Civil 3D with Dirt Diva

Civil 3D 2009 Hotfix posted

2009-06-29T16:26:00.001-07:00

Check it out!

Hofix for display/calculation of Section Volumes in 2009 is posted:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/index?siteID=123112&id=2334435&linkID=9240698

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!!!

Civil 3D 2009 Update 3

2009-06-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

Civil 3D 2009 Service pack 3 is here.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=13357575&linkID=9240698

I will be downloading it momentarily and if I find any issues I'll post them ASAP.

Cheers,
Melanie

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 is here!!!! YAY YAY YAY!

2009-03-26T13:03:00.000-07:00

And the best part about it is that I can finally talk about it. I've been BETA testing the software for some time now and the curtain has finally been lifted and I can share in my excitement!!!

FIRST THINGS FIRST... I want to tell you about my TWO favorite things... In order...

The Field to Finish tools ROCK, to put it mildly, NO MORE NASTY FIELDBOOK FILES (.fbk) I'd like you all to give a warm welcome to a new tool in the Survey Database know as "Linework Code Sets". What these nifty little babies will allow you to do is code your point descriptions so that you can begin, end, draw curves and so on within your point file. YOU CAN FINALLY DOUBLE, TRIPLE, SHOOT... QUADRUPLE your point codes and your linework will come through the ASCII file, HIP HIP HOORAY!!!! What this means for all of you Surveyors out there is that AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 is FINALLY a viable tool... wait, it's now an AWESOME tool!!!

And I would like to give MANY kudos to the second runner up in my list of EXCITING new tools inside of 2010... Drum roll please... INTERSECTION DESIGN WIZARD!!! Yay!!! This makes designing intersections MUCH MUCH MUCH more streamlined!

Please stay tuned for some fun "How-To" guides once I get the BETA software off and the full version installed.

Cheers!!!

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 Update 2.1

2009-03-03T09:29:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a LONG time coming but it looks as if the second version of SP 2, which is SP 2.1 actually works and to the best of my knowledge does NOT break anything.

Here's the link:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=12624522&linkID=9240698

Cheers!!!

Joining Pipes to a Structure from a different Network!

2009-02-10T14:46:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that this came to me as a surprise find…..is this intentionally not mentioned anywhere? Or could this be some sort of unintended behaviors of Civil3D Pipe Networks? For as long as I have tinkered with Civil3D and more specifically Pipe Networks I had always thought that you cannot connect parts from one network to another network. In fact, this required me to teach users that there was a certain workaround that required duplicating a “dummy” manhole on the second system. Apparently that is not the case!

Anyone see this error message?

Step one: Create two separate pipe networks. (See image)

Step two: Edit network of secondary pipe network system via “grips”. (See image)

Step three: Using square grip – drag pipe toward manhole on the first pipe network system towards where the pipes connect to the manhole on the first network until you see the connection glyph. (See image)

Step four: Check your results! Notice the pipes are connected at the same invert, but remain separate systems. (See image)

Authored by: John Rodriguez | Civil Engineering Technical Specialist

U.S. CAD Releases Styles Template for Autodesk® AutoCAD® Civil 3D® Software

2009-02-04T09:21:00.000-08:00

I am extremely excited to announce the release of U.S. CAD's Styles Template.

Please check out the link below.

CLICK HERE

Have a great day!!!

Civil 3D and BIM… How do they relate?

