Where Do You Think You're Going?

I saw an interesting issue today with a General Line Label. Here's how it looked in the source drawing. A user imported a general line label style and added the label to an existing AutoCAD object in the new drawing. The problem was that the arrowheads were pointing in the wrong direction. It looked similar to this label.

I compared the style settings between the source and destination drawing. Everything matched exactly. The only difference between the original label and the new label is that the original label was on a polyline and the new label was on a line that had an elevation of 500 for one endpoint and an elevation of 0 for the other endpoint. Once I set one endpoint elevation to match the other endpoint (both at elevation 0), the label then looked exactly as it was designed to look.

Lesson of the day #1: Sometimes polylines are a better choice than a line for labeling.

Lesson of the day #2: OSNAPZ to the Rescue.

Get Those Child Styles Under Control

Have you ever created a child style, changed a setting on it, then wished that component property was still following the default setting from the parent style? This is especially apparent when changes are made to the Text Contents of a component. Before you go blaming the software for not working correctly, take a look at the style itself. It may be doing exactly what you told it to do.

Once you make a change to any part of a component of a style, an override is flagged on the Summary tab and that part of the component will no longer follow the changes made to the parent style. Here's a short exercise to show how it works:

1. Create a new drawing from the "_AutoCAD Civil 3D (Imperial) NCS template" in Civil 3D 2012.
2. In the Toolspace, Settings tab, locate the Structure Label Styles.
   
   
   


3. Expand the Label Styles and select the label style named "Data with Connected Pipes (Sanitary)", right click, and choose Edit... from the list.
   
   
   
   
   
4. After the Label Style Composer dialog box is open, select the Layout tab and verify that there are three components in this style: Structure Text, Incoming Pipes, and Outgoing Pipes.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Now close this dialog box by left clicking on Cancel.
6. Locate the Structure Label Style in the Toolspace Settings tab again. This time right click on the "Data with Connected Pipes (Sanitary)" style and choose "New..." from the list.
   
   
   
   
   This will create a child style of the selected label style.
7. In the Label Style Composer dialog box, select the Information tab and edit the Name to: "Data with Connected Pipes (Sanitary) [Description Only]". You can also edit the Description for this label style on the Information tab at this time.
8. Now select the Layout tab, then in the Component name: dropdown list, select "Incoming Pipes".
   
   
   
   
   
9. Under the "General" section, locate the "Visibility" property . Change the value to False.
   
   
   
   
   
10. Repeat this process for the Outgoing Pipes component too.
11. Now select the Summary tab. In the Property column, left click on the by Component 2 to expand the properties of that component. 

In the Override column there should be a green check mark in the box in the General: Visiblity row. This means that even if you change this visibility state in the parent style, such as setting the value to False, the visibility state of this component will not change. There should be a green check mark in the box in the General: Visibility row of Component 3 as well. Left click on OK to complete these changes to the style.

Now to see how this change affects the parent style, edit the original label style. You can do this by repeating Step 3, then selecting the Summary tab. Left click on the by Component 2 and you'll see a gray arrow pointing down in the Child Override column. This indicates that this property has been overridden in at least one child style. If you want to remove this override from all the child styles, left click on the gray arrow. A small red x will appear near the bottom right side of the gray arrow to indicate that you will be removing these overrides. Left click on Apply. The Summary tab will refresh at this point and all expanded properties will collapse. Left click on the by Component 2 again and there should no longer be a gray arrow in the Child Override column of the General: Visibility row. You can edit the child style to verify that the Visibility of Component 2 was reset to True.

The point of this exercise was to show you how and when the overrides are created so that if your child style isn't responding the way you expect when a change is made to the parent style, take a look at the Summary tab and look for Overrides.

Water Structures in Profile View

You know that special symbol for water valves and fire hydrants that the engineers want to see in profile views of water lines? Ours looks something like this:


If you think it's a structure style, then you're wrong. It's actually a label style that uses several custom expressions. I use a block that is a rectangle on a no plot layer for the structure in profile view. You can leave the no plot structure visible, or you can turn off the display of the structure in profile view once you've added your labels.

This label will move with the structure, adjust to the size of the structure, and adjust to changes in the surface referenced in the structure. Adjusting the custom expressions, you can control how far all four sides of the rectangle are from the center of the structure based on the size of the structure.

Now if only we could assign a default label style to each structure in profile view I could finish my P&P sheets even quicker. For now, I'm just happy that I don't have to place a dynamic block at each structure then remember to go back and move it as my structure moves to an updated location.

AU 2008: Day 1

So it's Monday, December 2nd (Day One), at Autodesk University 2008. I arrived at the Venetian (the host hotel) around noon. I could immediately tell that many AUers had already arrived (evidenced by the numerous AU badges that could be seen hanging by a string around the neck).

As I continued my way toward the casino area, I recognized a familiar face. It was Scott McEachron. He gave me a hug and we chatted for a bit. Then I headed down the hall to look for AU registration area.

On the way to the registration area, there were several ladies with AU signs. They were very nice and helped point me in the right direction (since registration was not in the same location as last year).

