tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70903322287035913462011-07-07T22:07:18.769-04:00Autodesk Civil 3D, AutoCAD related information, Demonstration Videos, Tricks, Tips, BlogD Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11306922669119973834noreply@blogger.comBlogger141100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090332228703591346.post-17917398081823911892009-12-04T11:32:00.002-05:002009-12-04T11:41:46.642-05:00

I was laid off on March 3rd, 2009 and started working again on November 30th, 2009. Almost 9 months! Not too bad considering many people have been out of work for over a year. I'm excited to be back in production using Civil 3d 2010. I'm working with a great group of people at the Assured Group of Companies.Armed with a nice new Quad core PC with 6GB of RAM I'm ready to tackle a new job! I don't

D Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11306922669119973834noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090332228703591346.post-86788310109749513652009-02-10T08:35:00.000-05:002009-02-10T08:53:18.016-05:00

Q: So you don't like the NCS default for parcel layering. How do you do it?A: I like to keep it simple. Parcels and parcel segements are on layer C-PARCEL. Parcel labels are on layer C-PARCEL-TEXT.In my experience I don't see the purpose for separate layers for the segments. So far I feel that the following layering convention is most convenient and less confusing for most users. If you turn

D Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11306922669119973834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090332228703591346.post-3585163258521498802009-02-10T08:10:00.000-05:002009-02-10T08:35:03.809-05:00

Q: Parcel layers are a bit confusing. Can you clear up how the layers work for parcel objects?A: In Land Desktop you would usually create a line the depth you want your lot to be and then offset that line to create subdivisions. After that you would create a bpoly and use the parcel menu to define that polyline as a parcel. Then use other parcel menu options to label the property.In Civil 3D we

D Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11306922669119973834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090332228703591346.post-71474657578336190632009-02-07T12:36:00.001-05:002009-02-07T12:43:54.519-05:00

I am preparing a video and blog post on the Sheet Set Manager. This is fairly well documented but sometimes users don't see the benefits of implementing it in their work flow. So look forward to this post coming up sometime this week. I'm sitting in my living room right now blogging to also inform you that I am awaiting a scheduled appointment for an ultrasound to find out if my gall bladder

D Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11306922669119973834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090332228703591346.post-40222808694014716542009-02-06T14:33:00.000-05:002009-02-06T14:38:17.507-05:00

I opened google reader today and found almost 20 posts strictly about the new release.  Every release is like a second Christmas for me.  I'm all warm and fuzzy and looking forward to some new functionality. And I realize this post isn't necessary but I thought I might look like a loser if I didn't blog about AutoCAD 2010.  Cheers!

D Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11306922669119973834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090332228703591346.post-55520611474910243742009-02-02T08:44:00.000-05:002009-02-02T08:57:01.880-05:00

I have been getting lots of hatin goin on in my office lately. Mostly from a single person but I think it's just to fun too keep the experience all to myself.Nameless Coworker walks into my office bright and early on Monday morning to tell me how he ran into an Autodesk Reseller from The Print Machine (TPM).  Enter the Civil 3D hate talk. Nameless Coworker and TPM Reseller Guy discuss the

D Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11306922669119973834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090332228703591346.post-59302668471716733592009-01-28T09:35:00.001-05:002009-01-28T11:53:27.333-05:00

Christopher Fugitt at Civil3D Reminders pointed out to me that in this post where I created expressions to always draw a direction arrow downhill, I made my expressions too complicated.  As a result my arrows would flip incorrectly at random openings of drawings.  So by simplifying the 2 expressions to one expression: IF({General Segment Grade}>0,3.14,0)My problem disappeared.  Thanks Christopher

D Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11306922669119973834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090332228703591346.post-1878370491629965992009-01-27T21:42:00.000-05:002009-01-27T21:53:24.536-05:00

Q: Why is it so hard to get simple things done in Civil 3D?A: Because you haven't been trained!Yes, that's right I said it. And so have others.  Find someone experienced and pay them to train you and implement the software.  Are there issues with Civil 3D that make some simple things difficult? Of course but if you are looking for perfection you'll be looking forever.  Are resellers sometimes

D Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11306922669119973834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090332228703591346.post-50639397286248795782009-01-12T15:00:00.000-05:002009-01-12T15:21:37.267-05:00

Q:How do you change the parcel linetype generation to be enabled?A: Parcel segments aren't polylines so they display based on the parcel style.As long as the linetype for the component is set to by layer the lines will display as set in the layer property manager for the specific component layer.Their are several options for setting up styles and it's all dependent upon how you want to mange

D Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11306922669119973834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090332228703591346.post-71444090735711485112009-01-12T07:05:00.000-05:002009-01-12T09:06:15.001-05:00

Q: How do I make my XREFs look like the original drawing?A: Change the VISRETAIN variable to 0.From Autocad 2009 Help0The layer table, as stored in the reference drawing (xref), takes precedence. Changes made to xref-dependent layers in the current drawing are valid in the current session only and are not saved with the drawing. When the current drawing is reopened, the layer table is reloaded

D Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11306922669119973834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090332228703591346.post-60669733684260508682009-01-08T09:45:00.000-05:002009-01-08T09:45:05.716-05:00

Q: What is the difference between a External Reference and a Data Shortcut(Dref)?A: A lot, they are similar but a Data Shortcut is more flexible than an Xref.An Xref is basically a picture of another file. You have the ability to turn off, freeze, and change layer properties of each layer in the Xref without effecting the original drawing. A Dref is an object that exists in one drawing and is

D Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11306922669119973834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090332228703591346.post-44391819350385321342009-01-08T08:40:00.000-05:002009-01-08T08:57:38.212-05:00

Q: I find tooltips, event viewer, and having to reset my command changes annoying, how do I change that?A: Ambient settings.Located on the Toolspace's Settings Tab. Right click your drawing and choose "Edit Drawing Settings".  The "Ambient Settings Tab" General section has three options that are a must have in my template.#1 Save command changes: An example is when creating parcels from objects

D Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11306922669119973834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090332228703591346.post-52680607182152422462009-01-07T15:52:00.000-05:002009-01-11T16:55:48.104-05:00

Welcome to Civil 3D Question and Answer. I am not a programmer, actually I come from the graphics field but ever since I started working in the Civil Engineering Field with Civil 3D I can't get enough. I love helping others and sharing information. Ask your question and I will do my best to provide a useful answer. Resources and blogs I use regularly:

D Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11306922669119973834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090332228703591346.post-89296234436953215392009-01-07T14:42:00.000-05:002009-01-08T07:47:44.522-05:00

Q: How do you make Civil 3D display drainage flow arrows based on feature line slopes to assist in design?A: Make a general line label with a direction arrow that knows which way to point.Two expressions located in the general line label section of the settings pallete accomplish this.You can past the following into expressions.  Make sure if you change the names that the second expression

D Manninghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11306922669119973834noreply@blogger.com0