Microstation V8 for Autocad Users 1st Edition

I was excited when I found this book because it had pretty good reviews. Also, I had been looking for a good book to help me learn MicroStation on my own...it is hard to find a good book to use as a tool to learn microstation on your own.The book starts out great and helps with set-up. It also comes with a cd containing MicroStation files. Along with instructions in the book, you manipulate the files and get a feel for how to do certain functions. The book is great overall compared to other books, but there were certain instructions as well as key-ins that did not work for me. For example it talks about a cell library (which would be a block library for CAD users), but I could not find it so I'm not sure if it comes with the software or I have to get it elsewhere. It says you can use pgn functions from AutoCAD, this has not worked for me. All in all, the book is good compared to others out there, plus the prize was reasonable, but it's quite vague in explaining a number of things I was hoping to learn.

I bought this book with high hopes that it would give me a pretty logical method to learn Microstation based upon my knowledge of AutoCAD, but it didn't quite work out the way I expected. The book has a glossary of terms to translate AutoCAD language to Microstation language, which is helpful in defining what it is you want to do (especially with new coworkers who basically speak a different language in drafting terms). It also includes a guide that translates command names from AutoCAD to their Microstation equivalents, which is also useful. The problem lies in the fact that the book doesn't tell you how to do anything. In several places it will list steps (for example, how to create a "cell," which is an AutoCAD block equivalent) to complete a task, but does not tell you where to find the needed tools in the Microstation interface. This is particularly frustrating because Microstation is much more GUI-oriented than AutoCAD. I have used AutoCAD for about 10 years as a student, teacher, and practitioner and I always promote the command line approach the program. This allows you to sit down at anyone's machine with any configuration settings and still be productive. Microstation is getting there, but it currently consists of a barrage of menus and submenus whose icons do not have an immediately apparent meaning. This book's failure to guide you to needed buttons, even to hint towards where they reside, makes it only occasionally useful.

Good book in learning Microstation. I come from working in AutoCAD for over 20 years and bought this book trying to learn the basics. Very helpful, especially the exercises even though I was using V8i. I would recommend this book to people trying to do the same transition as myself. I had bought one of the pricier books from one of the education instructors at Bentley and found that book useless.

The book seems to have a lot of information, but it does not always make it clear what it is talking about. It could use more text driven images.

Hard to understand this manual being an AutoCad user. I have nothing more to say to meet the word requirement

Not very easy to switch from CAD-Microstation to Microstation-CAD using the book, as advertised.

I give this book to colleagues who need to learn the software quickly.

This book is absolutely terrible. The author does not explain procedures clearly and explanations of concepts are usually vague. I cannot possibly imagine how other reviewers of this book found it to be useful.

There needs to be a book written for AutoCAD users moving to Microstation; this book is not it. When I have cracked Microstation I will be sorely tempted to write my own book.