New Webcast CD

It is that time again. There is a new CD of recorded webcasts available. This CD has approximately 55 recorded sessions (that is over 1 years worth), ending May of 2007.

Additionally the CD contains white papers and custormer success stories.

I have always treasured my CDs and DVD of recorded webcast for the ability to view them anytime, anywhere.

Click on the links to get to the order page.

New! Civil 3D Resource Center

I was a little out of the loop as to when this was officially launched, but Autodesk (yes Autodesk, I do not start until Monday) has provided a new resource for those that are just beginning to acquire information about Civil 3D. The site is the AutoCAD Civil 3D Resource Center. Toby Jutras mentioned it during today's webcast.

This site contains tutorials, FAQ's, customer success stories, whitepapers, and links to other items such as the recorded webcasts (I have tried to see every one).

I have not been through this entire site, but I hope to very soon.

Today's (OOPS Last Weeks) Webcast (3-30-07)

I thought that I had posted this. Apparently not. Sorry. ACE

One thing became apparent to me during today's Civil 3D webcast titled "Introduction to AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008", and that was that Autodesk has been listening to the suggestions, complaints, and wishes from users. There were many usability enhancements shown during the one hour webcast by Dave Simeone (Civil 3D Senior Product Manager) and Dan Philbrick (Civil 3D Development Manager).

As I have been learning about Civil 3D 2008 I have been surprised by how many little improvements were added, where I found myself thinking "Yeah, this is better. Yes, I would prefer to do that this way instead of the old way".

I am looking forward to doing more with, and learning more about, 2008. Training demands do limit my learning time, but when I do get to learn I am very pleased with the results.

"Like what?" you may ask. Well, here are a few small things that caught my attention:

1. Extract object from surface (i.e. Contour, Boundary)
2. Modify objects via Properties (that is the AutoCAD Properties window)
3. "Assign Elevations" during feature line creation (from Surface or Grading).
4. Collapse and Expand baselines and regions in Corridor Properties dialog box.
5. "Set All Frequencies" in Corridor Properties dialog box.
6. Boundary creation for corridor surfaces now use a jig line (like parcels automatic mode).
7. Create Profile View now uses a wizard.
8. Section View Group Properties (change all sections views at once).
9. New Workspace.
10. Move blocks to surface elevation.

Clearly, there were the more marquee improvement such as...

1. Automatic Plan Production
2. Vault enhancements
3. 2-10 faster corridor creation
4. New "Lines and Curves" menu pulldown.
5. DWF files will include object data
6. Google Earth import/export

Now, back to training.

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008 Launch Webcast

During this Friday's weekly Civil 3D webcast (March 30, 2007) Autodesk will officially launch/introduce AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008 (notice the name change).

The webcast is officially titled "Introduction to AutoCAD 2008". It takes place during the typical webcast time slot of 9:00 am to 10:00 am Pacific Time.

Last year the similar introduction webcast had what was likely the highest attendance of the entire year.

Registration is required. We will receive an email notification with dial-in and log-in information immediately after registering.

By the way if you are like me and missed last weeks webcast "A Sneak Peek at AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008" it is already posted for viewing.

Read the Labels

I have now been able to provide "labels" for the majority of the almost 400 posts of this blog.

You will notice at the bottom of most posts what Blogger terms "labels". Other applications might use the term tags. If you pick on a "label" all blog posts that have similar "labels" will be displayed. I accomplished this relatively quickly and not with a fine-tooth comb. So there may be some posts that are not perfectly "label"ed.

This was worth the effort because this can be a good method to find all posts that have to do with a particular subject, such as Vault or Profiles etc.

Give it a try, see if it helps. Feel free to comment about any posts or "labels".

I will add some of the current "labels" to this post, to kick start the process.

Land Desktop Service Pack 2 News

During today's Civil 3D webcast, Dave Simeone, Autodesk Civil 3D Product Manager, mentioned that a problem(s) had been found with Service Pack 2 for Land Desktop (He was not specific about the issue(s)). So, Autodesk has removed the download from the website.

He stated that if anyone has downloaded the Service Pack but has not yet installed it, do not install it. They will be posting a new Service Pack as quickly as possible.

