Solr Installation, I Suck

I’ve tried installing stuff from the Apache Software Foundation before and haven’t had much luck. Today I’m determined to get Solr installed. If I succeed these are the steps I used.

First I downloaded and installed Java SE Development Kit from the Oracle website. I used the default location, but it looks like Apache would prefer you install it in the C:\jdk1.7.0_03 folder, but I installed it in the default folder.

Next I downloaded the ANT thingamajig and unzipped it and placed it in the C:\ANT folder. In order to get it to work we create the user variables in the control panel. The install documents also say you can run the set at the command line, but I’m not quite sure if that works. I did notice that I needed to type

set PATH=%PATH%;%ANT_HOME%\bin

at the command line in order to get ANT to work. If I close the command window I have to retype the string again. I’m sure there has to be a way to have this persist, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it.

Next open the Command Prompt. To do this go to the Start Menu and type run at the Search Programs and Files. Next type CMD to get the command prompt to open. Using cd.. go back a folder location, and then use the folder names to go the direction you want to go to.

You’ll want to end up in the folder location with the example code.

The folder contains the start.jar file. This is what is going to start the example. To start it type

java –jar start.jar

at the command line. This will start Solr using the example that comes with the Solr installation.

If you open a web browser and enter http://localhost:8983/solr/admin/ you can see that the installation is running. So yeah, I was able to figure it out and I have the steps to do it again, with some pictures.

 

Next we need to load the data into the Solr that is running. To do this open a new command window and get to the example docs folder using the method above. Then type java –jar post.jar solr.xml monitor.xml to load the data into the Solr that is running into the other command window. This should load the data.

Still need to figure out how other things work, but at least I got it working.

XSL Reporting

When modifying the XSL Reporting you may want to make sure you are using the correct folder. The Report files are stored in this location, replacing the year with your product.

C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 2012\enu\Data\Reports\xsl

As long as you are running the reports from within Civil 3D you should be good to go. If you are using the LandXML reporting then you might end up with some problems. The Reporting tool typically utilizes the most recent version of Civil 3D (or maybe the last installed version, I don’t really know). So make sure the reports are utilizing the correct version you have modified. You can check by looking at the file location on the Forms Tab of the LandXML Reporting Tool:

I guess I should really start using the Last Modified By: field.

Profile Blues

So I’m creating a profile in Civil 3D. Everything is going great. I’m able to open the program, set my profile and start working with Civil 3D. Then I get the big idea of setting my profile in the shortcut icon. This way whenever I start Civil 3D I’ll get my profile.

Suddenly I now have problems, big problems. The C that stands for Civil 3D in the upper left hand corner is now an A. Switching workspaces causes fatal errors. Sometimes the icons on the ribbon become question marks in clouds. The question marks may be living on cloud nine, but I’m far from it. What the heck did I do wrong?

It turns out the problem is how I created the profile. I created the profile from an AutoCAD based profile. Not quite sure how I got started with an AutoCAD based profile. It may have been because there is a profile in the default profile list in Options.

The solution to recreate your profile using a Civil 3D profile. Maybe the <<C3D_Imperial>> or the <<C3D_Metric>> profile. This way you won’t have any issues like I have. If you do see the A in the corner you probably have this issue.