2009-01-29T13:55:00.001-08:00

Let me start off by talking about how BIM (Building Information Modeling) and Civil Engineering relate to one another. If your firm is currently coordinating on projects with Architects, MEP Engineers, and even Structural Engineers then you have definitely heard the “buzz” word… BIM. While the concept of BIM did come from the Building Design industry it can also relate to us as Civil Engineers in many ways. Incorporating BIM into Civil Engineering can be streamlined with the use of Civil 3D, which is dynamic, model centric based design software. Thru the use of BIM and Civil 3D we can now create constructability studies to review our designs before they enter the construction phase. Civil 3D can also streamline the creation of multiple design iterations in which volume and material analysis can be run to ensure that we are doing all that we can to build a more “Sustainable Design”. Sustainability for Civil Engineering can mean things such as smart location, stormwater management and steep slope protection. All of these factors play into our designs in order to create accurate models that can reduce the overall impact on our urban surroundings.
The one area of Civil Engineering design that can see an immediate benefit from the use of BIM and Civil 3D is Transportation. The design tools within Civil 3D are so robust that you not only have the ability to design highways and roadways using traditional Civil Engineering calculations, but you also have the ability to cycle through multiple design iterations and compare your design alternatives to AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Traffic Officials) tables for passing sight, headlight distance and superelevation methods. Within Civil 3D 2009 you have the added ability to create “custom” design check criteria that enables you to verify that your horizontal alignment design meets the minimum standards required by your local agency. When you use the criteria-based design feature, you have the ability to select a design criteria file that can be project specific, from which you can specify the superelevation attainment method and minimum radius and transition (spiral) length tables. When you lay out the alignment, the appropriate minimum values specified in the design criteria file that has been customized by your firm, is displayed on the command line. You can chose to either accept the default minimum value for a given entity, or enter a new value.
Another area where BIM has a direct correlation to the Civil Engineering community is General Contractors and Construction firms finding that they can significantly reduce construction delays and cost overruns by creating a "virtual build" before beginning physical construction. This allows the contractor to evaluate the project for constructability. Civil 3D can also be used by these firms to take their 2D construction documents from the various design disciplines and turn them into 3D BIM models. We can then help to bring these models together for electronic clash detection and conflict resolution thru the use of Navisworks. Also the piping tools within Civil 3D have a 2D and 3D Interference Checking mechanism for Water, Storm Drain, Sewer or any other Pipe Networks that are part of your design model. This allows RFIs and change orders to be issued prior to physical construction, before they become issues in the field and delay the project.

Utilizing phasing, we can develop the BIM models in conjunction with the project timelines to increase communication and gain a better understanding of the construction process for project stakeholders. Construction sequences can be simulated for quick and effective decision making by the contractor, design team, and project owner. Schedule sequences can be stepped through to show the project at particular moments in time, and linked to the actual project construction schedule. In addition, the information from a Building Information Model can be used to perform quantity take-offs for tighter budgeting and cost estimation.

In conclusion, thru the use of Civil 3D, Civil Engineers can design models that provide multiple design alternatives to their clients, use design visualization tools to better communicate the design intent, run cut/fill and material volume calculations with ease, run conflict detection checks on pipe systems and minimize our impact on the urban sprawl. All of these factors combined to incorporate BIM into the Civil Engineering community and ultimately gives us the ability to reduce errors and omissions, deliver a higher quality product to our clients, reduce costs and increase project profitability.

For additional information on BIM and how you can incorporate these concepts into future projects please visit: http://www.uscadbim.com/

Autodesk pulled most recent "Update" for Civil 3D

2009-01-26T08:12:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

Just an FYI.... Autodesk has pulled the most recent update for Civil 3D due to issues. Please say tuned for the next release. I will install it and if there are no issues I will pass along the good news.

Have a productive week!!

-Melanie

Maintenance Update Available for AutoCAD® Civil 3D® 2009

2009-01-16T10:13:00.000-08:00

Here is the link:

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 Update 2

Enjoy!!!

Name That Structure!

2009-01-08T10:41:00.000-08:00

This post is compliments of John Rodriguez, Civil Technical Specialist for U.S. CAD

John can be reached at john.rodriguez@uscad.com, THANKS FOR THE GREAT INFO JOHN!!!

Here goes:

“Drop the Parenthesis” – how to customize the name format for Structures:
Have you ever wanted to name your structures without the parenthesis in the label? Well if you can think it up…chances are that Civil3D can do it. The tricky part is locating where to customize the setting.

