Digging Into Civil 3D

2011-11-01T17:29:00.000-07:00

If you are like me you have come across areas where Civil 3D labels look great in your drawing and other areas where they just don’t fit. For example, in the image below the label is too long for the pipe it is labeling. It may work great for other, longer pipes. But for this one it just doesn’t fit, and dragging it away from the pipe doesn’t look much better.

Learn how you can limit the length of labels in Civil 3D so that they fit the area that you have available and the geometry you are labeling with this tutorial.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...
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Better Elevation Banding In Civil 3D

2011-10-07T17:45:00.000-07:00

I have always been frustrated with the way that Civil 3D preforms an Elevation Surface Analysis. This is a great tool, however, the process of running the analysis has always seemed cumbersome to me. There has never been a way to set an interval for the elevation bands or a starting elevation for the bands. The only option was to set a number of ranges and then manually edit the ranges that Civil 3D automatically created for you. This was a tedious and frustrating process. Civil 3D 2012 finally gives us some options to make this much easier.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...
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Purging Styles from Civil 3D Drawings

2011-05-31T09:07:00.000-07:00

Cleaning up Civil 3D drawings and removing unwanted or unneeded styles has been a tedious process in the past. Yes, you could do it, but the process was time consuming. Now in AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012, we finally have a quick and easy Purge Style command.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...
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Labeling Pipe Network Structures from the Top or Bottom in Civil 3D

2011-03-29T21:04:00.000-07:00

I’m often asked questions by users that are frustrated when labeling pipe network Structures in Civil 3D. They would like the label to extend out of the top or bottom of the structure but instead it is being labeled at the center, even when the label is dragged to another location and displayed in the dragged state as shown in the examples below.

This tutorial will show you how to take control of these labels and automatically place them at the top or bottom of the structure.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...
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Tips to Improve Civil 3D Performance

2011-02-16T22:10:00.000-08:00

In previous posts I have discussed a number of ways that you can improve the performance of AutoCAD Civil 3D. Those tutorials have consistently drawn a lot of interest and feedback so I have brought them all together in the following list along with some new items that I have come across.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...
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Improve Civil 3D Performance by Optimizing Label Styles

2011-01-18T19:13:00.000-08:00

Most of us are always looking for ways to improve the performance of Civil 3D, let’s be honest, no matter how fast things get it could always be faster. One thing to consider is the way that your Label Styles are set up, because in some cases it can make a noticeable difference.

In this tutorial you will learn how to optimize your Civil 3D label styles and why certain decisions that you make while configuring your label styles can impact performance.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...
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Improve Performance of Large Surfaces with a Data Clip Boundary

2010-12-09T15:36:00.000-08:00

The increased availability of LIDAR data and other forms of large point datasets have brought new challenges to many Civil 3D users as they attempt to build surfaces from datasets containing millions of points. Learn how to improve the performance of these large surfaces when you only need to build the surface in a small area by using a Data Clip Boundary.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...
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Rotating Civil 3D Point Symbols Independent of Label Text

2010-11-17T14:41:00.000-08:00

Point Symbols can be quickly and easily rotated in Civil 3D by using the Rotate Point grip. However, I am often asked if there is a way to rotate the point symbol without rotating the point label as shown below.

This tutorial will show you how to rotate the point symbol without rotating the label text.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...
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AutoCAD for the Mac, is it right for me?

2010-10-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

By now you may have heard a lot of new, blog posts and general excitement about AutoCAD for the Mac, and you would expect to as this is big news that AutoCAD is now being developed natively for the Mac platform. After years of AutoCAD being a Windows only product this is a significant change.

However, the next logical question to ask is "what does this mean to me?" Currently, only AutoCAD is available for the Mac. So if you are a Civil 3D user you can only wait and see if at some point in the future there will be a version of Civil 3D for the Mac. If you are an AutoCAD user and a Mac enthusiast, then this may be very exciting news and you should do some research. First you should understand that AutoCAD for the Mac and AutoCAD for Windows are two separate products and there are some differences. Jason Porter as written an informative blog post on this, AutoCAD 2011 for Mac! Don’t throw out your Windows system just yet!, and I would suggest that you check it out. Autodesk also has published a technical document that covers the details of the difference. These are some great places to start your research to find out if AutoCAD for the Mac is right for you.

Using Mr. Sid Files in Civil 3D

2010-10-06T14:40:00.000-07:00

If you have tried to insert a Mr. Sid Image into AutoCAD Civil 3D using the MAPIINSERT command (found on the Insert tab of the ribbon in either of the Geospatial workspaces) you may have found that Mr. Sid images are missing from the list of available image formats. But don’t give up if you need to insert and use that Mr. Sid image, there are two options for you to add this, and several other, image formats into the list.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...
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Using Points with User Defined Properties to Manage Measure Down Data

2010-08-23T16:34:00.000-07:00

In this tutorial you will learn how to manage and label measure down information for points representing manholes and catch basins in Civil 3D.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...
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Digit Grouping with Commas in Civil 3D

2010-07-12T16:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it can be the little things in life that can make you happy, or that can annoy you and drive you crazy, depending on how they are going. And this little addition to Civil 3D 2011 certainly fits into this category, in a good way. Have you wanted to add a comma as the thousands separator to a label in Civil 3D? If so you are like me and found that this option simply did not exist. (with the exception of some involved work arounds) So we were left with large numbers looking rather ugly and cumbersome to read.

