Converting from MicroStation

[tennis4you]

I have only ever used MicroStation at all 3 firms I have worked for. I am starting my own company and thinking about using AutoCAD instead.

How do I deal with pen tables? I would like to be able to convert MicroStation files into AutoCAD and use line weights. It would be nice for AutoCAD to print those old MicroStation line weights well. Is that possible?

[Tyke]

If you still have the original DGN files and MicroStation you can define the DWG export parameters.

When you open a DGN in AutoCAD a Wizard is started where you can map the MicroStation settings to AutoCAD settings (layers, line types, line weights, colour tables, etc) and these settings can be saved so that you have different conversion setting for different situations. We use MicroStation V8i together with AutoCAD 2004 to 2012 and experience no problems whatsoever opening DGNs in AutoCAD.

You can open a DGN in AutoCAD and can also save a changed drawing as a DGN. A big difference between the two is that unlike MicroStation your work is not automatically and immediately saved, so after a crash in MS you never lose data . Honestly said MS is far more stable than AutoCAD.