So here it goes:

1. Settings > Pipe Networks > Right Click “Edit Feature Settings”

2. Default Name Format > Structure Name Template > Select ellipse button …

3. Name Template dialog box > Name: > Edit out the ( and ) and select OK

Now you should be able to name your structures without the parenthesis in the label. This adjustment should be saved or added to your company styles template.

Digging in the Dirt

2008-12-18T10:48:00.001-08:00

Hello All,

This is the handout material from the course that I most recently taught at AU 2008, enjoy!

Existing surface data can come from a variety of sources, it can come from the Land Surveyor in the form of a COGO points, from an Aerial topo in the form of Contour data, from a DEM (Digital Elevation Model) file or even from Google Earth data. The focus of this course is to take data that was received from the Land Surveyor and turn it into a surface model that can be edited, labeled and used for engineering design. After we create our existing conditions and the designers create their finished surface model we will explore how to run volume calculations and thematic mapping for cut and fill areas.

One of the most common forms of data used to build a surface is COGO (Coordinate Geometry) point data. The data that we are working with to generate our surface is many thousands of existing ground spot shots. We have a limit of work line that we are going to work with to build our surface only within the limits of our work line. In order to accomplish this task we will be working with Civil 3D 2009 and using a Data Clip boundary

The steps that need to be taken in order to accomplish the above tasks are to create a new drawing starting with your company’s drawing template file that contains all of the necessary Object, Label, Table and Command Settings. Next you will need to create a new surface, give it a name and style; this can be done in your Prospector tab on your Toolspace right-click on Surfaces and select Create Surface. This will allow you to create a TIN surface, Name your surface and select an object style, see below:

Once you have created the “shell” for your surface we can then create a Data Clip boundary to limit the amount of data that we bring in for our surface, thus keeping our drawing file as small as possible. Please note that the Data Clip boundary must be added to your surface prior to adding any other data such as Point Files, Point Groups, Contours or Breaklines. The boundary line must also be drawn prior to creating the data clip; the command does not allow you to draw the polyline “on the fly”. Expand your surfaces collection à Expand Definition à Right-click on Boundaries and select Add, see below:

Once you have added your Data Clip boundary to your surface you can then import your data that you will build your surface from.

Now we are going to build our surface from point files that are stored in a separate location. This method will use the data in the external text to build your surface thus keeping your drawing file small by not importing the points directly into your drawing file. Under the Surfaces collection à Definition, right-click on Point files and select multiple point files by using the + with Shift and or Ctrl, see below:

Another way to build a surface in Civil 3D from Survey data is to import the text files directly into Civil 3D group your point data and build a surface out of points. In this next example we will import a PNEZD text file into Civil 3D, create point groups to organize our data and build our surface model out of our organized data.

We are going to start by importing our points directly into Civil 3D by going to the Points pull-down menu à Import/Export Points àImport Points. After your points are inserted into your drawing we can now create groups to isolate what data we want to use to build our surface. In fact, you can create point groups, save them into a template file and when you insert in your point data the groups will automatically populate with the points. In order to create a point group you need to head over to your Prospector tab, give the Point Groups collection a right-click and select New. Within the Point Group Properties dialog box on the Information tab you have the ability to give your group a name, assign a point object and point label style to your group. Next you need to select the Include tab to assign which point properties will be included in your group. You have the ability to create a point group out using Numbers, Elevations, Names, Raw Descriptions and Full Descriptions Matching (when using name or description matching you do not need to worry about case sensitive matching), see below:

After your points are grouped you can then create a surface and add your data to it. Follow the previous steps above to create a shell for your surface. Next you want to expand your Surface collection, expand Definition and right-click on Point Groups to add your newly created point groups to build your surface (you can use Shift and/or Ctrl to select more than one group at a time).

Now onto Surface Editing commands! After you have created your surface, view it as a TIN and Points you can put it in an Isometric view in order to find any spikes or erroneous TIN points. See picture below for points that will be edited:

Under the Definition area of the surface right-click on Edits to display all of the types of edits that can be made on your surface object.

