Archive for John Evans

Point Visibility Glitch in Civil 3D 2012

http://Designandmotion.netA few weeks ago I was working out some control issues for the field crews. I was using a drawing from a team whose template origin may have deviated from the standard, or been converted from an older version of Civil 3D. I ran into a similar circumstance today doing the same operations with the same originating team. Clearly there is a pattern.

Problem

The issue is that many Civil 3D Points will not display their labels. In the image below, notice that I have overridden my controlling Point Group, here called ‘Control’, so that the Point and Label styles will change to appear like the rest of the control points. The problem is that it isn’t working.

I have been through every aspect of investigation, display layer, point edit, audit, and even purge registered definitions too. These Points will just not play fair.

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Civil 3D 2013 says goodbye to Google Earth

While there are a few nice enhancements in Autodesk’s AutoCAD Civil 3D for 2013, unfortunately there seems to be something missing. image

Civil 3D 2013 will not have Google Earth extensions. This may seem inconsequential to many, however it is an absolute life saver in so many workflows. This will unfortunately set the industry back a step by removing a process that gave engineers and planners access to geo-referenced images and terrain models instantly in Civil 3D, a process that we’ve enjoyed since 2008.

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Turning Background Parcel Segments Off

Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D ParcelUsing Autodesk’s AutoCAD Civil 3D Parcels makes short work of conventional subdivision layout, as well as more intricate work like overall parcel boundary divisions and phases. One thing we always try to adhere to is the foundation rule of working form an overall region towards more defined smaller regions. This requires an initial parcel to be established on a site before more can be divided. During the creation, Parcel Segments are created in the background, and remains invisible and harmless until you want to do some fancy footwork. That’s where we come in.

Desired Outcome

Let’s say one of your retention parcels is to be developed in another phase, and the client absolutely does NOT want that parcel, or even the outline to be visible. Good Luck.

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Autodesk labs | Interactive Terrain Shaping for Civil 3D

imageThe toolset that many have been waiting for was just released on Autodesk labs. The Interactive Terrain Shaping for AutoCAD Civil 3D. These tools give Civil 3D users the capability to shape and mold various features related to grading, with direct pick, apply, and drag functionality. The Labs site stated that the intent was to "facilitate the development of comprehensive grading plans that can be easily tuned through the development cycle".

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A new Ribbon tab is installed in Civil 3D, and contains numerous tools including terrain feature shapes, including:

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Point Style for Visual Inspection Tip

imageI spend a great deal of time managing data moving through the office. One of my regular duties is to ensure the accuracy of design vs field construction layout. I use formatted Point Styles to speed up my inspection time.

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