Archive for Data Shortcuts

A New Way of Thinking for Drawing Setup.

This is kind of an add-on to Josh’s post about Xref, Dref and Plotting. I just think it is such an important concept that I still see the people just starting out in C3D struggling with.

Here’s the gist. In order for all the dynamic ability for C3D to work all that data has to be readily available at the nano-second request for it. So all that unbelievable amount of data is stored in the drawing. Wow great! Well Yes and No. See why after the jump. Read more

Projects and Data Shortcuts

So, after Josh’s post earlier this week, and knowing that he was working from some older information, I decided to dig in and see if I could solve some of the problems that he mentioned in the first post. It’s not so much that I solved them, but that I had to figure out how this whole process came together, and how you need to manipulate Civil 3D so that network users have the advantage of drawings associated to their correct projects. Follow the jump and learn the secret!

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FINALLY, Associate drawings to a Data Shortcut Folder

As many of you know, I have been a proponent of Data Shortcuts through the years. With C3D 2009, DS’s finally showed that they could stand on their own successfully. Now in the Prospector you can set the Working Folder and the DS folder and all is well. However, in C3D 2009 the DS folder was not connected to the drawing. Thus, if you opened up a drawing that was from a different project then the current DS folder, you would never know.

In Civil3D 2010, you can Associate drawings to a DS folder!!!

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EECast on Data Shortcuts

In a quick hour, we’ll review the changes to using Data Shortcuts in C3D 2009. We’ll look at the Project Template, the Working Folder, the Shortcuts folder and the mechanics of using Data Shortcuts as part of your actual project. Additionally, we’ll look at the new Data Shortcuts Editor to repath your in-place shortcuts to new information as it’s available. Take a shortcut to 2009 with this nuts and bolts EECast.

The session will be held from 12 Noon to 1 PM (EDT) and will be recorded for future viewing.

There is no cost for this session, but preregistration is required. Visit the EECasts page at the EE site to register.

So Who Needs Vault?

As more users begin unwrapping their C3D 2009 boxes and make the jump, we’re seeing more and more questions about Vault and Data Shortcuts in the groups and in our mailboxes. I’ve been a huge advocate of Vault the past two releases, basically as a matter of riding the horse ya got. Vault wasn’t perfect (and it fact, downright sucked sometimes,) but it was better than using data shortcuts in my opinion.

Jump back to last fall, when I first got a look at Data Shortcuts for 2009. My first question was, “So who needs Vault?” The answer is after the jump. Read more