Civil Immersion

Register to Attend the Next 30 min. Workout Session!

-Register here-

There’s never enough time in a typical Civil 3D training course to explore EVERY available tool.  Most courses focus on “need to know” functionality to get you up and running using the application.  The remaining features, tools and shortcuts are then discovered over years using Civil 3D in production.

To fast track some of this on-the-job learning, we’re hosting a bi-weekly webinar series called “30 min. Workouts”.  Each workout is designed to demonstrate time saving features and functionality not shown during traditional classroom training.  The live (no PowerPoint allowed) sessions occur every other Thursday.

Our next Workout - “Solving Problems using the Geometric Calculator” is scheduled for July 16^th at 12:30pm central time!

Would you like to attend?
Seating is limited, and you must register in advance:
-Register Here-

The session will focus on one of the most powerful (least talked about) features of the Civil 3D / AutoCAD platform; the geometric calculator.

All who register will receive a link to view (or download) the session recording.  Attendees having questions about the material can also request a 1:1 follow-up call.

Hope to see you there!

-Jeff  

Odds, Ends & Import Things when using Civil 3D / AutoCAD

In today’s installment, we explore several more common commands and look at ways to get more out of them. 

These include a discussion about using Layer Freeze vs. OFF. 

We also explore several aspects of the Layer Dialog box including controlling column display, filters and exporting a layer list. 

From there we focus on several ways we can capture (and more importantly use) the text contained within the Command Line. 

We wrap up by looking at ways to make the StatusBar more useful as well as leveraging coordinates to quickly position ourselves on a coordinate system.

As a Bonus, at the end, I provide a quick tip on how the Trim command works differently OTB in 2021.

Click on the video below to check it out.

-Jerry

30+ Civil 3D / AutoCAD Tips & Tricks in 30 minutes!

This week represented the fifth installment of our bi-weekly “30 min. Workout” webinar series.  The goal of these sessions is to demonstrate lesser known Civil 3D / AutoCAD / Map3D workflows.  Our hope is that each “workout” will be a valuable resource for users to explore concepts falling outside the scope of traditional training courses.

This week’s session featured a multitude of Civil 3D / AutoCAD tips and tricks.  In true “lightning round” fashion, more than thirty helpful features, system variables and keyboard shortcuts were demonstrated covering a wide array of topics.  If you are interested, I’ve added a link to the session recording below…

Likewise, if you are interested in downloading the script files used in this session, they can be found here! - https://a360.co/2YMqNnP 

-Jeff

 

Pushing Common Commands to the Extreme using Civil 3D / AutoCAD

Today we start exploring some underutilized features of commands most users rely on every day.  The challenge that we are trying to overcome is the fact that, because the commands are very familiar to us, we tend to rely on only a small amount of what is possible. 

That begins changing now!

During today’s 30 min workout, we will focus on the following...

Undo – Building a time machine
SAVE – Typing it does something different
XCLIP – Improve performance (INDEXCTL)
Wildcards – Lots more than just *
MSLIDE / VSLIDE – Quick view

I even threw in some “Simple LISP” at the end when I showed how to create a custom command you can start using immediately.

Click on the video below to check it out.

-Jerry

Using Grips to Make “Hands-on” Design Modifications in Civil 3D

If you think about it, virtually every selected object in a Civil 3D model displays grips of one form or another.  The more we know about how grips work, the more proficient we can be when modifying every aspect of a design.  In today’s installment we’ll take a closer look at the concept of “grips”.

Grips have been a part of the AutoCAD platform since the early days.  In their purest form, grips provide a quick way to modify geometry (and civil objects) “in-canvas”.  In the 30 min. presentation, we’ll explore the many modification modes (and sub options) made possible using grips.  We’ll also learn how to leverage multi-functional grips to access object specific tools right from the cursor.  Finally, we’ll learn how to use grips in conjunction with the Dynamic Input mode to query (and edit) geometry and Civil objects using a “heads up” display.

