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• Peter Funk strikes again

  Posted 10/24/06 by Anthony Governanti

  For those of you that don't know who he is, Peter, among other things, is the newest Product Manager for Civil 3D. He has a programming background, and before the recent switch to his current title, was the API Product Manager for Civil 3D. Anyway, he's too smart for his own good sometimes, but it's great for us, because we can reap the rewards.
  
  This tip is solely Peter's doing, and I can neither confirm nor deny any of the credit!
  
  Displaying cut/fill labels with appropriate colors.
  
  
  View image
  
  Here is the end result of this tip. Note that the cut volume labels are red, and the fills are green, and they are each inserted on a grid.
  
  Here is how to do it:
  1. Create a volume surface that represents the two surfaces you are comparing
  
  2. Create an expression for Surface Spot Elevation labels
  - Name it "Negative Value"
  - Use this expression; -1 * {Surface Elevation}
  
  
  View image
  
  This expression will take a value, and multiply it by negative one, changing a positive integer into a negative one, or for this case, taking a negative and turning it into a positive. The ole double negative trick!
  
  3. Create a new Surface label style for Spot Elevation Called "Cut Fill"
  
  - Rename the label Component to "fill"
  - Change its color to Green
  - Modify the Surface Elevation label component
  - Edit the text component and change the Sign Modifier to "Hide Negative Value"
  
  
  View image
  
  4. Make a new component for the Cut value
  - Copy the Fill text component
  - Rename to Cut
  - Change the color to Red
  - Edit the Text Component, and replace with the Negative Value expression
  - Change the Sign Modifier to "Hide Negative Value"
  
  
  View image
  
  Now add Surface labels to the Volume surface on a grid, using the Cut Fill style. All the spot elevation in a cut area (the negative values from the volume surface) will be labeled with the Red label, and all the spot elevations with a fill area (where the volume surface is positive) will label with the green text. Because we chose to hide the negative values, and we used an expression to turn a negative into a positive (the cut), it automatically display the appropriate spot elevation.
  
  
  View image
  
  Pretty cool huh? Thank You Peter!
  
  I've added a drawing with the expression and label style to the community site here.
  
  I removed the file here so that you can get it from the content sharing section of the community. If you aren't a member yet, please go here to sign up.
  
  Till next time,
  Cheers,
  AG

  7 commentsIn Wicked Cool Stuff > Wicked Cool Tips

• AU plugs, and some other stuff to keep in good graces...

  Posted 10/20/06 by Anthony Governanti

  I'm back again, this time late at night, and browsing all the other Civil 3D blogs out there. James had a little dig at me for not promoting his AU class in my Civil 3D Power Track post a couple days back, so to be fair, I'll put the plug in now, and hopefully I can get back on his good side.
  
  SO there are 53 total Civil classes in the Civil part of the Civil & Geospatial college this year, of which 4 are being taught by Mr. Wedding himself! 3 out of these 4 are already full, but to be fair, they are labs, which tend to fill up quickly. Using some quick math, that's roughly 8% of the total classes; not too shabby for a VP huh?
  
  Other leaders include Angel Espinoza with 3 (~6%), one of which is already full.
  
  Eric Chappell with 3 (~6%) as well, 2 of which are labs and are full already.
  
  Lucy Kuhns with 5 (~9%), 4 of which are labs and are full.
  
  Mike Choquette who has 3 Civil classes (~6%), 2 that are labs and are full already, as well as 1 Design Visualization class.
  
  I think that's it for most of the presenters who have more then one class, but if I missed anyone, I apologize; I don't
  have a good way to sort my list to figure out all the duplicates.
  
  Now we can also look at attendence leaders:
  
  Leading the pack there is Scott Wagner, with CV13-2, with a full house at 440!
  
  Next we have our Evangelist Pete Kelsey with his class CV32-2 with 439!
  
  Angel's CV25-3 and 425!
  
  Scott Kent with CV34-1 and 396!
  
  David Garrigues with CV33-4 and 381!
  
  The list keeps going, and there are another 5 classes in the 300's! Just for posterity, I have to say that my class is doing OK, hovering in the middle of the pack at 267 :-|
  
  Another statistic to throw out there, as of last week, of the 53 classes, the current enrollment was 9,149 with a total availability of 12,710 seats spanning those 53 classes. That's a ~72% attendance rate! This also totals 13,723.5 learning hours on Civil 3D! How's that for some training!
  
