Eric D. Colburn, PLS

Eagle Point Surveyors' Companion For Civil 3D Overview Professional Land Surveyor Video

Here’s a quick video overview of the features, functions, and command set for Eagle Point Surveyors’ Companion For Civil 3D.

At this point I don’t know too much about Eagle Point Surveyors’ Companion For Civil 3D, so this video is sort of an unpacking and peek into this software package.

Already, I’ve quickly used the List Points and Unused Points reports, which are very handy. This, and everything else I’ve seen, makes me very excited to put Eagle Point Surveyors’ Companion For Civil 3D into action.

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Survey Database Point Groups-AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 Professional Land Surveyor Video

In this installment of my Professional Land Surveyor Video series, AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 for Land Surveyors: Survey Database Point Groups, I will show you how to:

1. Create Survey Database Point Groups.
2. Select Survey Database Points to populate your Survey Database Point Groups.
3. Use Survey Database Point Groups to filter points you insert into and remove from your AutoCAD Civil 3D drawings.

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AutoCAD Civil 3D With Two Drawings Open

In today’s AutoCAD Civil 3D Surveying Quick Tips and Tricks I will show you Using Layer Source From Other DWGs When Creating Styles. This technique helps you speed up the creation of AutoCAD Civil 3D Styles by using already created layers from your other AutoCAD Civil 3D drawings and templates.

The Problem:

You are creating new styles in an AutoCAD Civil 3D drawing or template and in doing so you want to speed up the process of assigning Layers to the new point style; let’s say for display, for example. If the layer is not already in your AutoCAD Civil 3D drawing or template you have to create that layer (and its settings), which is either cumbersome through the Style Editor, or you need to exit the Style Editor to do it using the Layer Manager.

Either way, it requires a certain amount of manual input and risks inconsistencies between drawings and templates.

Two things we’re trying to accomplish are:

1. Work faster by select an existing Layer from another AutoCAD Civil 3D drawing or template to use in creating Styles.
2. Maintain Layer consistency.

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Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News-Topcon Corporation Appoints Di Federico To Executive Committee

LIVERMORE, Calif. – August 5, 2010 – Ivan Di Federico, who was recently named chief strategy officer of Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS), has been selected to join the Topcon Corporation executive committee for the Tokyo-based positioning business unit.

In making the announcement, Ray O’Connor, president and CEO of TPS, and newly appointed managing executive officer of Topcon Corporation, said,

“Ivan’s appointment to the positioning business unit executive committee is a result of his leadership in expanding and creating opportunities in all areas of our positioning business. As former senior vicepresident of global engineering, Ivan’s ideas, drive and determination have greatly benefited Topcon Corporation.”

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Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News-Trimble and Critigen Extend Business Partner Agreement to Deliver Advanced Geospatial Solutions

SUNNYVALE, Calif., — Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) and Critigen announced an extension of the business partner agreement originally established in 2004 between Trimble’s Mapping & GIS Division and Critigen’s former parent, CH2M HILL. Critigen will serve as system integrator and provide data management and visual business intelligence solutions to support Trimble’s technology and products in the utilities, state and local government, and environmental management markets. Trimble and Critigen will work together by providing a broad range of product development, joint sales, data collection, data conversion, and implementation services. Read the rest of this entry →

PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYOR SURVEY

In this week’s Professional Land Surveyor Survey, I’m asking the question:

Does AutoCAD Civil 3D Require Too Much Setup?

I’ve been working on updating my existing AutoCAD Civil 3D templates and creating a few new ones, which got me to thinking about whether or not setting up AutoCAD Civil 3D for land surveying requires just too much setup.

Then, I was talking with a few other AutoCAD Civil 3D users about this topic that happened to be working on their templates and they had definitive answers to this question, to say the least.

Maybe this is just coming from the land surveying perspective, although much of AutoCAD Civil 3D functionality requires the setup of numerous settings, it just seems to me that the surveying side of the software and technology requires more. Maybe even too much!

What do you think?

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Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News Trimble Unveils State-of-the-Art Mobile Spatial Imaging System

The Trimble MX8 System Combines Leading Imaging and Laser Scanning Capabilities in
an Integrated System for Mobile Mapping

SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 13, 2010 —Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) introduced today the Trimble® MX8 Mobile Spatial Imaging System, an advanced mobile data capture system that combines imaging and laser scanning capabilities to measure objects in 3D to produce 3D, 4D and 5D data sets for spatial imaging projects. The new Trimble MX8 Mobile Spatial Imaging System expands the scope of services that surveyors, engineers, mapping and geospatial professionals can offer to enhance their business. The system is ideal for as-built modeling, inventory, inspection, encroachment analysis, and asset management for roadways, bridges, railways, utilities, and other infrastructure.

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Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News Adapx GIS Data Collection for GeoPDF, ESRI MapIt, & Mobile Devices

Adapx Introduces New Capturx GIS Data Collection Solutions for GeoPDF, ESRI MapIt, and Mobile Devices at ESRI User Conference

Handwritten data on paper maps and forms instantly scanned and sent to ArcGIS, GeoPDF files, and ESRI MapIt-enabled SharePoint lists using digital pens, Bluetooth and mobile devices

Seattle, 12 July 2010. Adapx, the company that is changing the way mobile teams collect data and collaborate, today announced new Capturx GIS solutions enabling field teams to instantly send georeferenced data collected on paper forms and maps into ArcGIS, GeoPDF files, and ESRI MapIt-enabled SharePoint lists using digital pens, Bluetooth, and mobile devices. The new solutions, along with Capturx for ArcGIS and Capturx Multimodal for ArcGIS, will be featured in the Defense and Intelligence Showcase at the ESRI 2010 User Conference in San Diego on 12-15 July.

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Professional Land Surveyor News

Ashtech® has introduced a new GNSS firmware upgrade for the entire ProFlex™ line of products, including the ProFlex 500, ProFlex 500 Marine, ProFlex 500 CORS, ProFlex Lite and ProFlex Lite Duo.

The new firmware features as standard:

Hot Stand-By RTK: Doubles the assurance that an RTK position is always available and robust.

Advanced Raw Data Quality: Multi-criterion internal observation masks optimize raw data depending on reception parameters and the dynamics of the receiver.

Ashtech Optimized Messaging (ATOM) format: Freedom from radio link throughput issues using the new compact and ultra compact scenario of ATOM format.

RTC Bridge for ProFlex 500 only: Extends the number of users working in a given area by allowing one of them to forward its corrections, received through GPRS, to others through a radio link, thus saving money on mobile communication fees.

Legacy DBEN Base format support for ProFlex Lite only: Transit smoothly from legacy Ashtech sensors generation to the newest generation.

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Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News: AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 Survey and API Hotfix

Autodesk has announced an update / hotfix for it’s AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 product line. According to Autodesk, this update / hotfix address the following:

In a continued effort to improve, we are releasing this hotfix for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 that addresses a number of survey, and some addition non-survey related issues.

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