Civil 3D - Naming Assembly Groups and Subassemblies

Ever try to create a corridor, and when you get to the "Set Targets" you have no clue which one of the thirty or so subassemblies it is you are targeting?

OF COURSE YOU HAVE !!!

Because you, (like everyone else) dont take the time to rename subassemblies in the properties box.  Its simply too easy to continue on with the good intention that "I will name them later..."  right... like that ever happens.

Well, good news!  AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013 now has the ability to prompt you for the naming of assembly groups, and subassemblies as you place them on the drawing.

YOU JUST NEED TO KNOW WHERE - right?

Look no further, here is the method for allowing the prompts to appear.

On the prospector, go to the settings tab, and expand the subassemblies collection, and the commands collection under that.  Now right click, and select "Edit Command Settings".  You will see the settings box (partially show here:)

 

Set the Assembly Group Name Prompt, and the Subassembly Name Prompt to "ON" as shown with the red arrows above.

 

Now when you insert an assembly in to the drawing and select a subassembly for insertion, you will see the following promt to name the assembly group.   There are two "groups" one on the left and one on the right, name them appropriately.



 

 

Next you will see the Subassembly Name prompt.  Typically this is shown as the name of the subassembly you are inserting.

 

 

I would advise at the very minimum to add the word "left" or "right" (as appropriate) to the name of the subassembly as shown.

 

 

You certainly do not have to do the naming in this manner, however... make sure you come up with a naming convention which will make it easier for you to determine which subassembly you are using to set the target.

 

 

Hope this helps, as always make sure you contact me or visit www.youngsvos.com any time you need help.

 

We specialize in "On Demand" training.  Training when YOU need it, on what YOU need to know.  Always on your job, so you can continue progress on your job while getting the help you need.



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5 Easy Tips For Better Civil 3D Production (By Larry Young)

    How would you like to be more productive with the tools you already have.  Well you can, simply by using these few great tips below.

    Civil 3D is a great design tool.  In fact it does a great job of "drafting" while the design is being established.   Here are a few tips to help you be more productive and you bottom line look even better.

1.  Right click is your friend!   Yes, you heard me..  in Civil 3D, at almost any time you can right click the mouse to bring up menus.  These will most often be shortcuts and are of course quicker than clicking your way through the ribbon menu system. 

2.  Which brings me to point number two, the ribbon is a great thing, and its dynamic abilities will have you at the required menu quickly.  Simply by selecting a C3D object, you can get to the menus of all things possible/useable for that particular object.  So the tip here is "Dont turn the ribbon off".

3.  Use Styles (not layers) to hide Civil 3D objects.  When freezing and thawing layers to hide a Civil 3D object, you run the risk of turning off other objects or "pieces" of objects.  This could be a problem when you suddenly realize you cant see those points (because they happen to be on the same layer your alignment was on).  The problem arises when you try to figure out which layer(s) you froze or turned off.  This could take a while.. not only that but when you turn the layer back on, you may have more on than you wish which could take you a while to figure out how to solve this problem.  The tip here is to have an invisible style for everything Civil 3D.. IE: surfaces, alignments, corridors, sections etc.

4.  Use the Object Viewer for data validation or data integrity.  You can try this by selecting a surface , "Right Click" (see tip one) and select "Object Viewer".  The tip here is to rotate the surface to a side view, this will show quickly any problem areas such as an erroneous elevation on a point causing a spike, or an entire area too high or too low due to a survey mistake.

5.  Use Civil 3D labels whenever possible rather than placing normal AutoCAD text.  This is a two fold tip, first the labels will regenerate to the proper text height in any viewport scale.  You can try this yourself by changing the scale on a viewport, regen the viewport (or regenall) and watch the text height go back to the correct size.  The second part of this is just as powerful, that is that Civil 3D labels are dynamically linked to the object they are created from.  Try this by placing a bearing and distance on a parcel line, or a point elevation on a surface.  Now when the line or surface is changed, the label will change as well.  This happens with EVERY Civil 3D label, and will NOT happen if you simply put text on the drawing indicating the bearing and distance, or the elevation.

Well there you have it, 5 tips, 5 ways to save you time and 5 ways that we "Save you money 5 minutes at a time.  Thats our slogan, thats our business here at YOUNGS VOS.  Visit us for many more tips, videos, and valuable information.

Please leave your comments or questions and i will do my best to answer them as quickly as possible.