There was no mention of what those of us that have already installed it should do. If you have, and are having issues, I am guessing that an Uninstall/Reinstall may be the best course of action.

Bummer.

To reiterate this only has to do with Land Desktop 2007 and Service Pack 2.

Civil 3D 2007 SP3 Due Today

Dave Simeone, Autodesk Civil 3D Product Manager, stated during today's Civil 3D webcast that it is their intention to make Civil 3D 2007 Service Pack 3 available for downloading today.

With over 100 defect fixes and MANY performance improvements this SP is much anticipated.

I'll post when it is officially available.

PS. The links found in this post allow you to get to the Service Packs Page.

New Webcasts CD

I happen to hold in my hand a brand new CD which contains webcasts recorded between August 1, 2005 and July 31, 2006. This CD contains 42 recorded webcast sorted in the following groups:

Civil 3D General (19 webcasts)
Compatible Products (3 webcasts)
Customer Success (3 Webcasts)
Pipe Design (1 webcast)
Production Drafting (4 webcasts)
Road and Transportaion Design (8 webcasts)
Site and Subdivision Development (4 webcasts)

Additionally there are...
15 Customer Success Stories
6 White Papers
and information about the "Civil Engineering Community"

This CD replaces a CD that had webcasts from August 1, 2005 and January 31, 2006 (18 webcasts). So that means that this new CD contains an additional six months worth of webcasts(24 additional webcasts).

I have always been a BIG fan of the webcast CDs and DVD because I can view them at any time without internet connection. Click above to request yours.

Oh, and did I mention that it is FREE.

Civil 3D 2007 SP3 Info

During the webcast on Friday Oct 06, 2006 Dave Simeone, Autodesk Civil 3D Product Manager, gave some glimpses of what may likely be in Civil 3D 2007 Service Pack 3. These items include:

Civil 3D 2007 (SP1a, SP2 and NEW FIXES)
AutoCAD 2007 SP1
Map 3D 2007 SP3
Components of Vault SP1 (he made it clear, DO NOT INSTALL VAULT SP1 YET!)

He mentioned that users will likely see the following improvements:

2X Faster Corridor Processing Speed
50X Performance Jump in Project/Reference Interaction
Improved Surface Memory Usage (surface memory leaks have been an issue for some)
Stability Improvements
and (drum roll, please)
Restoration of Non-Projects Shortcuts

This last item translates to shortcuts that WILL ABSOLUTELY be remembered from session to session. No longer will we have to reload the .xml file from which we load data references. Remember data reference synchronization notifications. He also demonstrated a NEW ability to change the source file of a data reference (see image below).



So when is all this supposed to be available? They are aiming for the end of this month (October).

Vault and Shortcuts Future (Interesting Read)

If you have not already read the most recent post in the blog by Dave Simeone, Civil 3D Product Manager, and Dan Philbrick, Civil 3D Development Manager, about Civil 3D 2007, Vault and Data Shortcuts, I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE you to do so. Simply click on the title of this post to see what Dan says about these subjects.

He also mentions that anyone that wished to be a part of the beta program for their plans, they can make it so.

Lastly, Dan states that they will provide more details this Friday during the weekly webcast. Do not forget, to view the weekly webcasts it is necessary to register.

Civil 3D - Upcoming Webcasts Modification

For all who are considering attending any of the upcoming Civil 3D webcasts (Fridays at 9:00am Pacific time) be aware that it is now necessary to register in order to view them.

The process is quick and painless. We do have to register in order to get the webcast's confirmation email with details on each webcast and instructions for accessing it.

So if you plan to attend register in advance so that you do not have to go through the process at the last minute.

SP2 Update - No Update

All's quiet on the Eastern Coast (Civil 3D product design is done in New Hampshire). No news since Friday when the only mentions were during the webcast in the "Q & A Pane" as follows:

Question: SP2?
Answer: Brent...keep an eye out on the newsgroups for an announcement

later...

Question: will SP2 include all of the fixes in AutoCAD SP1?
Answer: No, we will be putting out another sp with those included

So we have been keeping an eye on the newsgroups... nada.
Some had hoped that the delay was so Autodesk could include AutoCAD SP1, apparently that is not the case.

