The AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012 Style Tools make my day. If you have to take care of Civil 3D Style and Civil 3D model Templates for yourself or others, I KNOW that will be true for you too. But even with these new
Magic Buttons of Style
We still have that ETERNAL and EVERLASTING problem...
Where is the KNOWN Good?
We have this thing we call "CAD Standards" to improve our ability to communicate complex ideas and information to others consistently. When we talk "Standards" this means we are talking about human language and interpretation. Deep stuff - I promise I won't go there is this practical post.
Simply put, we seriously need to assess if our "Standards" do that or if they really only reflect our myopic preference. Preference is fine. It is a GOOD THING. We do need to KNOW the difference between preference and productive performance. The work matters most.
In practical Civil 3D terms, the work is in the managed model Features.
Style is ALWAYS temporary. This is now More true in 2012+ than ever before. Hooray!
See a recording of the AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012 Style Tools here.
Style Purge
Manage>>Styles>>Purge (PurgeStyles) is the power chipper for unreferenced named Style removal. It can suck you in. You can loose a limb.
Read the operating instructions before starting. Backup before use and/or work on a copy. Practice and experience are required. Practice the continuous development mantra.
Plan...Do...Check...Act
The Style Purge tool is pretty easy to get. It gets rid of all the unreferenced Styles in a classic Purge command way. A "complete" wipe will take more than one pass.
Is It Really This Simple?
The tool allows you to get rid of most of the "unnecessary" Civil 3D Style references in project drawings.
Therefore, you can use PurgeStyles to FREEZE the current presentation of Civil 3D Features to one fixed FORM in a drawing.
This is great for publication, reducing confusion, KISS, and improving presentation and annotative consistency. Better Standards and More.
Style Purge is Not Permanent
My word of caution is that Style Purge will also kill "Standard" Styles too. I DO wish for a Standards checkbox in the tool's dialog box. You may need those generic references to disconnect the named Style references that remain. Think before you just say OK. You can employ the Style Import Tool in your post op procedure to slap the Standards back in.
Two Tools Are More Than One
Style Purge cannot remove Styles and Sets currently referenced in Command and Feature Settings. They are still referenced and are in use. Perhaps a Style Import BEFORE Purge with the sneaky little Import Settings checkbox checked (nothing imported in) is what you want to really produce a "better" KNOWN good.