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Remove Contour Label Line

You know... that pesky line that goes through the contour elevation labels.  The one that bugs you, the one that you're not even sure why it shows up, but it just irritates you.

Well.. GET RID OF IT !

Even though it does NOT plot, though it shows, and is visible. You still would feel better if it wasn't there.

Here goes.

On the tool palette, go to the settings tab.

Right click on "Surface" (1) and click on the "Edit Feature Settings (2)

This will take you to the following window:

Expand the Contour Labeling section, in the dropdown list next to Display Contour...  Select "False"

The setting should now be "False.  (Also note the additional settings you will see in this collection)

The images below show with and without the line.

You will need to select one of the labels so that the line displays (temporarily) in order to move the line or the endpoints of the line, which results in the labels being moved.

You may need to move the labels if they are interfering with another object or text.

 Subscribe to this blog, and get notifications of every helpful tip...  till next time, remember we help "Save you money... 5 minutes at a time".

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Viewport Type Error in Civil 3D 2013

In Civil 3D 2013 there is a new bug reported.  While trying to set a plan & profile sheet template there is a problem with the viewport type.  In order to use the plan production tools the viewports need to be defined as “plan” & “profile”. If you select the viewport and access it’s properties you will find the Viewport Type Section where you can select which type you want the viewport to be.

By default the type is “undefined”.

The issue arises when you need to change that viewport type. When you change it to anything else but the undefined, it reverts back to undefined.  It appears that the change actually takes place, select anything else, or remove the viewport from the selection set, then select again... you will notice that the Viewport Type has reverted back to undefined. This presents a real issue since you cannot use the plan production tools without the viewports set the right way.

The workaround as discovered by Matt Kolberg is to change the system variable called PROPERTYPREVIEW from on to off. (This system variable is new to Civil 3D 2013)

To do this, simply type PROPERTYPREVIEW at the command line, then enter "off" (without the quotes) and enter.

Hope this helps, till next time:  "Hang in there, it DOES get better..."

Hidden Benefits of Training

When you think of training, the obvious reasons for training are very common across almost all industries.  Employees learn the software in order to become more productive, more efficient, and increase profits for the company.  Yes, of course all of this is true, and very important.  But let’s take a look at a few of the hidden benefits of training, both from the employer perspective and through the eyes of the employee.

“When free food is involved, training is tolerated by all.”

                                                                                                                                                          

Retention (of employees)

            Employee turnover can be very costly, training a new employee on all of the company standards, methodologies, and “ins and outs” of the firm always has an associated cost.  New employees quite often run at a lower level of productivity and efficiency than do personnel that already know what is to be done, and what is expected from them.  This makes employee retention very beneficial.  Let’s examine the role of training with respect to employee retention.

Employees will feel like you are more interested in them and their well-being if you are willing to invest in training.  Employers interested in the well-being of the company, and its employees and wanting to keep the company on the cutting edge will likely find that the employee feels more valued.  

Employees who feel more valued will want to stay with the company if the company is willing to invest in its own future.  "We're going to send you to training"...  "We would like to see you improve and move forward with the company”.  These are statements with a significant amount of clout built into them.  They provide for the psychological boost that every employee needs and wants.  Employees greatly value educational benefits as a way of knowing the company is actually interested in them, not simply the bottom line.

Jay Lehman, the recruiting manager of Toll Brothers, Inc., a luxury homes builder says... "We invest the time and our resources and give our personnel the opportunity to excel pretty quickly."  He goes on to say, "We train them in all facets of the work, and they don't really get that from other companies," says Lehman. "We value them and they see that."

Loyalty - employees tend to be much more loyal to companies who support their continuing education as cited:  In a study conducted by Spherion Atlantic Enterprises LLC., a staffing and employment-services firm, 61 percent of respondents who received training or mentoring said they were very likely to remain with their current employer for the next five years or more.

 

Improves morale of employee

Employees may be afraid to tell you they need help leaving them frustrated.  This may leave them feeling inadequate at best and possibly fearful of their job status.  A trained employee has more confidence in their abilities thus improving their morale and reducing stress.

Training helps the employee obtain job security as well as job satisfaction. The more satisfied the employee and the higher his confidence, the more he will contribute to organizational success, in addition employee absenteeism and turnover rates will be significantly reduced.

