Unwanted Labels

In the image there are two labels at station 10+00. One was generated by the "Major Station Label frequency" (50' in the image) and one was generated by the Vertical Curve Labeling (End of Vertical Curve Label).

One very common way to address this scenario is to Right-click on the unwanted label and select "Label Proberties...". In the "Label Propeties" dialog box we could change the "Visibility" setting from "True" to "False". This would make the unwanted label invisible.

Last week in the Autodesk Discussion Group for Civil 3D someone asked how to make an invisible label visible again. Technically we cannot. The only way to bring it back would be to remove the labels of that type and recreate them ALL again.

The conversation (thread) regarding this matter was helpful.

I mentioned that we could instead change the unwanted labels style to a very small (.004 is the small the software allows) tic only. This would allow us to still select the label to change it's style in the future.

MMccall (sorry I do not know his/her actual name) had even better advice. The suggestion was to create a style that used a non-plotting layer. That way the label is still visible (maybe faded) and accessible to be changed, and it will not plot.

Either way, with a little bit of out of the box thinking, we can address this issue and come up with various useful solutions.

Discussion Group Message Rules

If you currently use Outlook Express and you do not use message rules to highlight post by certain individuals, because they tend to provide good advice (or otherwise) then I recommend it. Simply:

Tools > Message Rules > News... > Press the "New.." button

Then follow the prompts.

Subassembly from Polyline - Enhanced

Creating a Subassembly from a polyline (CREATESUBFROMPLINE command) absolutely gives us a tremendous amount of flexibility to create any type of shape that we may wish to include in a corridor.

We can further enhance the Subassembly by adding CODES to the points, links, and shapes that make up the newly define Subassembly. This would give us the ability to define the TOP or DATUM links. We cound define points which would then connect with feature lines.

Simply Right-Click on the Subassembly that you create from a polyline and select "Add Code".

AU 2005 Top 12 Civil Track Classes

I just received info regarding the civil track classes at AU 2005 that had the most registrants.

If you are using AU Online (click title of this post above to connect) and want to see the classes that seemed to have a fair amount of interest you may find this list useful.

I am sure that prespective AU 2006 speakers will find this list of interest as well.


And the TOP 12 are:


Autodesk University 2005
Civil Engineering

CV32-2 Essentials of Site Grading with Autodesk® Civil 3D®
CV33-1 Advanced Site Grading with Autodesk® Civil 3D®
CV14-2 Autodesk® Civil 3D® Pipes: Storm Sewer Layout & Design
CV31-2 Autodesk® Civil 3D® Pipes Workshop
CV21-2 Essentials of Road Design with Autodesk® Civil 3D® 2006
CV13-3 Best of Both Worlds: Autodesk® Land Desktop and Autodesk® Civil 3D®
CV22-2 Autodesk® Civil 3D® Corridors: Cul-de-Sacs Are Not a Dead End
CV21-3 Think Outside the Contour: Grading in 3D
CV15-2 Essentials of Points and User-Defined Properties in Autodesk® Civil 3D®
CV41-4 Top 10 Autodesk® Land Desktop Tips and Tricks
CV35-3 Programming Corridor Assemblies in Autodesk® Civil 3D®
CV34-4 Amazing Grade - How Sweet the Ground

My class CV22-2 in turns out was the 7th most highly attended class out of the 41 classes in the Civil Track. As a first-timer, I am greatful for the experience.

Change of Wedding Location

No, this has nothing to do with any nuptials. This is also not directly related to the use of Civil 3D. But, anyone who has visited the Autodesk Civil 3D Discussion Group has probably seen or even been the recipient of James Wedding's advice.

It turns out that after about nine years in engineering production in Dallas, Texas, James is leaving to partner with Mark Scacco at Engineered Efficiency, Inc. Where in the past, his focus had to be Jones & Boyd first, Civil 3D Community second (well, maybe not second). It seems that the entire Civil 3D Community will get to benefit from more of James' attention.

It seems to already be evident in the current disscusion group threads that James is able to provide more needed useful advice.

Lastly his signature links to www.civil3d.com. It will be interesting to find out what this site will ultimately contain (you can vote if you wish. Click on title of this post above to get to the site).

Civil 3D Webcasts CD

Previously, I had posted that Autodesk had made a second set of recorded webcasts available exclusively to subscription owners.

Well, as of January 15th, anyone can order that CD. There are approximately 20 60-minute recorded sessions. These sessions took place between February 2005 and July 2005.

Click on the title of this post (above) to get to the request page.

New CEO for Autodesk

I read at AECNews.com that Autodesk has announced an intended change at the top. Beginning May 1, 2006 Carl Bass current COO will become President and CEO. Current CEO Carol Bartz, who has served since 1992, will become Autodesk's first Executive Chairman of the Board.

Click on the title of this post to visit the AECNews article.

Screen Real Estate

Last week, I was doing training at a client's location out of town. They arranged for a conference room where they brought in their individual workstations. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I walked in and saw 18 flat screen monitors for 9 students.

Yes, everyone of them was using dual screens. Most had dual 19" screens. Some had dual 21" screens. At relatively high resolutions there was PLENTY of screen space to divide up the Model Space into multiple vports and see them all very clearly. On the second screen many palettes and toolbars were always open, available, and ready for immediate use. No screen space juggling needed.

This definately reinforced the commonly held understanding that, if possible, dual screen are the way to go.

Those organizations that are currently spec'ing new systems should take this into account.

Wow! What a Week

Within the last week I have provided Civil 3D Essentials Training, Civil 3D Hands-on Workshops, and a Civil 3D Executive Forum. Anyone spot a trend.

For me, one of the most memorable/impactful moments was when an engineer realized when we modified an already annotated profile, that NO additional steps needed to be taken. The annotation automatically updated after the modification. He was certainly impressed with the ramifications. If I may use terms used in the Executive Forum, this means:

Non-engineers are removed from the critical path of the redesign process. Which in turn helps correct the balance of time spent on a job between designing a project and documenting it.

I intend for more posts. I just need a moment to catch my breath.

EXPORTLDTDATA Command

Most Civil 3D users have had a need to use the IMPORTLDTDATA command. It allows users to get civil data from a Land Desktop project directly. Most users are not aware that when initiated this command also triggers the availability of a related command. The new command is EXPORTLDTDATA.

EXPORTLDTDATA allows users to push data to a Land Desktop project without leaving Civil 3D. This command is very useful in a mixed application environment to streamline the creation and use of data. I can now design and provide data to Land Desktop users quickly without any action on there part.

Google Earth + DWG

Have you ever wanted to place your DWG into Google Earth? Well, now you can.

Avatech Solutions is providing the newly renamed "Avatech Earth Connector" FREE. This Google Earth Add-In allows you to introduce AutoCAD 3D Faces, Lines, and Plines into your Google Earth environment.

Google Earth is Excellent. Adding my DWGs makes it even better!

Simply click on the title of this post (above) to download the Add-In.

p.s. That is my house (created in Architectural Desktop).