
Add a “hard” return at the end of Word documents. New lines of text must be inserted above the
return. Text added after the return will not be “seen” by Axiom and the text must be re-pasted.
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Important notes about fractions:
In Excel, the cell has to be formatted to Fraction to stack the fractions when pasted into MicroStation.
In Word, Axiom doesn’t play well with stacked fractions, so you will need to remove the stacked fraction
formatting.
This pull-down will show
when you hover over the line
under the fraction has a
selection to “Undo Fraction “
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When the edits are done, select the data that you want to import and select Copy from the Home tab or
right click and select Copy to put the data in the clipboard. Keep your Excel or Word file open or your
information will not paste correctly into MicroStation.
Setup .INI Settings Files:
Copy the settings file TTAxiom.ini into your /ODOT_DATA/USERCFG/data folder.
Pasting the Data into MicroStation:
Open your MicroStation plan sheet file, go to the ODOT menu and launch the Axiom Office Importer.
The Axiom Microsoft Office Importer tool bar has 6 icons.
Paste clipboard data into MicroStation
Paste Excel charts into MicroStation
Edit – a linked source document
Manage – an existing link
List – all links in active model
Settings – Open the Settings box
Paste clipboard data into MicroStation - pastes copied data from the clipboard into MicroStation.
Paste Excel charts into MicroStation (Excel charts only) - pastes an Excel chart from the clipboard into
MicroStation.
Edit – opens the Excel document that was previously imported into MicroStation for editing.
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Manage – allows you to change the link properties of the pasted elements in the MicroStation file.
List – lists all the Office Importer links in the active model and has buttons that allow you to perform
various functions for the highlighted link.
Settings – is where you import the file to set the text, line and placement parameters.
Click on the Settings icon.
In the Settings dialog select File>Load Settings. Find the .ini file:
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Click the Size tab and select the scale of your sheet. (NOTE: Some scales are used with an Architectural
Scale (Bridge sheets) exclusively (e.g. 3/16”=1’-0”). Make sure the scale chosen is appropriate for your
type of sheet.) Click OK.
Click on the Paste clipboard data into MicroStation icon on the Axiom office importer tool bar.
A dialog box for pasting the data into MicroStation will pop up on your screen. The Axiom paste settings
will place Excel data as a cell so it can be easily moved around in the sheet. Excel data has two paste
options and Word data has three paste options in the dialog box:
1. Width defined by data on clipboard – places the text with a set width. For Word data this
selection will allow you to toggle on the “Split paste into columns” function (the upper left
data point starts the paste and the lower right sets the bottom of the first column and the
left edge of the second column).
2. Define width while placing text (Word only) – places the text width by your upper left and
lower right data points.
3. Scale proportional to Word/Excel data – scales the text to fit your upper left and lower
right data points. (NOT Recommended, this will scale the text font size).
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Updating the MicroStation data:
Changes should be made in the Excel spreadsheet or Word document, not in the MicroStation file. The
data in MicroStation should update automatically when you open the file. If you are already in the
MicroStation file when the change is made to the Excel or Word data, you will need to open Axiom
Office Importer and select Manage – Manage an existing link.
Select the link to be updated and click Update.
If the Excel file range has changed, the range needs to be updated in the Axiom link data.
In Word documents, insert new text above the “hard” return at the end.
Note: If the Word or Excel file is renamed or moved the link must be reestablished before updating is
possible.