 

Less Supervision Required

Along with training comes an increased ability to perform a task with less supervision.  Fewer accidents and mistakes will occur resulting in substantially less time spent correcting the error.  Mistakes of this nature have a significant impact on completion of a project on time and under budget.  The hidden cost of this being the amount of time it may take for the supervisor or manager to assist in the correction process which results in lost time on other projects. 

Chances for Promotion

A well trained employee will be more eligible for advancement, and become a valuable asset for the company.  He will have the ability to move into positions that may become vacant due to attrition.  There is enormous savings potentials here in reducing the cost of training a "new employee" on all the company policies, methods and intricate corporate details.

 

Less Time lost Searching for Answers

Without training, employees needing assistance may be less likely to ask for help when faced with a challenging situation, they may therefor waste valuable time searching for answers on the Internet.  While the internet is an excellent source of free information, it may be impossible to find an answer to the exact problem at hand.  Every issue and required solution on every project is unique making solutions hard to come by.

 

"What happens if we train them, and they leave?"....

"What happens if we don't train them, and they stay?"

 

The benefits of training brought to light in this article are mostly hidden. When training is not administered, debilitating costs can often result in loss of business.  The goal of training is for the attendees to learn, master and eventually coach or train the new hires of the organization (implication here is the importance on retention of these trained employees).

 

 

For more information from Larry Young please visit www.youngsvos.com,  or visit his YouTube channel at lyoung1118.

 

 

Training? Who Needs Training, Find Anything on the Internet

So what was the world like before formal training?  There was never a time when people didn’t learn, however most of the time it was “the hard way” or out of “pure necessity”. 

 

Take the cavemen, they had to figure out how to hunt, kill and eventually cook their food… if only they had the internet back then, they could have had these answers in minutes, right?  Well maybe.  But then if they had looked up “how to hunt” they may have gotten millions of hits ranging from how to hunt a Tyrannosaurus Rex to how to hunt for berries.  Quite a difference!

So imagine now you search the internet for “how to create a grading object”… you’re likely to get the same results.  The search will result in hundreds of different features, documents, and videos on everything from creating a retaining wall, to a parking lot, to creating dozens of lot pads using a corridor model.  The fact is you may not find what it is you’re looking for, you may get close, or you may get really lucky and find exactly what it is you’re trying to accomplish.  Unfortunately the latter option is not very likely.

The reason it’s not very likely is that every project is different, every set of data is different, and every set of requirements and expected outcome is different.  The bottom line here is that correct answers are rarely a “one size fits all” solution.  You quite likely need a specialist that can assess your data, requirements, and limitations in order to teach you exactly how to accomplish the task at hand.

Next time you’re “stuck” and cannot figure out the solution, by all means search the internet for answers, but don’t spend too much time searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack.  Instead, try finding a horse (an expert) that can eat all the hay from around the needle, and get you right to the “point” (pun intended) quickly.

            Whether it's us at Youngs VOS or some other expert, I'm convinced that the experts, whoever they are, will be able to help you quickly, and save you money in the long run.

Stay tuned (in fact sign up by email to recieve all the blogs) upcoming... "The Hidden Benefits of Training" up next on LarryYoungLive blog.

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Displaying Points Using Point Groups

"How to display points, turn them all off, or all back on again"

(without using layers)

 

 

Laugh do you?  I cannot tell you how many times i see people trying to manipulate points and point labels by using layers.

 

This should be one of those "WNTDNC3D"  (what NOT to do in Civil 3D) items... do NOT use layers.  In fact, there are very very few times i even use or even need to use layers any more in Civil 3D.

 

 

So here we go... typical drawing with points brought in through a CSV file (comma seperated value), this particular point list was brought in using description keys.  That is why you see some trees showing immediatly upon import, but thats a different subject for a different blog.

 

 

 

 

We also have several point groups as shown below...

 

 

 

The "Invisible" point group contains all the points in the project, just as the "All Points" group does.

Below you will see that the Invisible point group has no point style, and no point label style.  This is what makes it invisible.

 

 

 

Turning all the points "off" or making them invisible is simply a matter of moving the invisible point group "above" all the other point groups in the list.  (as shown here)  You get to this particular window by right clicking on the words "Point Groups" in the prospector and choosing properties.

 

Original point group list.

 

Select the "invisible" group, and click on the top right "up arrow" to move this group to the top of the list as shown.

Modified point group list.

