Corridor Station Labels and Civil 3D PKTs

The Civil 3D Subassembly Composer allows us to construct our own customized Subassemblies for use in our Corridor Assemblies. Autodesk has released a number of really useful PKT files over the last few releases of Civil 3D. Sadly, some folks don’t bother to test and employ them. Others do.

One of those other Civil 3D users saw the earlier videos in the ongoing Corridor Station Label series of posts. That person asked a substantive question,

“Does the Corridor Station Label method work if you use (Subassembly Composer) PKT files?”

The questioner is from the Show Me state. That calls for a short video. He did promise to vote for a new US Senator. Eheh. Certainly, there were some other details about the Corridor Station Labels method to cover including another report to use.

 

Corridor Station Labels and PKTs

The iPOD (Intelligent Publish on Demand) workflow for Corridor Station Labels works fine if your PKT file is properly constructed. A call for proper PKT construction brings up a point…

Manage the Name Calling or Be Coerced into Wasted Time

Doesn’t Coerced into Wasted Time sound like an old Eagles tune? Oh. Never mind.

I do like to remind people to try to employ the Civil 3D stock subassembly codes namespace for the Point, Link, and Shape codes in their PKTs as much as possible.  If you watch the video carefully, you will see the subtle results of not doing that important quality control work.

The Thievery of Chaos

Attention to these naming details helps reduce the need for lots of different Code Set Styles and the resultant mandatory Civil 3D user tweaking of them during a production day to get your Corridor results displayed and published properly.

This is one of those little foxes that erodes Civil 3D user productivity, adds wasteful confusion, and steals man-hours.

Get the Framework for Civil 3D and help reduce the Thievery of Chaos.

Stock Subassembly Codes

You can find the C3DStockSubassemblyScripts.codes file in the typical Civil 3D install location:
..\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D <Release>\enu folder.
This is a .csv text file.
Use a copy as a reference.
The Civil 3D API employs the .codes files to also perform language translations of the stock codes.

Don’t even think about tweaking it unless you already employ customized and standardized network deployments of the Civil 3D install.
It is far easier to manage Code translations with Description Key Sets than to tweak these .codes files from a long-term maintenance perspective. Yes, those Description Key Sets are in the Framework for Civil 3D.

Framework for Civil 3D Resources

If you own a copy of the Framework for Civil 3D you already have .dwg examples of all the stock subassemblies and enhancement PTKs in Jump Kit’s Style library. You also get the Subassembly Codes Spreadsheet Tool to help manage these dicey details more systematically. Hmmm? That reminds me it might be time for a Subassembly Codes Spreadsheet Tool update AddOn.

Help Yourself to Some Useful QAQC

You can actually QAQC the codes inside any of the Autodesk supplied example PKT files with the Civil 3D Subassembly Composer with some care and attention. This is a good way to learn SAC - practice on a copy. Yes. You will still have to deploy the updates to the few PKT files that you choose improve and use.

Here is a question.
Will Autodesk replace the Subassembly Composer with an Inventor platform solution that works in Civil 3D, Infraworks, and Revit for better integrated Component Roads and subassemblies?
We shall see, won’t we?

You might want watch the New in Infraworks 2019.2 webinar and pay attention to Generic Objects my friends. We supply a handy timeline to the webinar on the page linked above.

Accelerate Your Productivity with the Data Behind
Get the Framework for Civil 3D

 

Corridor Station Labels Post Series