Every once in a while a new Framework for Civil 3D customer calls and asks why we put the “- JS” at the end of all the Framework Style names. The simple device of adding a suffix serves a very significant purpose. The suffix helps to answer the first most important question about using and customizing Autodesk Civil 3D…
“How do we know the difference between Styles?”
The Civil 3D software doesn’t care what we Name anything.
The odds are that the Name will matter to us and the others we work with pretty quickly.
Civil 3D users need to own this responsibility and/or suffer the painful consequences of the chaos and inconsistency in our production projects, drawings, and deliverables.
The Civil 3D Styles are just one of the many places where the Names inside Civil 3D are mission critical.
Consistent and well thought out naming conventions (or namepaces) sit behind all successful production use of Autodesk Civil 3D and every effective Civil 3D customization.
This is why we consider and make the Framework’s naming conventions an Open Source resource.
You can download the rules here.
Truth be told these Simple Style Rules for Civil 3D were first released well over decade ago. They have certainly been copied, spread around, and sometimes added to. This is a good thing.
The Simple Style Rules have withstood the test of time.
Yes. There is a certain sarcastic flippancy to this published version.
This realism adds to their charm and helps to make the Simple Style Rules more memorable.
The Simple Style Rules
Never Edit a Style in a Production Drawing
- This creates chaos and inconsistency in our production projects, drawings, and deliverables.
- We will be tempted to break Rule #1.
- We will do it.
- We will probably regret it later.
- We are much more likely to lose data and/or corrupt Civil 3D Styles and related Civil 3D Features when we edit Styles that are In Use in a drawing.
Don’t do it.
If we must make a change to a Style in a production drawing…
Always Use Copy and/or New to Create a Different Named Version of the Style
- Know and understand the Civil 3D user Hierarchy Rules
If we do not like things and want to change them, do so at the highest level possible. - Take ownership of the Copy by replacing the default JS with our own initials
- Every character in the name matters to matches and to the interface sort
- Employ the Apply button when changing tabs and before using the OK button
- Save frequently when editing Styles
Always Test the Results
- Use a standard test drawing that we understand thoroughly which includes both Civil 3D data and typical production Layouts that plot and publish.
- We will break Rule #3.
- We will always regret it later.
The Known Good
If we obey the Simple Style Rules, we can not only check project drawings against our current Civil 3D Templates. We can check them against a current known good. We can identify and often quantify where the changes are.
When it comes time to upgrade to a new Civil 3D Release or Civil 3D Update, the upgrade process will be much easier to manage.
Civil 3D Style Management requires us to seize personal ownership and accountability for the problem.
Why Employ a Suffix?
Occasionally this still comes up.
“Why a suffix?”
It’s probably only human and understandable to tend to want to employ predicates to take ownership in Style, Template, and Drawing Names.
The functional problem is that the Civil 3D interface – the Toolspace, dialog boxes, and picklists sort by the classic ASCII sort method. Note that sometimes a list of Styles will get too long - we get no sort at all.
We need to reserve the beginning characters of our Civil 3D Style and Label Style names to help our Civil 3D users more easily identify Style differences and more easily and quickly make effective choices.
The use of a suffix is employed to allow users to perform better under pressure in a production work environment.
Most Times the Simple is Simple
Someone pointed out that the Simple Style Rules haven’t really been updated or changed for all the new ways Civil 3D can check, import, and help us maintain our Civil 3D working and publication templates.
In other words, what about Civil 3D Reference Templates, third party software tools, etc.
Funny thing - if we obey these Simple Style Rules, all the new tools and changes made to them in the future will work all the better.
If we don’t obey the Simple Style Rules, we will have even more complicated issues to fix and deal with.
Make Civil 3D Work Better
Get the Framework for Civil 3D
The User Rules for Civil 3D
Updates, additions, and fixes to the posts in this series are on-going.