How do you track Civil 3D Style Issues?
I get this question More often than most for pretty obvious reasons. It's a good question.
One of the best TOOLS to do this YOU actually get for FREE along with your AutoCAD Civil 3D. The problem is most Civil 3D users:
A) Don't Use It or even How to use It
B) Think the TOOL does something that THEY personally don't need
C) May think because it's FREE it must be useless :)
DWF IT and Design Review IT
Huh? I thought Design Review was something the project manager was supposed to use?
Really...Does he or she use it? I bet not. Simply put...
You Don't so They Won't
You can use "DR" and the internal Markup Manager to track lots of stuff in your drawings and projects. Style problems, Style Edits, and Template fixes are easy to highlight, provide visual feedback, and contain More than enough audit capability for most people and most organizations.
DWF and Design Review can help you and those you work with get the fundamentals of Style Management honed in.
The Basic CHA CHA CHA
Whether you like Dancing with the Stars or not, many processes in Civil 3D (like dances) use the basic 1..2..3 progression. If you're from Texas, you probably prefer the Two Step over the Cha Cha. Some say that programmers can't count higher than three. Luckily for most of us most of the time, we don't have to count higher either.
Here's the basic pattern:
Let's just suppose we have a misbehaving Structure Label Style in a Profile View.
1)
Plot the sucker to DWF.
We even include a COLOR based STB resource file with every Jump product so you don't even have to think about the publish to a color DWF process much at all.
Yes, we even thought of that and "You're Welcome."
Save the DWF into the same folder as the project drawing OR use a Style Markups folder.
Maybe you want to USE a SPECIAL naming convention for Style Markup DWFs.
That way you, the CAD Manager, or poor Style consultant (like me) can just Search the projects for them once in a while and save everyone from More email SPAM too. Dooh!
Does a DWF know where it came from? You betcha...up to a point.
2)
Markup the sucker in Design Review
This may take a bit to find because you may have erased it's Windows Desktop Shortcut already.
Design Review itself has a major learning curve too.
Hint...pick the Tool and pick a spot. Type a note and do the next one.
Save the Markup.
Design Review will now keep track.
Hey, there's even a niffty little Snapshot tool to do screen grabs of things like Feature and Command Settings dialog boxes or misbehaving Features.
Who would have thought?
3)
You can check out the progress of your CAD Manager Style harassment plan at anytime inside Civil 3D.
Has he even bothered to check and fix the Style Markups I submitted LAST WEEK?
Wonder of wonders there this fine Markup Manager Tool Palette all built in and everything....
Just how to I get my Markups to show up on the screen in the stupid thing?
OMG!
He Markuped me back three days ago then he drilled me about my surface construction and my corridor targeting too.
OMG!
Is this Design Review thing REALY keeping track?
How do I erase these stupid markups?
Now wait a minute...
I could remind myself I need to fix and do project stuff with this, couldn't I?
Nah!
That would never work.