  Bottom line is that we have a great mix of new presenters, veterans, and some in between with a wide range of expertise, experience, and background. They all have the presentation chops as well (or we wouldn't have selected them), and I'm confident they will all rock for us this year and make it a great experience for the 1200+ Civil & Geospatial attendees that have signed up so far!
  
  Till next time,
  Cheers
  AG

  0 commentsIn Wicked Cool Stuff > Wicked Cool Ramblings

• Site Topology - Part One Anyway

  Posted 10/19/06 by Anthony Governanti

  Site Topology, what is it, and why should you care? I'm going to try to make this brief, and I'll address the details in more posts to come, but there is a lot of questions out there about site topology, and what its effect on Civil 3D is. I hope to clear some of it up, and educate those who care to know.
  
  First off, what is a topology? Well, in mathematical terms, Topology (Greek topos, place and logos, study) is a branch of mathematics concerned with spatial properties preserved under bicontinuous deformation (stretching without tearing or gluing) as found in this Wiki.
  
  For me, and as it applies to us Civil folks, I see it as a "network", or a mesh, of interconnected objects that are aware of themselves, and their neighbors. The easiest way to explain a topology is to see and example;
  
  
  View image
  
  Here we see a set of parcels. In a topology, these parcels are defined so that:
  1.) They are aware of themselves - a parcel knows its perimeter, its area, and all the segments that are used to define itself
  
  2.) They are aware of each other, if they are next to each other. This means that if parcel 25 is next to parcel 26, and they share a lot line, then the lot line only needs to be drawn once, and they both share its definition.
  
  3.) There is a notion of the parcels as a whole or a group, so that if a lot line is removed, then what used to be two parcels is now turned into just one.
  
  So in Civil 3D, we use a topology behind the scenes to get a lot of things to work and interact with each other. Parcels use this topology, but so do alignments and grading groups (feature lines included). This is how parcels do what they do; when you create a new lot line using the layout tools or converting a polyline, that line is added to the topology, and will react according to the rules that topology dictates.
  
  
  View image
  
  More on the rules later. This topology also explains how we can add labels to all of the parcels at the same time. The topology is aware of what lines are "shared" and will only label a lot line once, even if two parcels use that lot line.
  
  
  View image
  
  The next level of this topology is that it will allow for interaction between object types; an alignment will divide a parcel if it crosses through that parcel. Again the topology is what makes this happen, as the parcels are "aware" of the alignment, and one of the "rules" is that when an alignment crosses a closed parcel, it should subdivide it.
  
  
  View image
  
  A third level is how grading groups and feature lines fit in. Again the topology is aware of these objects, and if they cross other things in the topology, like parcel lines or alignments, there is interaction between them.
  
  "OK Govna, riddle me this one; what if I DON"T want this stuff to interact?"
  
  Ahh, there is hope for us after all; Sites. A site is a container that collects the "stuff" you do want to interact together. So if you don't want something to interact, or better put, you don't want them in the same topology, then you simply create the "stuff" in a different site.
  
  So that's probably a good start, I'll be back with more soon, and we'll dig into some of these parcel rules....
  
  Till next time,
  Cheers,
  AG

  7 commentsIn Wicked Cool Stuff > Wicked Cool Tips

• Survey Database - It's Wicked Cool

  Posted 10/12/06 by Anthony Governanti

  I've seen several posts on the Newsgroup now about the "lack of editing" tools in Civil 3D for survey information. I hope to dispell some of those notions, and show you some of the cool things the new survey features in Civil 3D have to offer.
  
  Editing an observation
  Probably the first comment I hear from users (and reseller alike) is that they can't edit the points in the drawings because the points came from the the survey database. First off, its not true, you can edit these points, its just not done in the drawing like regular COGO points. This is because the points created from the survey database are locked in the drawing. This is as designed; it prevents a person from inadvertendly "editing" an observed point, which from a sureyors perspective is a coordinate from the field which shouldn't be changed unless the observation that created it is changed.
  
  Ok, so now what if I do want to edit it? This is what's wicked cool; you use the observation editors. We start by selecting a Setup to edit from the Setups collection in Survey toolspace.
  
  
  View image
  
  If you select a setup, and right click, you have a couple editing options.
  
  Edit the setup
  
  
  View image
  This allows you to make changes to the setup that was used to collect observations. Often you need to adjust a target hieht, or maybe adjust the northing and easting to match real world coordinates. Either way, you can use this editor to make the changes, which are then saved to the databse and update the data that is based on the setup.
  