 

This is similar to the "bring to front" options for objects in AutoCAD or Civil 3D... point groups are displayed in the order they appear in the list.   Because "invisible" is first, that is the style used for all the points in that group.  All other groups will now be displayed below invisible, and therefor not show up on the screen.  (Except for the "Gotcha" i mentioned earlier) Notice the problem below.  All points are invisible except a few...

 



 

 

Here is the problem, and the solution   If you select any one of the points still on the screen, and look at properties, you will notice (red arrows below) that the style and point label style are set.  This means that the individual point properties are overriding the point group properties.

 

 

 

Ok, so how to fix this...  Right click on the "Invisible" point group and select Properties.  Now navigate to the "Overrides" tab as shown, and place a check mark in the "Style" and "Point Label Style" override boxes.  (see below).

 

 













 

This will make the point group "Override" the individual point styles and point label styles we saw in the properties box.

 

Click on the OK button and you should see the points dissappear.

 

 

 

To display one point group simply "move" that point group above the "Invisible" point group and you will see the results.  In the example below, Topo points are now shown above Invisible points, therefor the Topo points will display, and all others below invisible will not.  Simple enough?

 

 

Point Group Order is Key here.

 

 

 

As you can see below, the Topo points are displayed, while Aerial points are not.

 



 

 

Hope this helps, if not you can always visit www.youngsvos.com for further information.

 

See the entire video of the above blog: 

Watch Video Here

 

 

Dont forget to register at www.youngsvos.com for additional free information and trainings. 

 

We now proudly service over 300 registered participants at Youngs VOS.

 

Or email me at lyoung@youngsvos.com if there is anything further i can help you with.

 

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Thank you for visiting.  We appreciate you.

 

 

Free Corridor Training Available NOW.

FREE Corridor Training as you've never seen it...

You get:

• Download the starting drawing, and training documentation.
• Every page has step by step instructions for each part of the process.
• Each page contains a VIDEO showing how to do each step.
• Re-take, or come back to the training whenever you'd like.

The training starts with a blank drawing, and steps you through the following:

• Importing Points
• Creating existing ground surface from these points.
• Create Alignment
• Create Existing profile along alignment
• Create Proposed Profile
• Creating the Assembly (typical cross section)
• Create the Corridor
• Display methods for the corridor
• Creating a surface from the corridor
• Obtaining Volumes  of the corridor (using 2 different methods)

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Civil 3D - What NOT to do !!! (Part 1 of MANY)

Well here goes,  many people are amazed at Civil 3D.  Unfortunately they are also amazed at some of the things they manage to do with unexpected results.

Now before you panic, this is usually not a big deal, because of the undo button, or the "oops" button.

But preventative maintenance is always better than trying to fix things, so here goes.


If you want to delete a profile VIEW please do NOT put a window around it, or a crossing window around it, and hit the delete button.

This will in fact delete the profile view, however...  IT WILL DELETE THE PROFILES AS WELL,  like the existing or proposed profiles.

And most of the time, i really doubt you would want this because it means re-creating possibly the existing profile, the proposed profile, and any other profile you may have placed in the view.

DONT BELIEVE ME?  Go try it on a test drawing and make sure of what you're doing.

Good luck, back again soon with more "What NOT to do" helpful hints.


For more, please visit www.youngsvos.com or email me at lyoung@youngsvos.com for questions or help.

Happy Cadding!!

Break ROW Lines at Each Lot Corner - EASILY!

Parcel Creation and Lot Line Bearing and Distance Labels

(Little Known Feature in Map 3D)

Now before you ignore this, remember that Map 3D is already included in Civil 3D.  In fact, so is AutoCAD.

But I digress…  back to the issue.  Parcels need to be dimensioned, usually with a bearing and distance on each line.   So what happens when the R.O.W. line needs a distance, but also needs to be broken up into individual lot lines for distance labels also?

In fact, how do we get the “perfectly” closed polygonal areas needed for parcel conversion? 

We all know the problem, lines that don’t “exactly” meet at the corner, lines that go too far, or fall short of the line to be intersected, duplicate lines…  and the list goes on.

Thanks to Map 3D, these errors can be fixed quite easily and extremely quickly (all at once in fact) and R.O.W. lines can be broken at each lot corner allowing for easy labeling without manually drawing duplicate lines and without using the tedious "break" command.