For this particular surface we use the Modify Point surface editing tool to modify the two spikes shown in the picture above. Before modifying these points you must first either get with your Surveyor that collected your data to find out what the true existing elevations should have been or you can analyze your surface and interpolate what the elevations at these points should be. *Note: In order to use any of the Point edit surface tools your surface style MUST have TIN Points set to on.

Once you have your surface fully edited it is now time to add in your Contour Labels. You must first set your surface style to display the contours at the desired interval. Next you want to go to your Surfaces pull-down menu à Add Surface Labels à Add Surface Labels, in this dialog box we are going to use a label type of Contour – Multiple.

The great thing about the Add Labels dialog box is that it is consistent whether you are labeling a Surface, Pipes, Profiles or any of the Civil 3D Objects.

With the use of expressions and reference texts surface labels inside of Civil 3D can be extremely powerful in labeling TC-FL elevations. The use of expressions allows you to label the TC and subtract 0.5’ for the FL of a 6” curb. You can also label EG-FG information with the use of reference text adding a surface spot elevation for two surfaces included into one label. See below for the use of both expressions and reference text labels for a precise grading plan. Both of the labels used were surface spot elevation labels types.

After you have your existing and proposed surfaces there are many ways that we can run volume calculations in order to find out our import and export values. The first way to run volume calculations is in a tabular form. This will NOT create a volume based surface but it will enable you to see your cut/fill values. This method is also favored if you have more than one design alternative and want to determine which yields the least amount of cut/fill. In order to bring up this table based calculation method you must go to the Surfaces pull-down à Utilities à Volumes, see below:

The button highlighted in the upper left will allow you to add in a new volume entry into the table. Within the Composite Volumes table you have the ability to account for shrinkage or expansion from your Geo report by putting the appropriate values into the Cut and Fill Factor columns. *Note: This will only adjust your Cut (adjusted) and Fill (adjusted) values and will NOT affect your overall Net values.

More to come later...

Happy Holidays!!!

Civil 3D 2009 Data Shortcuts

2008-09-10T16:56:00.000-07:00

Civil 3D 2009 has drastically improved the functionality and interface for data shortcuts. With the new version these are now an extremely viable tool for sharing data within small and medium sized firms looking to adopt Civil 3D. When you get into larger firms that are doing data sharing over a WAN with multiple office work share, we still recommend Vault for your data management and project sharing needs. Data shortcuts currently have the ability to:
· Annotate Civil 3D model across multiple drawings
· Annotate and object update when referenced model changes
· Model integrity maintained
· Remote project team workflow
· Leverage Civil 3D model across drawings (data reference)
· Control object display across drawings
The only functionality that Vault has over data shortcuts is versioning and data management.
Using the “New and Improved” data shortcuts in AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 has a very similar user interface as Vault. The access to the data shortcuts is now contained within the Prospector tab once you set your toolspace from Active Drawing View to Master View you can locate Data Shortcuts just below the Projects collection. Within the 2009 Data Shortcuts you now have the ability to set up a “Working Folder” which is extremely similar to the “project” within a Vault. Typically the working folder is going to be a network location where your project data will be stored. If you are migrating from a Land Desktop environment this would most likely be the same or similar location where your Land Desktop Project data was previously stored. After your working folder is set you then have the ability to create a “New Data Shortcuts Folder”, this will be a folder that is created on a project basis. Each project that you work on for various clients will have its own Data Shortcuts Folder where your information is to be stored. When you switch your data shortcuts folder by using the “Set Data Shortcuts Folder” command it automatically refreshes the data shortcuts and shows only what is associated with your current project.
When creating the new folder you then have the ability to give the “project” a name or numbering convention that your company uses. You also have the ability to use a “Project Template” that will create a custom a custom folder structure to suit your company’s needs. When making the transition from LDT to Civil 3D I will typically recommend that you start with using a folder structure that is similar to what was used in LDT so that the users have an easier time getting used to the transition. The default project template structure that comes with Civil 3D is located at C:\Civil 3D Project Templates\_Sample Project. This template structure can be set up to not only store your data shortcuts, but can also be used to create a structure that will allow you to store your source drawings, reports, production drawings, external references and any other miscellaneous documentation.
When creating data shortcuts you now have the ability to use the multiple options. In the past if you had a project with many alignments that multiple users on the project team needed to access for design, you needed to create one object (or alignment in this case) per drawing. Your use of data shortcuts can be applied to Surfaces, Alignments, Profiles, Pipe Networks and View Frame Groups (Plans Production Tools). When sending data to clients or other parties working on the project E-transmit capabilities recognize data shortcut file dependencies in a drawing and XML files There is even a completely new interface that allows you to manage your data shortcuts, similar to how you manage your external references. If you have a broken link with one of your xml files or if one of your files has been re-named you can to go your Start à All Programs à Autodesk à AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 à Data Shortcuts Editor. There are a few precautions to be taken when using the data shortcuts editor.
· Before editing data shortcuts, ensure that no one else is currently creating or editing the same set of data shortcuts within AutoCAD Civil 3D. Otherwise, one user can overwrite changes made by the other.
· Changes made in the Data Shortcut Editor window do not take effect until shortcuts are reloaded.