  Edit the Observations
  
  
  View image
  
  This is where you make edits to the "points" that are created from the observations in the field. Notice we have many option and thus power here; we can edit the angle, the angle type, the distance, the distance type and so on. And since we are editing the database, this information propegates to all drawings that contain the survey points, not just the current one we are doing the edit in.
  
  "Ok Govna, but what if I don't know the setup a point was collected with?"
  
  Don't you worry my young Jedi, we have a cool tool for that too.
  
  Edit Setups that Observe
  
  This is accessed from the point itself. If you select the Survey Points collection in the Survey Toolspace, then the list view is populated with all the points in the database.
  
  
  View image
  
  Simply select a point and right click and choose Edit Setups that Observe. This will jump you to the setup that created or "observed" this point in the field. This makes it very easy to troubleshoot a problem, or make the simple edit you may need on a single point.
  
  
  View image
  
  "Ok, so now we know how to edit indivdual points as needed, but what if I need to rotate or move the entire survey?"
  
  We can try to get it rotated by editing the original raw file or FBK file, reimporting, and overwriting the database. But as the Jedi Master Yoda always says "there is no try, only do". So let's do it with the proper editing tools :-)
  
  Edit a Datum
  To move an entire survey, say like changing form an assumed datum to a known coordinate system, you can simply edit the Control Points that your survey is "tied into". Again we are going to select the appripriate collection in the survey toolspace, this time, Control Points.
  
  
  View image
  
  We right click and select Edit and are presented with this editor:
  
  View image
  
  We can use the Point Inverse inquiry tool to select the appropriate coodinates for the new location or simply list them from the command line, and copy and paste them into the control point editor Once applied the network, figures, and points are moved, since all the setups and thus observations, where based on that control.
  
  Edit a Direction
  Last but certainly not least for today, is the concept of rotating a set of points. A common survey practice is to collect or begin a survey by shooting a direction, and then base the rest of the observations from that observed direction and setup. In this case, often an assumed direction is used, like a bearing of North - zero degrees East. When the data is imported in the office, it maybe determined that the real bearing should have been North two degree East instead. Thus all the points need to be "rotated" two degrees.
  
  You may now be in the habit of selecting a collection in the Survey toolspace and right clicking; its a good habit to be in as we'll do it one last time for the Direction.
  
  
  View image
  
  As we edit this collection we get an editor that will allow us to modify the vaule and type of direction used. Again, once updated with the new direction vaule, it will update all the setups, observations and figures that are based on this direction.
  
  
  View image
  
  So there we have it, some qucik tips that should get you pointed in the right direction (pun intended :-)) for getting more vaule out of the survey tools included in Civil 3D. I hope this clears up some misconceptions, or at least gets you to take a second look at the tools that are there. For me its all wicked cool stuff, I hope you think so too.
  
  Till next time,
  Cheers,
  AG

  1 commentsIn Wicked Cool Stuff > Wicked Cool Tips

• Back in Black and a Cool Survey

  Posted 10/11/06 by Anthony Governanti

  Well I'm back from a much disserved vacation with just my wife and I in Orlando Florida. We had a spectacular 6 days at Universal Studios, and enjoyed every ride and attraction they had to offer. My favorite was the Hulk at Islands of Adventure, which we rode five times. My wife's favorite was The Mummy, which we rode six times!
  
  Anyway, it was very relaxing, and a great break in what seems to be a never ending "busy time" here for me at 'The Desk'. Since I'm a huge AC/DC fan, I've decided to wear black for my return, and have been listening to the album Back in Black all morning to try and keep the adrenaline going so I can make it though the first day without a nap and a rum drink.
  
  Another cool thing I'd like to tell you about is a survey our technical documentation folks have released. They posted an announcement in the News Groups about it, but I thought its worth an extra plug here, as this is your chance to give us some valuable feedback on the tutorials and help system that ships with Civil 3D.
  
  Subject: Tell Us What You Think about Civil 3D Documentation
  The Civil 3D Tech Pubs group has just posted a new online survey to gather users' comments on the Help, Tutorials and other documentation, with special focus on things we changed in response to the last survey, about a year ago. We would really like to hear from you.
  The new survey will take about 15 minutes of your time.
  Here is the link:
  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=94722579496
  
  So please take a few moments to take the survey, and keep on rockin'.
  
  Till next time,
  Cheers,
  AG
  Hope all is well in your world!

  0 commentsIn Wicked Cool Stuff > Wicked Cool Tips

• Naming Conventions or Confusions?

