Autodesk released AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012 SP1 on Nov 17, 2011.
A Flash in the Pan Civil 3D SP1 Review
I downloaded and installed it right away. My preliminary research late last week and over the weekend shows this service pack doesn't appear to have fixed everything wrong with the latest version of AutoCAD Civil 3D. Boo Who.
That's never true with continuously developed software anyway. I was hoping for some particular and specific fixes that would have made my life easier. Maybe next time. ;(
The latest Service Pack does appear to have been worth the wait.
On big complex corridors, I noticed the performance differences advertized right away.
I also noticed that Civil 3D with SP1 installed will also make the software more Save dependent for changes to Settings, Styles, etc. If you make changes to the Styles or Sets in a drawing or in a Civil 3D template, remember to Save.
If you don't get the results you expect in Civil 3D 2012, ask yourself, "Did I save?"
A Hardy Welcome to the Tardy
If you're one those that always waits for the first "Update" or "Service Pack" to install and use the latest and greatest Civil 3D, welcome to the better 2012 productivity you've been missing for six months. You have some catching up to do.
Check out the Jump 4 products for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012.
Work the Same and Publish on Demand
Here's the SP1 specifics
Technical Summary
Service Pack 1 includes all previous hotfixes for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012.
Service Pack 1 also includes the fixes included in AutoCAD 2012 Service Pack 1 and AutoCAD Map 3D 2012 Service Pack 1
Here's a brief preview of the fixes from the README. Please read the real thing.
Primary Issues Resolved by Civil 3D 2012 SP 1
Alignments
Performance while adding entities to an alignment has been improved.
API
An inconsistent result from the Alignment.StationOffset() .NET API has been resolved.
AlignmentEntity::SubEntityCount now shows the correct value.
Corridor Design
An issue where corridor overrides cannot be deleted from some migrated drawings has been resolved.
Corridor Section Editor performance has been improved.
Corridor rebuilding performance has been improved.
An issue where corridor feature lines do not connect if the center alignment and offset alignment have different station ranges has been resolved.
When switching drawings containing corridors, the application no longer becomes unresponsive.
When running quantities using a LandSuperElevationAOR with a subbase of 0.00', the application no longer becomes unresponsive.
Corridor Volumes
While generating materials automatically by sample line group in the Quantity Takeoff Criteria dialog box, cancelling the process no longer causes the application to close unexpectedly.
Data Shortcuts
An issue were broken references for the alignment subtype could not be repaired has been resolved.
The rail alignment icon in the Data Shortcut tree no longer changes to a centerline icon after creating a reference.
The alignment subtypes and profile information are no longer lost after converting a Vault project into a Data Shortcut project.
Startup time has been improved when opening projects located on a remote server.
A permission conflict when creating Data Shortcuts has been resolved.
An error is no longer generated when creating a profile reference.
General/Other
Subassembly issues found by the AUDIT command are now repaired.
Export to AutoCAD no longer changes alignment label or section view label appearance.
Running Edit Text from the context menu no longer disables the text edit command after first use.
Undocking the Inquiry Tool no longer causes the application to close unexpectedly.
Changing the value of the Object Property Data optionin the Publish Options dialog box no longer causes the application to close unexpectedly.
Changing the style of a point group in Toolspace no longer causes the application to become inactive.
AutoCAD commands are no longer slow to initiate when xref's are attached.
Clicking the Help button from the Tool Palette now opens content as expected.
Icons in contextual ribbons now appear as expected
Grading
The Grading to Surface command no longer causes the application to close unexpectedly.
Hydrology and Hydraulics
Hydraflow Express has been updated to calculate culvert coefficients as expected.
The Storm Sewers import command now rounds 2" and 8" diameter pipes properly.
Part styles are no longer mismatched when importing with Part Swapping turned off and Part Family turned on when using the Storm Sewers import command.
Object Enabler
An unexpected error that occurs when creating a block that contains a grading object has been resolved.
Referenced pipes are now appearing as expected in section view.
Performance
Selecting the Map Task Pane button on the View tab of the ribbon in the Planning and Analysis workspace no longer causes the application to close unexpectedly.
Pipes
An error when creating a best fit profile with pipes in profile view has been resolved.
Null structures with the same location as junction structures are now deleted as expected.
Using the Repair All References command no longer causes an unexpected error.
Profile View
Performance while opening a drawing with a surface profile has been improved.
Project Management
A message that blocks a user from checking in a drawing file when working in a full replication environment has been removed.
Shared profiles are now displayed as expected in Prospector for Offset, Curb Return, and Miscellaneous alignments.
When importing a project from a data shortcut folder, profile objects in new drawings can now be seen in Prospector after import.
After checking a drawing into Vault, referenced objects are now listed on the Where Used tab as expected.
Check-in performance has been improved.
The data file no longer loses dependency information upon import into a new Vault project.
Unnecessary folders are no longer being checked in along with the project during the import process.
Quantity Takeoff
Clearing highlight from QTO Manager no longer causes an unexpected error.
Corridor reports now work as expected.
The Transportation Extension Slope Stake report has been updated to the latest version and now runs as designed.
Surface
There is no longer a discrepancy between the reported bounded volume and the TIN volume surface when the same polyline applied as a boundary.
Surfaces now tessellate around curves in parcels as expected.
Surface volume computation performance has been improved.
Deleting a point from a surface no longer causes the application to close unexpectedly.
An unexpected error no longer occurs when opening a file with Level of Detail turned on.
Survey
A latitude and longitude field book file no longer creates reversed northing and easting coordinates.
The Point File Formats dialog box in the Import Survey Data wizard now saves changes.
The application now generates the proper point descriptions from the TSS point codes and the "TSS/Comment" field in the survey database.
Survey linework coding now properly parses descriptions that contain leading or doubled up comment escape delimiters.
Superelevation
The transition length table in the Superelevation wizard is no longer reset to the first one in the list.
User Interface
The paste icon now appears on the Home tab in the 2D Drafting & Annotation workspace.