But wait.. theres more!   When the R.O.W. lines get broken, the individual lot lines created can also be placed on a new layer leaving the original R.O.W. line intact.  Distance labeling solved.

So what is this “Little known feature”?   It’s called Drawing Cleanup, and yes, you already have it if you are using Civil 3D.

Need to know how to use this amazing tool?

Well, simply visit www.youngsvos.com and become a member. 

(We do not spam!)

But we will give you a short lesson on how to use Drawing Cleanup.  You will also get additional free information on Civil 3D, on-line training classes, videos and more.

Contact me at lyoung@youngsvos.com for “Rapid Response Training”.  If you need to know how to accomplish something in Civil 3D, and you need to know NOW, we can help… immediately.

Surface Outer Boundary - When Corridor Extents Not Available

I used to wonder why "sometimes" i could create a boundary from the "extents of the corridor" and other times that option was not there.

Well, i have a shortcut to creating the surface boundary from the extents of the corridor even if that option doesnt appear to be available initially.

In this image, you notice that you have a limited amount of options available for use as the boundary (and in this case none of them are a viable choice).  Creating the boundary by hand is not easily done, and can lead to a great deal of needless work.

THE TRICK:

By creating a second baseline in the parameters of the corridor, Civil 3D will now add in the option of using the corridor extents.

HOW:

Add an additional baseline to the corridor as shown below.  (Please remember to take this out after the boundary has been created.)

Before...

After...

You will need to put a profile in, but it doesnt really matter for this temporary baseline, so dont be overly concerned about which profile.

Now you will notice on the surface boundaries tab (as shown below) that the option "Corridor extents as outer boundary" is now available for use.



And there you have it!  Quick easy workaround for getting the boundary in without having to digitize or sketch in a polyline all the way around the outline of the corridor.

One final thing...  DELETE THE SECOND BASELINE!   It is no longer needed, and could become confusing later or to others.

Remember, visit http://www.youngsvos.com/ and call us for custom "on-line" training that saves you all the travel expenses, gets the issue solved immediately, and requires no time away from your office for 3 day training classes.

Civil 3D - Its Not Your Fathers LDT (or... Make Invisible Syles)

Sorry, but you heard me right!

Ever freeze a layer to turn off a surface or an alignment?  Of course you have, but this is definitely NOT a good idea in Civil 3D.  Why?  Because its not your fathers LDT, and its definitely not your grandfathers AutoCAD!  When you freeze (or turn off) a layer, you may not (ok probably not)  know what else is on that layer.  THATS WHEN THINGS DISAPPEAR!

So you get into a drawing, or you come back to a drawing and discover that there are things missing.  Yes, this has happened to all of us at some point.  And whats the first thing we do?  Of course...  we run around the office accusing everyone of destroying our drawing.  Because after all, isnt that the job of any other employee? To make YOU look bad?

You see, Autodesk came up with these brilliant items called "Styles".  Now there may be hundreds of them in any particular drawing, and yes, they may even be a little difficult to learn, but they are there for a reason, and they most certainly make a LOT of things easier.

For example, have you ever thought of making a style called "Invisible"?  Surely not,  if it had to be invisible why would you waste time putting it in the drawing in the first place.  Well then why did Autodesk make those cute little buttons in the layer manager that lets you freeze or turn off layers?  Because there comes a point in time when you may just want something in your drawing, yet be able to "hide" it for a while. Like when you want to plot the drawing without the surface, or without the alignment.

Now...  lets talk about this "invisible" style for a bit shall we?  My opinion is that almost every Civil 3D object, IE: Surface, alignment, corridor, etc etc. should have an invisible style.  This makes it quite easy to change to the invisible style which then will turn off a surface, corridor, etc. And this is done without freezing or turning off layers and accidentally turning off anything else that you would spend hours of time looking for later.  (Not to mention all the enemies you'll make when the accusations start about someone touching YOUR drawing.)

Yes, i am a consultant, and a Civil 3D instructor, i have been for many years.  But i still get the call almost weekly where some object, or group of obects has suddenly disappeared.  So next time that happens, look for layers that are off or frozen, then do yourself a favor, create an invisible style for the object you were trying to hide.  And if you dont know how to do this, give me a call....

Did I mentioned i'm a Civil 3D instructor?

Till next time... 

"Step away from your fathers LDT"!!!

And visit http://www.youngsvos.com/ for all your Civil 3D and Map 3D training needs.

Dragged Point Label - Gap between arrowhead and point marker.