If you’re interested, the video below will help you get started…

-Jeff

Linking Reference Documents to Entities in a Civil 3D Model

The more information a Civil 3D model contains, the more value it provides at all stages of a project lifecycle.  Typically, Civil 3D data may be thought of as the attribution associated with civil objects, or maybe user defined properties or property set data.  Fortunately, Civil 3D can manage more than just attribution!  Each entity in a Civil 3D model can reference virtually unlimited files and documentation. In today’s installment we’ll explore a concept called Reference Documents.

The Reference Documents feature can be found on the “Extended Data Tab” of the Properties Palette.  Simply clicking the property allows you to link external files to most any selected object.  Just imagine how valuable your Civil 3D models could be if they gave you direct access to the supporting documentation for every object in a design.  

If you’re interested, I’ve created a quick video to help get you started...

-Jeff

 

Making Powerful Selections using Civil 3D / AutoCAD

If you’ve ever taken a formal training course to learn an application like Civil 3D, you know there’s never enough time to explore EVERYTHING the application can do.  (Not to mention all the features and tools included with Map 3D and AutoCAD.) Typical courses cover the “need to know” functionality to get you up and running using the application.  The remaining features, tools, and shortcuts are then learned over the course of years using Civil 3D in production.

To help fast track some of the on-the-job learning, we’ve started a new bi-weekly webinar series called “30 min. Workout”.  Each session is designed to demonstrate features and functionality not typically shown during traditional classroom training.  This week we launched the series by exploring the many ways the AutoCAD platform allows us to select objects.  When you think about it, most commands require object selection.  The more selection methods you know, the more efficient you can be using virtually every command! 

If you are interested, I’ve included a link to a recording of the session…

-Jeff

 

Adding Intelligence to InfraWorks Models using the Extend Schema Tool

Historically, the default schema used by InfraWorks was “fixed”, having a predefined number of feature classes and attributes.  This limited the number of unique features (and data) InfraWorks was able to consume and represent.  As a result, it was a challenge to manage multiple utility types or leverage extended attribution.

Today, InfraWorks 2020 includes a new Extend Schema Tool that makes it easy to create custom feature classes having virtually unlimited attribution.  By opening up the schema, designers now have much more control over the organization of attached content while also increasing the value of data analysis and visualization.  In today’s installment, we’ll use the Extend Schema Tool to create a custom feature class (with attributes) and then explore some ways to take advantage of the rich attribution.

If you're interested, I’ve recorded a video that walks through everything…

-Jeff

Smooth the Appearance of Sectioned Civil 3D Pipe Networks using FACETDEV

On occasion, sectioned pipe network components may appear “faceted” when displayed in a Civil 3D profile or section view.  In today's installment we’ll look at a quick way to smooth out the appearance of these objects using a system variable (unique to Civil 3D) called FACETDEV.  FACETDEV is short for Facet Deviation.

FACETDEV controls how much the display of a sectioned object can deviate from its true curved shape.  The lower you set FACETDEV, the closer the geometry will match the actual curve.  That said, there is a trade-off.  Setting it too low may impact drawing performance, so try not to be overly aggressive when assigning a value.  It’s important to note that this system variable is stored within the drawing, so assigning FACETDEV in a template file would apply it automatically to all future drawings.

If you are interested, I’ve created a quick video below that demonstrates the use of FACETDEV…

-Jeff

More information about FACETDEV (and its companion system variable FACETMAX) can be found here – https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/civil-3d/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2017/ENU/Civil3D-BestPractices/files/GUID-F6294C44-36B8-433C-ACBC-6D4414AB2B5E-htm.html

Display Multiple Civil 3D Section Views within a Single Grid

Many times, when creating Civil 3D section views, each view will have its own grid.  In today’s installment, we’ll learn how to display a single grid that multiple section views can share. 

Typically, section view grids are configured and displayed within the Section View Style.  The trick to creating a “unified grid” can be found by visiting the Group Plot Style.  Selecting the Display Tab within a Group Plot Style, you’ll find a series of grid components that apply to the overall sheet.  By configuring and displaying these components, a single unified grid can be displayed that is shared by multiple section views.

If you're interested, I’ve created a quick recording that walks through the process…

-Jeff