  Posted 10/04/06 by Anthony Governanti

  Ok, so there have been numerous posts on the Civil 3D Discussion Groups about the naming conventions used for the Civil product line from Autodesk, and as of this posting, I'm not sure the confusion that surrounds these names have been cleared up. So I'd like to get it straight for those of you that may be confused (don't worry, you're not alone), and try to put this thing to bed for those of you that can't seem to let it go (cough, cough, you know who you are).
  
  So the short answer here is to simply see the different names of the products and the uses for those products from a Civil 3D perspective.
  
  Autodesk Civil 3D - pretty simple, this is Civil 3D in all its glory :-).
  
  Autodesk Civil 3D - Land Desktop Companion - this is a "special" version of LDT that is included in the box with Civil 3D, and will use the Civil 3D serial number and license for authorization.
  
  Autodesk Civil 3D - Civil Design Companion - this is a "special" version of Civil Design that will install and run on the Land Desktop Companion that ships with Civil 3D.
  
  Autodesk Land Desktop - regular old LDT that uses an LDT serial number and license for authorization.
  
  Autodesk Civil Design - gone! It is no more, well, it is, but now its called Autodesk Civil 3D - Civil Design Companion.
  
  So that's the short answer, for a more in-depth explanation see below if you need some good bed-time reading :-).
  
  OK, here is the deal; with the release of Civil 3D 2005, we had a weird predicament. We wanted to package Land Desktop with Civil 3D to make the transition for customers easier, allowing them to make the switch at their own pace, without having to manage LDT licenses and Civil 3D licenses separately. Sounds reasonable right?
  
  So in order to get the LDT that ships with Civil 3D to license properly, it had to be a separate build, which translates to English as a different version of LDT that looked for the Civil 3D license (or activation). The technology wasn't available at the time to do this automatically with special license or activation code, so it meant that for all intents and purposes, it had to be a different product (to Autodesk anyway). In order to differentiate the two different "versions" of LDT, we needed to name the one that ships in the box with Civil 3D something different.
  
  After a lot of ideas and deliberation, Companion was the name that was selected, for better or worse. I think the real confusion though is that we had to add Civil 3D to the name because it ships in the box - thus giving us "Autodesk Civil 3D - Land Desktop Companion."
  
  Now that we've established that, let's throw Civil Design into the mix. At the time, we also introduced a bundle of software called Civil 3D Professional; this added Autodesk Civil Design to Civil 3D and Land Desktop, and allowed a customer who used both LDT and CD to again make the transition to Civil 3D at their own pace, without having to carry a bunch of liceneses or activations. Again we had a "version" problem, in that the Civil Design needed to run on the Land Desktop "Companion" that shipped with Civil 3D. So another name change and we have "Autodesk Civil 3D - Civil Design Companion". The big problem here is that Civil Design can't be installed on Civil 3D, even though Civil 3D is in its name. It still has to be installed on Land Desktop, in this case the Companion. This is where a lot of questions come up, and people who are just being introduced to the products get confused. So here it is in black and white, and I hope it clears it up - Autodesk Civil 3D - Civil Design Companion doesn't get installed on Civil 3D, it gets installed on Land Desktop Companion.
  
  Anyway, that's the scoop on naming conventions, and hopefully they aren't confusions anymore.
  
  Till next time,
  Cheers,
  AG

  5 commentsIn Wicked Cool Stuff > Wicked Cool Ramblings

• Getting the most from your Community experience - Part 2

  Posted 10/02/06 by Anthony Governanti

  Part 2 of my recommendations for getting the most out of the Civil Community experience.
  
  Tag it baby!
  So now you should have your network started, and should have a completed profile. Next you can begin to interact with the community site itself by using Tags. Tags are essentially keywords that you as a member can add to content on the site. Almost all the content in all of the community can be tagged, and once something has a tag, it becomes easier to search on that content in the future.
  
  View image
  Here we can see a tip that hasn't been tagged yet. I simply add a keyword for the tip in the tag field in the lower right of the page, and now the content has been tagged. Why is this cool you may ask? Well if we select the tags link in the upper right of the site, we'll see why.
  
  View image
  Here we have the tag cloud, which shows the tags being used on the site, and the larger the font on the tag, and the bolder the font, the more that tag has been used. We can select a tag, and it filters through all the content on the site, and returns all the items that have share that tag. It's a pretty cool way to classify and search on content in the site, but only works if you as a member use it. So go out there and start tagging items you find helpful if they haven't been already.
  
  Now you're cooking with oil man! So get in there and start being an active member of our community, it will only get better if we make it better!
  
  Till Next Time,
  Cheers,
  AG
  
  

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