As I was nearing the entrance to the registration area, I passed by Shaan Hurley. He was in an animated conversation with several other people. I wanted to say hello, but it didn't seem like a good time so hopefully I get another chance to speak with him while I'm here at AU.

I continued to registration and that went very smoothly. There was no line at all to access the registration computers, but if you looked closely, you would notice that there was a line for folks that had used the registration computers and were waiting to pick up their packets. I chose a row that only had one person in the packet pickup line and selected a computer to use.

The gentleman in my line was taking FOREVER asking questions after getting his packet. Finally another lady brought my packet to his left so that I didn't have to continue waiting. Everything I needed was in the packet including my badge, ribbons, and subscription t-shirt and information (though I won't be able to wear the t-shirt in public because it's an XL and I wear a Medium).

Autodesk seems to have really taken this recycle thing to heart because the bag to hold my stuff and the spiral notebook were made from recycled materials. Part of the bag is a different color or colors.

At this point, I took a quick peak at the contents of my packet. I was concerned that I did not receive tickets for subscription meals, so I went to visit with the Subscription Center FAQ folks. They politely explained that all I needed was my badge. COOL.

Next I went straight to the Marin mountain bike that was in the room (since I'm a mountain biker myself). It was at a sustainable design exhibit in the registration area. I completed the survey about sustainable design and gave them my contact info in case I win the bike (crossing fingers). Then I reviewed the sustainable design board and added my own idea for how to help improve sustainable design for the future. For this idea, I received my choice of metallic water bottles. COOL.

Then I made the trek through the buttons. I grabbed any that I thought applied or were funny including "Drafty" and "Got Work". There were so many from which to choose. Then I debated about printing my schedule, but I kept reminding myself that I already had a printout in my suitcase.

As I was about to leave the registration area, I noticed another familiar face. It was Lynn Allen. She was interviewing an AU attendee about his experience at AU so far. Though there was already a crowd gathering around her, and since I'm not real fond of cameras in the first place, I headed in the opposite direction.

Next I went to register at the Venetian. In case you've never been to Las Vegas or AU, there is a TON of walking. I made the trek to the hotel lobby and got in line, only to be sent around the corner and upstairs to a different registration area. I was told that many of the AU rooms had already been assigned and that not many others were ready for occupancy. I was given the choice of a handicap accessible room or a room with a "great view of the strip". The caveat was that the "room with a view" was an extra $25/day. No way, Jose. I declined the "room with the view" and went for the handicap accessible room. Though I would prefer the room be saved for those that need it, the accessible room was a great choice for me. In the elevator on the way up to the room, something occurred to me that proved correct. The accessible room was very close to the elevator. YEAH!

I dropped off my AU stuff then went for a walk down the strip looking for a place to eat. I settled on Outback Steakhouse (at the Coca Cola and M&M store, then I returned several hours later to get ready for the AEC BIM Mixer.

I had already spoken with Lisa Pohlmeyer and she was with some of the current and previous DC CADD employees. They were heading to the Mixer within the hour (though I thought that was a bit early).

I brought my stuff from the car to the room, took a shower, and got ready for the Mixer. I headed directly to the Sands Expo area and found the first AU information lady. She directed me to the fifth floor and up the escalators I headed. As I got off the escaltor, I noticed that a line was already forming. I thought that I had arrived too late and would have to wait for someone to leave before I could enter the room. Actually, I was just too early and ended up being near the front of the line when the room finally opened.

During my wait, I visited with several AU attendees that were near me in line. We even ended up at the same table after getting our meal and drinks. One gentleman was a Department of Defense employee and the other worked in the structural industry. We had a nice visit about our experiences with Autodesk products.

Later during the Mixer, I found Lisa P. and the DC CADD (now and then) crew. I visited with Lisa, Gabe, Mark Martinez, Scott Durham, and Matt Castelli. Before she left the mixer, Lisa introduced me to Angel Espinoza. I was thrilled to meet him and we spoke about what portions of Civil 3D 2009 were giving me the most issues (my response was pipes and feature lines for grading = crash, for ease of use the problem area = pipe labels).

I then left with Lisa, Scott, and Matt to go to the Venetian Food Court. T. J. joined us later from the MGM Grand. We all had quite a discussion on the economy, stocks, and iPhones before retiring to our rooms.

Well, that was Day One. I hope the classes I chose are great ones.

Viewport Change Scale Lockup

Here's a quick workaround for an issue that has occured in a couple of Civil 3D 2008 drawings. The workaround was found by Matt Castelli of DC|CADD. Here's the deal:

We have a 2008 drawing that contains 8 or so xref overlays. Some of these xrefs have attached xrefs and most have at least one xref overlay. After creating a viewport in paperspace, the viewport scale was changed to 1" = 10'. It worked fine. Then the annotation scale dropdown was selected so that it could also be changed to 1" = 10'. That's when Civil 3D 2008 froze. The only solution was to kill the AutoCAD process tree.

