Eric D. Colburn, PLS

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 Update 2.1.

Autodesk has released AutoCAD® Civil 3D® 2009 Update 2.1, which fixes or addresses a variety of issues discovered by customers and by Autodesk’s internal testing team.

Before applying this update, make sure that any customizations made to the user profile (such as, customizations made to the support file search paths, print file customizations, printer support file paths, redirections, custom template settings, and so on) are exported to a secure location, then imported and reapplied after the update has been successfully installed.

Autodesk has released its AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 Update 2. This update may contain fixes for issues you have been experiencing and also contains all the fixes included in AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 Update 1, AutoCAD 2009 Update 1, AutoCAD 2009 Update 2, and AutoCAD Map 3D 2009 Update 1.

The updates and fixes are too numerous to list here, but if you open the linked Read Me file, below, you can investigate the issues Autodesk has resolved with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009, that may have been causing you problems. As recommended by Autodesk, you should also read the Read Me file to understand the installation and use of this update. Autodesk strongly recommends that you read this entire document before you apply the update to your AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 product.

The two links, below, will take you to either the AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 Update file for download or to the Read Me file, as noted. Please keep in mind that the AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 Update is a very large file (c3d2009sp20.exe), at 82.956 MB.

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 update Links:

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 Update 2 82.956 MB
Readme (Learn more…)

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 Update 2.1

I know there were problems with the above links and Update 2 disappeared into the nether world of the net, but the link for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 Update 2.1 should work for you.

AutoCAD Civil 3D Update 2.1

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 Tips

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 is a very powerful program for Professional Land Surveyors. Unfortunately, it requires a lot of setup and a new way of working with our data. Fortunately now our data and objects can be dynamically linked.

Here are five tips to help you with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009:

1. Expand New Network Dialogue Box to enable data entry. This post explains how to fix this problem.
2. Setup your Point Styles, Point Labels, Point Markers, Description Key Files and possibly Point Groups before entering/input of survey data. The Point Groups are created in the Prospector tab of the Toolspace and everything else is created in the settings tab of the Toolspace, under Points. There are many settings you can change later, but points work best when setup first.
3. If you set a Point Group point style to “None” the point elevation will be removed from any surface these points are associated with. So, if you want to clean up your screen by removing those nodes but want to keep their elevations in the surfaces, create a Point Style with a blank Custom Marker Style. This is the second available custom Marker Style located between the “.” and “+” Custom Marker Styles. Call this new Point Style something like “Blank” and then select it for your Point Groups where you don’t want nodes, but do want the points to be used in a surface.
4. Use Parcels to label and hatch buildings. Make sure that you create a separate Site just for these entities. This will automate this process and save you time, particularly when you have to make universal changes, such as when a hatches for all existing buildings are changed to your “Demo” hatch, for example.
5. Try out the Ribbon. Enter at the Command entry “ribbon” (no quotes) and you will find a new way to access all of your favorite AutoCAD commands. This is a highly customizable feature that can, if you like it, speed up your work.

Share your knowledge

Please feel free to share any AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 tips of your own that you think others could use.

Carlson Software has made available a free add-on utility for users of AutoDesk/ AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009. A link to the Carlson Connect download page is at the bottom of this page (you may need to click on the “Read More >>” button to find it).

The Carlson Connect Free add-on runs inside of AutoDesk / AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 and provides the following Read the rest of this entry →

Need AutoCAD Civil 3D help?

I am in the process of writing about AutoCAD Civil 3D and how it can be used by land surveyors. I will be publishing this in posts on this site, and with more detail in eBooks.

I know that I encountered a steep learning curve in setting up my AutoCAD Civil 3D templates. Did you? Or did you give up- At least in some aspect limiting yourself to what you could do, hoping to be more complete in the future. You may have started with a template supplied with your AutoCAD Civil 3D purchase, and have been creating point styles, point label styles, point groups, description keys, etc. on the fly, hoping to pull it together, sometime. Or does it just seem too complicated to setup and use?

You’re not alone. It takes a lot of time to properly configure your templates and Read the rest of this entry →

Watch Civil 3D 2009 in Action

If you have questions about Autodesk/AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009, and how this can work for a professional land surveyor, the link above will display an interactive demo on the Autodesk website.

This is a good starting point to discover the potential of Civil 3D 2009 for land surveyors.

If you are ready to make the leap, Buy your Autodesk software from the Autodesk Store – today!