One of the common user complaints about Civil 3D is the repetitive way you must crawl around the file system to find and get resources. This is certainly one of my pet peeves. Civil 3D has a lot of potential resources. Back in the day, we called the default install’s resource structure…
Down the Rabbit Hole
The reference to Lewis Carrol’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland still seems appropriate. For new and inexperienced AutoCAD users the Rabbit Hole is bewildering. The multiple rabbit holes for Civil 3D are worse. Can I hear an Amen?
Autodesk continues to exacerbate the problem as new software features, tools, and resource pools are added to Civil 3D. Don’t hold your breath. There is apparently no improved software management setting solution for the many Open dialog boxes in sight.
Thankfully, Autodesk stopped moving around the key resources to load Civil 3D successfully releases ago. They handle the important ones from an AutoCAD/Windows Profile…Well, mostly.
Survey in Civil 3D is a red-haired step-child after all and it runs off its own Settings.
Why do we still need a Civil 3D setup training video just to make things work well and perform consistently? Ah. Because we do.
Many Civil 3D Open locations default to the classic what folder you visited last or else a specific tool based location. There is nothing confused or maddening about that. We have to handle, manage, and organize the locations of files on our own.
Shared Expectations
You, the Civil 3D user, and the OS are supposed to standardize all of this from Autodesk’s perspective. It is assumed but left unsaid that there are a set of basic Windows Explorer skills that every Civil 3D user has. All the people who work with you understand the Windows tools available in the Open box and the differences between them…Right?
Solutions to Manage Open Clicks in Civil 3D
The new 2019 release of Civil 3D is upon us. It seems appropriate to review these Windows Open box essentials. Yes. Some of these you can even build into your Civil 3D Project Template too.
The Framework for Civil 3D’s managed system and structure intentionally supports both generally shared Civil 3D resource implementations and project-specific resources. Some customers even mix and match both forms of resource management depending on the project need. That’s a Civil 3D user higher level skill thing.
We document all of this - even how to systematically maintain and upgrade Civil 3D projects. Who knew?
What do you know? Inspiration arises from afar.
Someone who doesn’t personally employ the Framework templates and style libraries emailed me that our on-line help and documented management approach made their company Civil 3D implementation easier.
Glad to be of help. Thanks.
You can Register and see all that detail, help and support here for free.
See the Install videos page and the Shared Resources for Civil 3D resource location directions.
Civil 3D 2019 and the Framework for Civil 3D
The current Release 7 2018 build of the Framework for Civil 3D runs great on Civil 3D 2019 based on our preliminary testing of the shipping build of Civil 3D 2019.
At this point Release 7 runs on a staggering 4 to 5 supported releases of Civil 3D albeit with some differences in capabilities based on the Civil 3D release you want to run. No matter which release of Civil 3D you run if you own the Framework for Civil 3D, your work got easier today.