In the event that you begin your Civil 3D Adoption process with Data Shortcuts and decide that it is best for your firm to later move into a Vault Data Management environment keep in mind that you CAN in fact move Data Shortcuts from a Data Shortcut project into the Vault. After your firm is up and running on Vault and Data Shortcuts are no long a viable way for your firm to share data you can also type in SHORTCUTNODE as a system variable to remove the Data Shortcuts menu from your Prospector tab.

Civil 3D 2008-Survey Link Installation Issues

2007-12-11T15:22:00.000-08:00

Hi There:

Recently one of our clients had experienced some issues installing the Survey Link into Civil 3D 2008. After the link was installed when you type in "startsurveylink" into the command line you get an "unknown command" response. Another area that was checked was that AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008 TDS SurveyLink Installer appears in the Add or Remove Programs list and a directory named 'svlink' is created under C:\Program Files\AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008\.

In order for the Survey Link to work you MUST first install SP2.

With help from Autodesk below is the resolution to the Survey Link Installation issue:

The individual had been double clicking on the msp file to apply the service pack. This appears to apply the service pack but will not update all of the files that are included in the patch. Hence Survey Link was not working.

A little background on the msp vs. exe issue. In a perfect world, you should be able to double click on the msp and obtain the same results as you would from double clicking on the exe. Unfortunately, with the 2008 release, there were issues with our msp file which we found after release (but before the service pack shipped) that forced us to include additional information and tasks to the exe. This left the msp file with the correct information but unable to update an installation independent of the exe or wrapper information.

As stated in the read me, this resulted in deployments requiring the service pack to be merged rather than appended. There is also a warning upon extracting the msp from the exe file (command line entries with dialog box warning). The differences between merging and appending are fairly straightforward. When you merge a service pack to a deployment, you are forcing the files to be included as part of the base installation. If you append a service pack to a deployment, the install of the application completes and then the service pack is applied to the application. This is referred to as daisy chaining and is common for deployments. The reason this won’t work is the same as why you cannot click on the msp and have the patch apply correctly. The added information isn’t included which ensures the files are updated. Merging forces the files to be updated.

These issues will be addressed for future releases.

Hope this helps!

AU Presentation Handout

2007-12-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

Last week was a grueling, fun and exciting week in Las Vegas for Autodesk University 2007. For those of you that were able to attend I hope you had a wonderful time. For those of you that attended my class here is a link to the handout. I know I had a few people that came up to me asking if I had extra copies. This was the first year that Autodesk went "Green" and did not offer handouts at the door. Here is the link to my handout for your review.

Enjoy!

Click Here for PDF Link

Changing your Parcel Styles

2007-10-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

Ever created 50 parcel objects & suddenly realized that you used the wrong parcel style or area label style?

I have a fix for ya!

