I know for a fact that many of you out there have been waiting for this functionality, and with 2012, your wishes have been granted.
Copy All Styles and Settings
You should be familiar with this one from Civil 3D 2011 Subscription Advantage Pack, and previously from the command line entry of AECCIMPORTSTYLESAND SETTINGS. This year it has been worked into the MANAGE tab of the Civil 3D Ribbon. This command works just like its predecessors and will copy all styles and settings from a specified drawing. Although in 2012 you will be greeted with a new Import dialog with the ability to check and uncheck the styles you wish to import, along with an option to check or uncheck import settings. One word of caution: importing styles and setting from a Metric to Imperial and vis a versa, that this could cause some issues with your units.
Replace A Single Style
If you find yourself needing to replace a single style for all instances in a drawing, you will now have the ability to do so. For example if you realize you have the wrong point label style, you can change them all at once. Simply by navigating the the Settings tab of Toolspace, selecting the style in use, right click, and selecting REPLACE WITH. This will populate a dialog with a drop down to select any other point label style in the drawing to replace the current style with. You will also have the ability to create a new style if desired, and you can even get a little preview of the style detail by clicking the magnifying glass button.
Purge Styles
This can come in handy if you have just imported styles from another drawing, and you would like to get rid of all the styles that are not currently in use. This command can also be found in the MANAGE tab of the Ribbon, right next to the IMPORT option under the STYLES panel. Clicking the PURGE button will send you to a dialog where you can check and uncheck all the styles you would like to purge from the current drawing.
Find Style In Use
This is the one I was most excited about, mainly because I have spent some time trying to determine where a style is in use in a previous version, and it was not an easy process to say the least. Now it is just a couple clicks away. If you noticed when you were replacing a single style, the was another option right above REPLACE WITH when right clicking on a style in use. Selecting this option, FIND REFERENCES, will send you to a dialog which will list out all the places within the drawing that this style is currently in use. What used to be a “needle in the haystack” scenario is now an extremely quick process.
These new features will give you much more control over your styles and how you use them. You can now quickly make changes and easily share your styles like never before.
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