Archives
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
Archive for June, 2010
The Right Fit: Alignments From the Field
Monday, June 28th, 2010
By Russ Nicloy
I was working with a user this week. During the process he had points he’d surveyed in the field for the centerline of an existing path was. He was going to eyeball in the alignment along that path based on the points he’d shot. But why not let the computer do things like that?! The alignment will be much easier to put in, and more appropriate mathematically as well?!
In Civil 3D 2011 you can create a best fit alignment. Now, the user I worked with had C3D point objects fom his survey, but you can also use AutoCAD points, AutoCAD blocks, feature lines, or AutoCAD lines and arcs. If you are using C3D points from the survey you just got in, you could also use an existing point group to even more quickly assign the C3D point objects. You can assign a maximum radius for curve creation so that the alignment will curve, or choose a more direct path. You are still in the “alignment creation” process, so styles and labels are available in the same dialog box. For those that want to double-check where this alignment is coming in, there is even a regression graph available.
All this and you don’t have to play connect the dots!
Just another real world example of where the 2011 release is saving time and increasing accuracy.
Wondering About Your Graphics Hardware for Revit 2011???
Friday, June 25th, 2010
Written By: Adrianna Schneider, Senior Application Engineer
I am always being asked about what we recommend when it comes to Hardware for Revit. I still reference the Technical Note from 2010. Although the link brings you to our Revit Structure site, the Technical Note includes all three Revit platforms.
The Revit Clinic, however, has some additional information about cards and drivers, updated from the previous list. Additional tests have been performed, check out the changes!
Web Updates for Revit 2011
Friday, June 25th, 2010
Written By: Adrianna Schneider, Senior Application Engineer
They are out and ready for you to download! Please remember, on the top right hand corner of your Revit Workspace, the Communication Center provides you with updated information, including new posts on Autodesk Blogs (Inside the Factory, The Revit Clinic and The Building Coder).
For today, however, click on the following links to get the updates:
Revit Architecture 2011 Update 1
What Happened to My Crown
Thursday, June 17th, 2010
By Russ Nicloy
I actually posted this a couple of years ago. I had thought it might be time to update the post when I got a support call that absolutely told me it was time to repost! If you’re doing road design at all this is important.
The issue at hand is that you may need your road crown points to be labeled in a cross section view. Or, perhaps you need to export the crown points from the corridor. If you haven’t made a certain choice for your assembly it may appear that you don’t have any crown points.
There is a real reason why this is missing. The LaneOutsideSuper subassembly is extremely useful in most road designs, and might be used in a more complex roadway that has multiple lanes. That means one of them might be the crown of the road, but others might not be. So this subassembly has an on/off switch for the crown point. The default for the switch is OFF. Here is what the subassembly property palette looks like in the default form.
Once this is set to YES the crown is now identified in the corridor, and can be used for labeling or points. Here is the same cross-section properties with the Crown turned on. Notice that there are actually four point codes added to the assembly. The crown point is added to all of the material courses.
And finally, here is a look at the cross-section view that shows the crown labels.
Opening a File: Trust Me On This
Friday, June 11th, 2010
By Russ Nicloy
I may have a series of posts subtitled “trust me on this.” The first one appeared about a month or two ago regarding scaling of drawings. I realized there were other issues that users everyday wander into by accident, not realizing how important they are to drawing stability. That can really mess you (the user) up in the long run. I believe these will be sparked by spontaneous conversations, and as issues arise, so they may be sporadic. But, I hope they are helpful and enlightening.
This installment centers around the way people open files. I suppose this goes for all Autodesk programs, but we see it for Civil 3D a lot. There are a lot of users who go into Windows Explore, browse to where their file is located, then double-click the drawing icon. this opens Civil 3D and the drawing, all in one fell swoop. Its something that we as users do all the time, because it works….usually.
Actually, the problem with opening files this way is that it by-passes a whole host of desirable functions. If you were to open C3D, then open the file from within the program, the configurable settings and object enablers, et al, run properly and things are great. In fact, we aren’t certain that some stability issues aren’t related to this issue.
The issue that sparked this post was a user was opening a file through Explore, and the proxy graphics window kept popping up (which there were no proxy graphics in this file) - followed by a crash to the desktop. When he opened from inside the program things ran just fine.
We have seen this a lot. So trust me on this. Open your program first, then the documents from inside.
Data Shortcut Poject Association
Friday, June 4th, 2010
By Russ Nicloy
If you are using data shortcuts for your Civil 3D projects you probably have to track where shortcuts are stored and which drawing file is using which shortcut. In the 2011 release there is relief for this. As you make shortcuts you have the opportunity to make a project association so that Civil 3D can track the relationship. Not only does it track the relationship, it will change the data shortcut to the correct shortcut location just by your opening of a file.
Notice that there is a “multiple drawings” option where you can point to a file folder, instead of associating one drawing at a time. Saves some time and effort if your file storage structure is organized well.
Raster Design Object Enabler for 2011
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
By Russ Nicloy
I know a lot of people were waiting for this. The Raster Design Object Enabler for 2011 has been posted. I came to report before getting it myself, but a quick run through the Readme confirms SID file access. I always highly recommend reading the readme file - its not just the “accept license agreement” kind of stuff that everyone clicks through. Make sure that you download the right version, 32-bit or 64-bit.
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Rich on Import AutoCAD Blocks into Inventor DWG Drawing
- Darren Hartenstine - MasterGraphics on Is Your Autodesk Vault Safe?
- Robert on Is Your Autodesk Vault Safe?
- Tony on The Thing About Geo-referenced Images…
- Grant @ Electrical cad on Autodesk 2010 Digital Prototyping Solution - From Concept to Photo Realistic Images