Parcels--> Edit Parcel--> Edit Parcel Properties

Your command line with prompt you for (Polylines/All/Site). If you have a polyline already drawn through the parcels that you wish to update you can select P, if you want to make the change to all of your parcels you can select A and if you want to change only the parcels in a specific Site you would expect to hit S for site and be able to do this, but it appears as though this feature is currently broken in AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008 SP1. I am going to go with all for now :)

Type A for All and this will bring up your Edit Parcel Properties dialog box. Within this dialog you have the ability to edit your Parcel Style, Area Label Styles and also any User Defined Properties such as APN & address.

I am just going to demonstrate how to adjust the Parcel Style. Refer to the screen capture below with instructions.

GOOD LUCK!

Getting Freaky with Label Styles

2007-08-28T11:41:00.000-07:00

Boy have things been hectic around these parts! Phew!

I have come up for a brief breath of fresh air from lots of training, Civil 3D Implementation, Southern California CAD Summit & other miscellaneous pre-sales engagements.

Hope this summer finds you well!

Now lets dig into some label styles specific for spot elevations using expressions:
In this section we will learn how to create a separator that separates two fields of information. The two fields will contain a TC elevation and FL elevation where the FL elevation is made up of an expression.

Creating an expression
Right click on the Expressions area for Spot Elevation Label Styles for Surfaces to see the following dialog box shown here to the left.

Creating a Separator and adding an expression
The separator is made up of a line component and added first. When adding the line component the two main properties that are important to specific are the length and angle. You will see the angle is important when it comes to defining the labels to the left and right discussed later on.

If you want the length of the separator to automatically adjust with the length of the text this CAN be accomplished, review the screen capture to the below on how to set this up!

When adding the expression, you can put the TC and FL in two different text components or you can put them in one text component. In this example, we will put them in one text component. After adding the text component, you will need to click on the ellipses button in the text contents area. See the figure below for the text contents area.

Need for Left and Right Labels (Understanding Dragged State Mode)
There are some limitations to the dragged state mode of labels that creates the need for independent label styles for the text to be to the left and right side of the labels. When creating a label style where the text components are to the left of the leader, the angle of the line component will need to be set to 180 since the 0 direction always goes form left to right as expected. See the following figure for a label style with the suffix "-Lt” indicating left and the angle of the separator line at 180 degrees. A logical naming convention should be thought about as well for all the label styles you create.

If there is a need to show a line between the labels you will need to create label styles for the text to be to the left and right side. If you take a look at the figure below on the right, you will see that one of the two components is a Separator…

If you take a look at the Dragged State tab, you will see two options for Dragged State components, As Composed & Stacked Text. By setting this to As Composed, this will maintain the separator component that was previously added. The Stacked Text option will keep the Text as entailed but the line or separator that you added would be removed.

In the next figure below you will see the same label that is designed to show the text to the left of the leader, both are in dragged state, but one has been dragged towards the right. The appearance is not appropriate and this is why a separate style for left and right is needed.

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008 SP1 is here!

2007-07-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

We have been eagerly anticipating this service pack and it's finally here, so hurry up, quickly download and install it.

Here you go: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=9909730&linkID=9240698

Be sure to view the readme to find out all of the great fixes.

Have a fantastic weekend!

No Point Group Layer option in 2008

2007-07-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

Even though the 2008 course ware is not out yet, grrrrrrr, I still have many clients that are just dying to be trained on the new product line. Using the 2007 course ware and pointing out the new features in 2008 I found some minor disturbing news.

In Civil 3D 2007 Point Group Properties dialog box you had the ability to put the point group on a specific layer (see image below)

For some STRANGE reason they have conveniently removed this functionality in the new 2008 version, much to my dismay (see image below)

Now it's not impossible to control your display using layers at this stage in the game. It just takes a little more planning and thought. You will have to set up your Point Style and Point Label Style to be on the correct layers.

Good luck!

Point Label Properties in 2008

2007-06-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

The more and more I play with 2008 the more I find that some of the tools that I was used to in 2007 have moved or been taken out.

When it comes to points using Autocad Civil 3D 2007 you used to have the ability to select a point label, right-click and go into your point group properties. While in your point group properties you could change the label style independent of the point group, and change the visibility.