SP2 Update

It was mentioned during today's webcast that Service Pack 2 is now targeted to be available next Friday, August 25th.

SP2 Due When?

Although I missed the webcast last Friday I hear that it was mentioned that Service Pack 2 should be out this coming Friday.

Civil 3D Vault Page

This is the link to the Civil 3D specific Vault page on the Autodesk website. It contains an FAQ, two recorded webcasts and three white papers.

Map 3D. No, Civil 3D Tips and Tricks

Unfortunately, many Civil 3D users think of Civil 3D and Map 3D as two distinct products. But, because Civil 3D is built on-top-of Map 3D we have all of the Map 3D capabilities in Civil 3D. Sadly, they are often overlooked or ignored.

In conversations with Civil 3D users I have often mentioned Map tools or capabilities to address civil engineering challenges. Becuase of this fact, it is often in an organization's best interest to have Map capable users on staff.

I have long had links down the left column to Map "mini demos" and "recorded webcasts". Here are links to Map 3D Tips and Tricks from the Autodesk US website and the Autodesk UK website. Both sets are useful to Civil 3D users.

Webcast Reminder (Registration Required) - Civil 3D Implementaion

A quick reminder that the Civil 3D webcast schedule for tomorrow at 12:00pm EDT, 9:00am PDT will be the 1st of 4 that will focus on an engineering company's implementation process.

This can be a very good learning tool for those that are considering migrating to Civil 3D in the near future.

By the way, registration is required for this session. Register now so you will be ready. I have just received my confirmation.

Civil 3D - On Demand Webcasts

Autodesk had recently restructured (due to user feedback) how webcasts were shown on the website. They used to be listed in chronological order. The newer format was to catagorize them by subject/topic.

Yesterday, someone requested in the Civil 3D discussion group that it be possible to somehow see the entire list of available webcasts in chronological order also. This way, if we missed a recent webcast it would be easy to find versus having to devine which category it was saved in.

After much input in the discussion group in agreement, Autodesk has made it possible to see the webcasts listed both ways.

Considering that this was just brought up yesterday and today the website has both options available, I think that this is a good example of making requests of Autodesk and them responding quickly. Lets keep this up.

The Chronicles of... Civil 3D

Coming soon to a theater near you. No, The next Civil 3D webcast scheduled for Friday July 28 at 12:00pm EDT, 9:00am PDT will be the first in a series of webcasts that will be reality TV on your computer screen (only not so cheesey). The series will be co-hosted by Darlene Estabrook, Civil Designer, Sitelines, and Anthony Governanti, Civil Technical Marketing Manager.

Here is Autodesks description...

Can a small-town engineering firm generate design plans for a commercial subdivision using Autodesk® Civil 3D®? That's the question we'll answer in this exciting new series of webcasts, which chronicle - in real time – the experiences of a Maine-based civil engineering firm attempting to complete a project on time and within budget. Thinking about migrating to Autodesk Civil 3D? Don't miss this insider's look at what it takes!

This series will provide a once a month look at the implementation process.

Sounds like... Must See PC!

Sorry I could not help myself.

Dave & Dan Show co-Starring Anthony a Big Hit!

Today's Civil 3D webcast titled "Dave and Dan Show" was worthwhile. Dave Simeone, Civil 3D Product Manager, and Dan Philbrick, Civil 3D Development Manager along with Anthony Governanti ISD Technical Marketing Manager provided an excellent fast and furious (on-the-fly) Q & A session.

They attempted to answer and demonstate as many posted questions from viewers at home, I mean at work, that they could fit into one hour.

They covered subjects like...

Showing a crossing pipe in a profile
Labeling a crossing Pipe in profile
Creating ROW parcels
Renumbering parcels
Parcel display order
Using surface styles
Editing surface styles
Using the TOOLBOX (new in 2007)
They previewed a utility that should be free and available shortly
Rotating point labels
Transparent commands
Design curb return profiles (using Transparent commands)
Using the Inquiry Tool
Listing Points

Clearly a lot was covered. If you missed it, or if you blinked, Look for this webcast to be available soon among the recorded sessions.