The workaround is:

1. Unload all xrefs.
2. Change the annotation scale.
3. Reload all required xrefs.

The long-term solution is to open all xref drawings and audit, purge reg apps, reset scale list, and detach missing xrefs. Most of this process can be achieved relatively quickly through two utilities released by Autodesk this year.

1. Scale List Cleanup Utility
2. Regapp ID Cleanup Utility
   

NOTE ADDED 10/06/2008: This drawing freezes in 2009 also

*Warning* Multiply owned object

Since I'm already having to use this in Civil 3D 2009, I'm going to post it here so it's easier for me and others to find in the future.

Isn't it frustrating when you get this type of warning message?


Great. Now what do I do? Is the drawing corrupt? Do I have to start from scratch?

Some discussion forum posts suggest that wblocking the drawing can help. Yes, it does get rid of the warning messages, but you could lose all your styles, object layer settings, defaults, etc. That's not acceptable.

Well, according to Scott's Superman post, there is a command you can type to get rid of the problem object (Replace C5C with the handle shown in your command line):

(entdel (handent "C5C"))

Since it is possible to lose a style or two by running this command, I'd like to know what I'm deleting. So after a bit more research, I found a link to Shaan Hurley's post about DbView for AutoCAD 2007. I followed the instructions and ran the program. It works with Civil 3D 2009. I only wish someone could a "delete" command button for the selected object.

Here's a few screen captures of the DbView program in action:




At this point, I would love to give you some great and wonderful insight as to what you're seeing in that last image. Unfortunately, for now all I can do is look at it and see what type of object will be deleted.

As far as deleting the object goes there are several options for running the command from Scott's post.

1. You could edit the handle number in a text document, then paste it into the command line.
   
2. You could also create a script file on your desktop. Then you would just edit the handle in the script file, save and close, then drag and drop the script file into AutoCAD. You'll need to either put a space after the final )) or make sure and add a return after the final )) in the script file or you'll have to hit enter after running the script file.
3. Running this command through a lisp routine is another option.

It seems to me that every time I've seen this warning message, it's always been when I have been dragging styles between drawings. In Civil 3D, it definitely happens when you drag child styles into a drawing that already contains the parent style. This happens even if the parent styles were just created by dragging them from the same drawing. Hopefully it can be fixed with C3D 2009 SP1.

What? You Don't Use Bands?

That was the reaction I received during a presentation at my local user group meeting last week.  That group may not remember anything else I said, but that comment definitely got a reaction from the crowd.   So here's the story behind that statement...

Some engineers and companies are very particular about how certain items are labeled on their profile views.  I was working with one of those engineers on a project last year when I ran into a snag.  I was supposed to show the elevations of the profile in the "band" at the bottom of the profile view but I had to add the text "TC=" in front of the elevation.   The problem was that the "TC=" text appeared even on stations that had no profile. 

 

Obviously, that wasn't going to work, so I had to find a different way to display this label.  Having recently made some changes to the default profile styles in the company template, I decided to give something a try.  I created a profile label style that looked just like the band style, but it only appears where the profile exists.  That means if the profile only exists from station 1+00 to 12+50, then you'll only get labels from station 1+00 to 12+50 according to the major and minor station labels requested. 

So here's how you create and use this style:

1. Open or create a drawing in Civil 3D.
2. Make sure the toolspace is visible (command:  showts)
3. Select the Settings tab of the Toolspace.
4. Double click "Profile" from the list of objects.
5. Double click "Label Styles".
6. Double click "Station".
7. Double click "Major Station"
8. Now you should see a list of the existing Profile Major Station Labels in this drawing.  The list may only contain "Standard".
9. Right click on "Major Station" and choose "New..."
10. Select the Information tab and change the Name of the Label Style to "XX-FG-LT". Replace the XX with the initials of your company.
11. Apply.
12. Select the General Tab.
• Change the Layer to the one of your choice.
• Set the Orientation Reference to either View or World Coordinate System.   
13. Select the Layout tab.
• Left click the enough times to remove all existing components from the list.
• Left click the to insert a new "default" text object.
• Change the Name value from "Text.1" to "Profile Elevation".
• Set the Anchor Point to "Anchor Station Extension"
• Modify the Contents Value:
• Left click on the "Label Text" box then left click on the to change the text value for this label
• Select all the text in the Text box on the right of the Text component Editor - Contents dialog box and replace it with the desired "prefix text" in the same location (TC=)
• Make sure your cursor is after the last character of the "prefix text"
• From the Properties drop down list, select Profile Elevation
• Set the Precision, Rounding, Decimal character, Sign and Output as desired for your project
• Left click the to create the macro
• The result should look something like this: 
• OK
• Set the Text Height to the desired value
• Change the Rotation Angle to 90
• Change the Attachment to Top Left
• Change another other border and dragged state settings as required.
14. Apply
15. OK

Now all that's left to do is add your new style to a Label Set.  The tricky part is that you have to set the Dim anchor opt to "Profile View Bottom" and adjust your Dim anchor val to an appropriate setting.

So, that's all it takes to create a band style that only places labels where the profile exists.

Technorati Tags: Civil 3D, Labels, Profile, Profile View