Yes, there is another Dutch MicroStation book

Mieke Pol, author of the previous MicroStation book, wrote a review of the new book. "How many times have people asked me in recent years: will there be a new Dutch MicroStation book? For more than ten years we have had to say 'no'. But now there is one again: the MicroStation CONNECT Edition Basic Book, written by Ingeborg Hoogenberg!"

bentley software
digitization
e-learning

April 20, 2020
5 minutes reading time

The first Dutch MicroStation book was written in 1989 by Johan Vreede and Walter Oostdam. That was before the Windows era, about MicroStation 3.0, the version with the blue screen menus (for those who have experienced that...). In 1994 I took over from them and wrote several MicroStation books, from MicroStation version 5 to V8. But things came to a standstill after the MicroStation V8 Basic Book: supplier Bentley saw no point in publishing a Dutch-language book and there was no longer a Dutch company such as ACAD Consult or ISIS to take on this job. And that was a shame, because many MicroStation users had the Dutch book next to their screen and often used it to look something up. Some called it “the MicroStation Bible.” Well, it had gradually become a huge pill…. But despite that, it was often easier to read a Dutch explanation in the book instead of finding your way in the English help function.

A book remains useful during this time

Times have changed now: YouTube videos have taken the place of thick books and quickly help you get started with certain drawing functions. However, it is still nice to be able to read written explanations, for example a description of a work process or a step-by-step plan on how to approach something. Or background information, so that you better understand why something works in a certain way. And it remains useful that you can place a book open next to your keyboard and read explanations while you try out new functions. Plus, there are so many YouTube videos. How do you quickly find the clearest video in that enormous mountain of information?

Moved with the times

The new MicroStation CONNECT Edition Basic Book has kept up with the times and meets current needs:

QR codes that you can easily scan with your smartphone and immediately take you to the video with explanation.
Contents of this book reflect Ingeborg's experience as a MicroStation teacher. As a teacher, she knows exactly how to explain something, what questions will be asked and which topics are difficult. All her experience is reflected in this book and benefits the reader.
'A picture says more than a thousand words.' The many images and example drawings make long texts unnecessary.
The language used is clear and direct, the explanation concise and targeted.
My motto as a teacher has always been: teaching a course is the art of omission. Tell what someone needs for a particular task, not less, but not much more either. Ingeborg has mastered this art.
More than the previous MicroStation books, this is a workbook, with step-by-step plans and detailed exercises. Very efficient to quickly learn to draw with MicroStation. Perhaps a little less interesting for advanced users to look up background information. However, the explanation of new functionality in MicroStation CONNECT, such as tables, labels and the new interface, is also useful for experienced users.

I have now been working for four years with great pleasure at the municipality of Eindhoven, as functional manager of the CAD environment. Together with colleague Mark Stals, co-author of the two penultimate MicroStation books, we are currently transitioning our more than eighty MicroStation users to MicroStation CONNECT Edition. How nice it is that we can now offer our colleagues the help of the new book in getting used to the changed interface and functionality. And that we have another current book for new colleagues who still have to learn MicroStation.

I hope all MicroStation users enjoy this excellent book.

Thanks to Ingeborg Hoogenberg and The People Group!

Mieke Pol

View copy or order the book

Back to the overview