Ever notice that when you drag a point label, there is a gap between the end of the arrowhead and the actual point marker?  (Like this)

The fix for this is easy assuming you can find WHERE to go to fix it.  (Kinda starting to seem like this is the problem way too often for my taste!)

So here goes...

1.  Select the point (or label)
2.  Right click, and select "Point Group Properties"

Now here is where the fun starts because one would assume (or at least i did) that the fix would be in the label style.  WRONG, its actually in the Point Style.

3.  Click the down arrow to the right of the point style (the second down arrow), and choose "Edit Current Selection" from the dropdown list.
4.  Click on the "Summary" tab at the top.
5.  Click the "+" sign to expand the Marker group.
6.  Change the "Leader Stops at Marker" value to "No"

7. Click OK, and OK once again.

Your arrow should now go all the way to the actual point location.  (As shown here)

Hope this helps solve a rather annoying problem.

Till next time, remember for all your Civil 3D training needs visit http://www.youngsvos.com/ where we can help you save time with our expert training.

"If we can save you just 5 minutes per hour....  

then we just gave you an extra month per year."





How do i get another drawing to have the same layout and viewports?

Ever create another drawing complete with layouts containing viewports?  Of course you have, everyone has. 

The problem is, you have to manipulate these new viewports by setting the view port size and scale, then panning as near as possible to the same location.

Not necessary!

In the new drawing, simply right click on any existing layout, then select "From Template" in the menu.  Navigate to the drawing that has the layout and viewports you need to duplicate, and select which layout you wish to use.

Thats it, the layout and all viewports at the same scale and location are now in the current drawing.

Think it cant be any easier?  You're right, but remember,  you can always watch the video at:

http://www.youngsvos.com/min-LayoutInsert.html

C ya next time, until then remember we can stop your Civil 3D pain with our expert training at http://www.youngsvos.com/.

Fields as text Label

Ever put a label under an assembly only to have the assembly be renamed? Yes you guessed it, you have to edit the text to reflect the name of the assembly.

NOT AN LONGER... This does NOT have to be a source of your civil 3d pain any longer.

We will now show you "Fields"... By typing in the word "field" (without the quotes of course) at the command line, you will be taken to the Field dialog box. In the upper left dropdown, select "Objects", notice that the list below changes.

Next click on the field name "Object" in the column on the left. (The next two columns will now be blank.)

Now select the icon as shown below, which will allow you to select the desired object.




Select the centerline of the assembly, and the properties column will be populated.


Select the "Name" property from the list. You should see the assembly name in the upper right corner of the dialog box.

Click OK, and place the field (text) into the drawing where you wish. You should have an assembly with a field text box similar to that shown below.





Now go to the properties of the assembly, change the name, and regen your drawing. The text field you placed a moment ago should change to reflect the renamed assembly.

Remember:

We save you 5 minutes per hour..... then we just saved you 1 month per year. Think about it.

http://www.youngsvos.com/ for all of your Civil 3D training, online, onsite, custom, and On-Demand training available to fit your training needs.

Layout View Recycling

Ever get tired of re-creating the apparently same layout view over and over and over?

Two ways of solving this annoying issue will have your copy of the layout view up and running in seconds.

First, it IS possible to create layout views that are used over and over in your templates. This means creating new drawings have your layouts included in them, ready for you to use each time. Don't need the layout? Delete it, easy as that.

Second, if the layout is not in the template, and its not in the current drawing, use Design Center to "drag and drop" from ANY drawing on your hard disk or network, yes any drawing you can "see" from your computer can be used. Open design center, find the drawing, expand the drawing, then layouts. In the right window, select the layout you need, and simply drag it into your current drawing. DONE. Sometimes this stuff is just too easy.

Watch the video HERE or copy and paste this link: http://www.youngsvos.com/min-insert-layout.html

Remember to scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up for daily videos on Civil 3D tips, tricks, and training.

MATCH PROPERTIES....

Who knew that such an "oldie but goodie" could work even better in Civil 3D?

Well it can, try it on Civil 3D objects like a profile view, or an alignment. Granted, it doesnt work on ALL civil objects but its there, right on the home tab of Civil 3D, and waiting for you to give it a go.

This command is far easier than selecting a profile view, right clicking, going to profile view properties, and finding the style name... then going to the profile view you wish to change, and repeating this process until you change the style to match.