This finally changed in Civil 3D 2011 with the addition of Digit Grouping and Digit Grouping Symbol options in the Text Component Editor. This simply gives us the option to set the grouping format and symbol used on any number in our labels.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...
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Exaggerating a Surface in the Object Viewer or 3D Orbit

2010-05-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

I am often asked if there is a way to exaggerate the vertical scale of a Civil 3D surface when it is viewed in the Object Viewer or with 3D Orbit. While neither the Object Viewer nor 3D Orbit have an option to change the vertical exaggeration or scale of an object, you can still accomplish the desired effect if you set up the Surface Style properly.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...
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Sharing Parcels in Civil 3D

2010-03-31T18:17:00.000-07:00

Learn how to share Parcels in Civil 3D along with some tips to make labeling them easier and more efficient in this new tutorial.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...
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Windows 7 and Civil 3D - Updated

2010-03-08T17:49:00.000-08:00

Windows 7 is quickly becoming the operating system of choice for many people and Autodesk has continued to test the compatibility of their products with it since our initial post about the compatibility of Civil 3D with Windows 7 shortly after the release of the new operating system. Based on this testing Autodesk has released a new list of products that are supported on Windows 7.

AutoCAD 2010
AutoCAD LT 2010
AutoCAD Architecture 2010
AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010
Autodesk Inventor 2010
Autodesk Inventor LT 2010
AutoCAD Electrical 2010
AutoCAD Mechanical 2010
AutoCAD MEP 2010
Autodesk Algor Simulation 2010
Autodesk Vault 2010 (Client Only)
Autodesk Vault Workgroup 2010 (Client Only)
Autodesk Vault Collaboration 2010 (Client Only)
Autodesk Vault Manufacturing 2010 (Client Only)
Autodesk Productstream Professional 2010 (Client Only)

You will be happy to note that Civil 3D is now included in this list. For more details you can read the tech doc from Autodesk.

I know of many people that are currently using Civil 3D 2010 on Windows 7 and the reports that I have heard are overwhelmingly positive. So I think it is safe to say at this point that if you are purchasing a new computer, or even if you are not, that you should give Windows 7 serious consideration as your operating system.
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Customizing the Quick Access Toolbar

2010-03-03T10:13:00.000-08:00

Lean how to get quick access to your favorite commands without digging through the ribbon to find them each time by customizing the Quick Access Toolbar.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...
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2 Quick Tips for Improving Performance in Civil 3D

2010-01-19T23:05:00.000-08:00

There are many different tips and tricks for improving performance in AutoCAD Civil 3D. This tutorial will cover two of the most important ones that you can implement quickly and easily.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...
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Wild Cards in Civil 3D Description Keys

2009-11-19T16:38:00.000-08:00

It's easy to forget that there are many wild card options that can be used in Civil 3D beyond the common * (asterisk). This tutorial shows a list of the many wild card options and thier uses.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...
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What Is Wrong With My Hatch?

2009-11-05T18:22:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had a hatch pattern display incorrectly? If you are using a hatch pattern like gravel or concrete the sides of the intended shapes within the hatch may not line up properly. Giving you results that don’t look at all like your desired hatching. This typically happens when the area that you are hatching is very far from the origin (0,0) of your coordinate system. In civil drawings moving the objects or changing the location of the origin is typically not an option because it would destroy the coordinate system of your drawing.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...

Windows 7

2009-10-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

Autodesk has now announced that the following products are now supported on Windows 7:

AutoCAD 2010
AutoCAD LT 2010
AutoCAD Architecture 2010
Autodesk Inventor 2010
Autodesk Inventor LT 2010
AutoCAD Electrical 2010
AutoCAD Mechanical 2010
AutoCAD MEP 2010
Autodesk Algor Simulation 2010

Conspicuously absent from this list, at least as it pertains to this blog, is Civil 3D 2010. For more details you can read the tech doc from Autodesk.

I know a number of people that have been using Civil 3D 2010 on Windows 7 for some time now and the reports all seem to be very positive. However, that is different than Autodesk saying that it has been fully tested and supported.

If you have been using Windows 7 with Civil 3D I encourage you to comment below and share your experainces with us.

Creating a Surface from 3D Faces or 3D Lines in Civil 3D

2009-10-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

We have all probably received a drawing at one time or another that contains 3D faces representing a surface. Now your job is to convert these 3D faces into a Civil 3D surface that you can use for creating Profiles, Sections, Contours, and a variety of other things. The best way to translate a surface from one software package to another is to use the LandXML import/export format. This will allow you to import an exact copy of the original surface without recreating it from 3D faces or 3D lines representing the TIN. This is the fastest way to get a surface that was created in another program into Civil 3D and it also eliminates the possibility of errors being introduced during the process of rebuilding the surface. However, the person supplying you with the drawing may be unable, or unwilling, to export the surface as a LandXML file for you. If this is the case Civil 3D has tools that make creating a surface from 3D faces or 3D lines representing a TIN both accurate and easy.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...

Do I have to use the Ribbon?

2009-10-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

In the 2010 version of Civil 3D the interface has been dramatically redone to incorporate the ribbon. As with most changes like this some people love it while others do not and want to know if they can use the old system. This tutorial will discuss the details and explain your options.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...

Label Styles in Civil 3D from the Top Down

2009-09-25T22:38:00.000-07:00

In AutoCAD Civil 3D it can be very tedious to edit Label Styles one at a time. Depending on your CAD standards this may be necessary. However, it is likely that most if not all of your labels will have some things in common. For example you might use the same text style, height, or color for all of your labels. If that is the case you can set the common parameters for all of your Civil 3D Label Styles in one place.

For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...