In 2008 in order to accomplish that same task you must use the good ol' fashion properties window. Your properties window now has the ability set style, visibility and you can even change the RAW description.

Southern California CAD Summit

2007-06-19T12:48:00.000-07:00

You can do it. Take the plunge into the latest Autodesk® technology

Southern California CAD Summit 2007August 23
Anaheim Convention Center

SCCS 2007 is here and once again it’s making waves as the largest annual CAD training event in Southern California. We’re creating a splash with a full day of training, offering 40 industry-specific classes covering the latest technology for Architecture, MEP, Structural Engineering, Civil, Geospatial, Design Visualization, Mechanical and Electrical. We’ve also invited the industry’s best talent join us as our featured guest speakers, as well as select vendors that offer top technology to compliment your Autodesk solutions. Now is the time to swim (not sink) on the latest technology. Expand your pool of knowledge and register today at www.lacad.com/cad_summit.html.

It's like a mini Autodesk University right here in Southern California! Come one, come all to the fourth annual SCCS. Where, when, how much you ask?

CLICK HERE for all the details and how to register.

Remember to list me, "Melanie Santer" in the "How did you find out about this event?" area.

I will be teaching and I look forward to seeing you all there!

Autodesk University 2007 Speaker

2007-06-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I am VERY excited to report that I will be speaking at AU this year in Vegas again. I will be teaching One Point, Two Point, Red Point, Blue Point again this year as part of the Power Track classes.

If you missed it last year here is your chance to catch it. If you attended last year there are always new 2008 functions that I will be adding in.

CLICK HERE to save the date!

Have a great weekend!

Creating Label Styles Webcast

2007-06-07T13:58:00.000-07:00

Good Afternoon,

I will be conducting a webcast on creating customized label styles in Civil 3D on Friday July 15 from 10-11am. This webcast is FREE and will provide insights and how to's on the following items.
*Creating Custom Labels
* Label Style Composer
* Layout State vs. Dragged State
* Label Components * Label Sets
* Label Groups * Text Component Editor
* Using Expressions in Labels
* Feature Settings
* Controlling Layers and Text Styles

So know that you are in the "know" what are you waiting for??? Oh, where to sign up? CLICK HERE to sign up for this great webcast.

2006 Instructor of the year award

2007-06-01T13:59:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to take a moment to share in my excitement of being honored with such a prestigious award.

Please check out this link:

http://www.tenlinks.com/news/PR/lacad/060107_santer.htm

Thank you to the many students that I have taught over the years. It is because of you that I have been presented with this award. I know those evaluation forms are annoying to fill out but I always appreciate your feedback.

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks again!

-Melanie

Fun with ctrl pick in 2008!

2007-05-31T11:55:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

Hope you have all successfully recovered from a nice long holiday weekend!

I just wanted to take a quick moment to share one of my favorite features in the 2008 product, the ctrl pick option for labels. So... lets just start with an alignment, often times you have a boat load of information in your drawing and you have to remove out one of your alignment labels, weather it be a station label or a geometry point label. I want you to try this (if you haven't already). Hold down your ctrl key and with your mouse pick the label on your alignment (for example, you can use it for parcels and other objects as well). What this is doing is selecting the individual label and if you want to change the visibility to false you can simply use the delete key or AutoCAD erase. Now in previous versions of Civil 3D you would have to select the label, right-click, go to label properties and set the label visibility to false. We can now accomplish this task in one easy step, WOO HOO!

If that is not cool enough for you I have some other ctrl pick fun news, ctrl pick a label, right-click and go into Edit Text and you now have the ability to add additional text items to a single label. You used to have to create a new label style to accomplish this task so this is a GREAT new function.

Have a great day and remember CTRL PICK, CTRL PICK, CTRL PICK!

ADMS Patch

2007-05-29T15:55:00.000-07:00

Good news everyone!

They have released the patch that will allow the 2007 vault to work with the 2008 ADMS!

Here it is... http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=9662033&linkID=9240698

Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!