Try it, you'll like it. or, you can watch a "Video Minute" of how this command works, simply by visiting this page... http://www.youngsvos.com/matchprop.html Dont forget to scroll down the page and register to recieve your FREE minute video by email each day.

Oldie but Goodie

I always find it interesting to conjure up those old, and sometimes just plain forgotten commands and goodies that have been used with great success. Its amazing just how far Autodesk has come in improving the functionality of Civil 3D, and along with that comes tons of new and very useful commands and functions.

If you've been around awhile (like me) you may (like me) tend to forget about some of the things that have in the past made life much easier. Or perhaps we simply get complacent about them, and figure its "easier to do it this way".

One such example is the "Grip Edit" abilities of AutoCAD, ( this should not be a little known command, but may be unknown or forgotten to you) which of course is available in Civil 3D.

Oh yeah, I remember that, havent used it since 19 forgotten (oops, showing my age here). Yes it is still there, and its been around awhile, so some of you may have never even heard of it.

Well, here goes...

Draw a line on the screen, doesnt matter how long or what angle. Now select that line, you should see three square "grips", one at each end, and one dead center of the line. (If you dont see them, simply type the word grips into the command line, and set the value to 1, or 2)


Now, with the grips on, click on the center grip, it turns red (maybe, depends on some settings) but more importantly, you see the command line suddenly says "** Stretch **".

First thing we're going to do is hit the space bar, the command line will change to "** move **", hit the space bar three more times slowly, and you will see:

** Rotate **
** Scale ** and
** Mirror **

Yes, you can accomplish all these commands, just by using the grips, continue pressing the space bar until you get back to the Move command. You may now simply "drag" the line around and put it down elsewhere. Now this is really cool, but try this...

Select the line again, click on the middle grip... space bar to the move command. But this time, notice the sub-commands inside the grip edit command...

"Specify move point or [Base Point/Copy/Undo/eXit]"



press C and enter....


this will allow you to not only move the line, but make copies at the same time. Yes, this is just like the copy command, but sometimes, doing it this way will be much easier, especially in the older versions where you had to hit M for multiple. This command is already set to multiple.

Draw another line, select it, click on the center grip, space to the rotate command this time. Now when you press C for copy, you will be making several copies of the line rotated around the center of the line.

Draw two lines on the screen, make sure they do not touch or cross. Now select both of them, cick the grip at one end of one of the lines, and "drag" it over a grip on the second line. The lines are now connected exactly by the end points.

Dont have time to go into all the details, but practice these grip edits, i think you'll find them time saving.

Need further help, or want to know more? Email me lyoung@youngsvos.com

Ribbons – An “acquired” taste?

Do you use the Ribbon, or are you like many who have turned it off, never to be tried again, simply because it was different?

If you have turned it off, I would highly recommend turning it back on, and giving it another chance. This phenomenal tool is “Context Sensitive”, now you may or may not know what that is, but let’s just say it’s sort of like if someone were to throw a ball at you, you would react differently if it were a baseball (you would catch it), or if it were a soccer ball (you might kick it, or hit it with your head), or maybe even a billiard ball (which you would obviously try to avoid being hit by).

Ribbons react in much the same way, when you “throw” something at Civil 3D by selecting an object (must be a Civil 3d object by the way, not an AutoCAD object) then Civil 3D reacts to it differently depending upon the object selected.
Examples: if you select an alignment, then the tools associated with working on alignments are now available and displayed in the ribbon.

If you select a surface the ribbon changes and the appropriate menu items are displayed allowing you to work on the surface. This makes it much easier to find the command you need.

When you first started up Civil 3D and the ribbon magically appeared, you had no clue where the menu item was that you were looking for. This is most likely why you turned it off in the first place. Now I am suggesting, that rather than looking through all those commands, panels, and menu items to find the volumes command, or the drape image command, that simply selecting the surface (which is what you drape an image on, or what you typically use for volumes) that these menu items now display in the ribbon. This greatly reduces the amount of items you need to search through on the ribbon. This increases your speed, which increases your worth, which of course… increases your employer’s happiness.

Bottom line: Civil 3D ribbons are responsible for your boss’s happiness! (Not really of course, but it sounded good.)

Try the ribbon; I think you may find that it becomes an “acquired” taste, and it may make your boss happier in the long run as well.

Thanks for joining me on my blog.

Till next time…. Make IT Civil3D