Master James Wedding is presenting regarding the new Subscription Advantage Pack for Civil 3D 2011 to be released in the next few days. All of the Subscription Advantage Packs for AutoCAD, MAP 3D and Civil 3D should install onto Civil 3D this year.
AutoCAD
AutoCAD gets an AutoCAD WS plugin to take the drawing from the computer to the mobile device. Formerly called Project Butterfly. View, edit and share from the web. WS has no official meaning. Do you have a suggestion for what it should mean?
DWG Conversion Tool – Replacement for Batch Convert
IGES Import/Export – Have no idea what this would be good for. Master John Evens indicates it has something to do with Inventor or Mechanical Desktop.
MAP 3D
New FDO provider for ArcGIS. Access more data from ArcGIS Geodatabases which will utilize feature classes and schemas. Can directly connect directly to ArcGIS without going through converting the data to a SHP file and importing it into MAP. Can connect to databases such as the State of Utah’s or other agency databases on line, live.
Civil 3D
Style Management
Import Style and Settings command helps to bring in styles and settings into a drawing. Allows you to select a DWG or DWT file with a dialog box to bring in styles only or styles and settings. Still no option to just bring in a portion of the styles or settings. 918 styles and 1108 settings in the default drawing that ships with the program. If a drafter has messed up the styles, then you could overwrite the styles in the drawing with the correct ones. Not the best solution if you only want one or two styles overwritten. I’m thinking if you have to take 5 minutes trying to explain why this is good, it doesn’t really solve the problem.
Improved Point Imports
Once you select a file, a reduced list of point file formats is available based on what the file contains. So if the file is spaced by commas, comma file formats will be presented. A preview pane is also available to show you what column is assigned to which data type (not a graphic preview of where the points are going to be located at, with the existing linework show, which would be pretty cool to see if the N,E is the correct column).
Superelevation Control
Can transfer from one alignment to another
COGO Editor
Is a dialog box to help create traverses in a graphical manner. Can apply different error reports. Can change the accuracy of what the reports need to be run on. Zoom to segment, zoom to figure. Can change the input data as you go, so if you make a mistake you can go back and edit it rather then starting over. Can save the traverses into an external file and import it back into another drawing, run the dialog on existing polylines. “So simple Simeone could use it”.
DGN Import
The SAP provides the ability to import in DGN files that converts the DGN linework styles into AutoCAD linework styles. Converts the levels to layers. Need the RSC files for the DGN file in order for the linework styles to get the command to work as expected. Put the RSC file into the support file. Make sure you ask for the RSC file when receiving DGN files from others.
DGN Export
Can export utilizing the RSC files to get the linetypes to show up correctly in Microstation. Need to select a seed file that matches the file type you are sending out. Get the seed file from the requester to make things easy.
Don’t forget that Subscription Advantage Packs usually get rolled into the next version of the program.
Disclaimer: Autodesk paid for my trip and stay to attend this event live at Autodesk AEC Headquarters in Waltham, MA.