Being Civil

Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler: Importing SKP Model Materials

Autodesk Infastructure Modeler has many very cool features and can present quite the "wow" factor when showing clients and collegues what it can do. Just have a look at this video that was shared on Civil 3D's Facebook page. Given the realistic detail that can be achieved, you want to make sure everything is being imported properly.

In this case we will talk about SketchUp (SKP) models and having actual photos of the real buildings applied to said models. If after tying to import these models into Infastructure Modeler you find that you are missing the materials (photos) it may be due to the fact that Infastructure Modeler cannot "see" those materials.

If you are exporting to the DAE file format, you will get the DAE file and a folder with the same name. The folder contains the JPG required for the model textures.  To resolve this try moving the DAE file into the folder that contains the JPG.  That way, when the DAE is imported into Infastructure Modeler, the textures are found and used.

Geotechnical Module Error Message

After reading Jack's blog post regarding the free training for this new tool, you might be inclined to go download it from Subscription Center and give it a try. After installing you may get this error message or something similar:

"Could not load file or assembly System.Data.SqlServerCE version 4.0.0.0"

This is typically due to the fact that the prerequisite Microsoft SQL Server Compact 4.0 was not installed. This is listed right below the actual download of the module on Subscription Center under Civil 3D 2013 Productivity Tools. Please be sure you have this downloaded and installed prior to running the Module and everything should perform as expected.

Binding a Raster Image in AutoCAD...

Not too long ago one of our customer asked me this question, how can I bind a raster image in AutoCAD?... As you probably already know raster images can only be referenced into AutoCAD drawings. If you send the drawing to someone else, you must send the image file also, if not you will end up with a broken reference.
One way to get it done is inserting the image as an OLE object.
Go to the Insert Tab and look for OLE Object or just type INSERTOBJ on the command line.
Choose "Create New", and then choose "Paintbrush Picture".

Next, Windows Paintbrush should open up.

In Paintbrush, choose from the ribbons -> Paste, then Paste from...

Select your existing image file (JPG, BMP, PNG, TIF, etc.)

Close Paint and save your AutoCAD drawing.

Check Out features BEFORE you attempt to edit in bulk!

"Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally." Remember that from algebra class? This memory aid is helpful to understand the order of operations required to get the correct answer when solving algebraic equations.

Similarly, when it comes to working with FDO, sometimes, it's all about order of operations.

The following workflow, innocent as it is, will result in a freeze/indefinite hang:
1. Connect to an FDO data source in AutoCAD Map 3D.
2. Select many features (I selected 809 points)
3. In the AutoCAD Properties Pane, try to "globally" edit the value of one attribute for all of your selected features.

Sadly, even if Auto Checkout is enabled, you're just not gonna get anywhere. You'll likely have to End Process for acad.exe in Task Manager.

Now, augment your workflow by adding a step:

Photo © Eric Gevaert

1. Connect to an FDO data source in AutoCAD Map 3D.
2. Select many features (I selected 809 points).
3. Hit Check Out (same as running MAPCHECKOUT).
4. In the AutoCAD Properties Pane, try to "globally" edit the value of one attribute for all of your selected features.
Result: almost an immediate change!
Finally, be sure to Check In your features by clicking the button or by running MAPCHECKINALL.

Lesson: if you follow order of operations, you're almost guaranteed smooth sailing!

Can't See Preview on Open and Save As Dialogs?

You know that we have been advocating opening AutoCAD drawings from within AutoCAD. Besides making sure you are opening your drawing with appropriate application one other thing that I believe is very useful is that you can preview your drawing. If you paid close attention you may have seen that preview is not listed under Views. If you can’t see your drawing preview during Open dialog or when using Save As then there is a way to turn it one. To illustrate, I am placing before and after images for you to look:

Before:

After:

So to make it work you would need to go to Registry.

Note: Don’t forget to take a special caution when working in registry. Making a copy of Registry Key is best way to ensure if you mess up you may be able to undo it. 

To get there please use Start>Run and type REGEDIT. Once in there browse to the following locations and set PreviewVisible registry key to 1.

For save as:

1. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R19.0\ACAD-B000:409\Profiles\<<C3D_Imperial>>\Dialogs\Save Drawing As 
2. On the right side look for PreviewVisible and double-click on it
3. Set Value Data to 1

For Open dialog:

1. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R19.0\ACAD-B000:409\Profiles\<<C3D_Imperial>>\Dialogs\Select File
2. On the right side look for PreviewVisible and double-click on it
3. Set Value Data to 1

Stay tuned!

Text… Custom Linetypes!!!

Sometimes we have the need to create a new custom linetype to denote different lines in our drawing, like water lines, gas lines, fences, etc… For those of you that have some custom linetypes with text and have been moving this LIN file alone from older releases, here is something that you may not know.

When we talk about text custom linetype we need to consider: Text Styles, Scale, Rotation, X offset, and Y offset. Probably the rotation is being the most painful one, because is not the same to draw a line from left to right, that from right to left…. So we end up with things like this...

Here is how this line looked like until 2010:

*AUTODESK, BeingCivil ---- ADS ---- ADS ---- ADS ----

A,.2,-.2,["ADS",STANDARD,S=.1,R=0.0,X=-0.1,Y=-.05],-.25

But since 2011 Autodesk did something really nice for us… they change the rotation parameter, and give us the ability to manipulate this factor in a different way, introducing U and A, beside the original R. What this mean to us?
R=value
R= specifies relative or tangential rotation with respect to the line.
U=value
U= specifies upright or easy-to-read text.
A=value
A= specifies absolute rotation of the text with respect to the origin; that is, all text has the same rotation regardless of its position relative to the line.
So in any AutoCAD based software, this is how my custom linetype with text looks now.

Here is how this line looks like since 2011:

*AUTODESK, BeingCivil ---- ADS ---- ADS ---- ADS ----

A,.2,-.2,["ADS",STANDARD,S=.1,U=0.0,X=-0.1,Y=-.05],-.25

Remember, text styles can be annotative as well, so that is another thing that you could consider when creating and working with text in custom linetypes.

Here is the location on Vista and Win 7:

C:\Users\USER_NAME\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\C3D 201X\enu\Support\acad.lin

Check your PHP

Autodesk Infrastructure Map Server (AIMS) has several components that have prerequisites, one of which is PHP. If PHP is not installed on the server, or if PHP is out-of-date, it can cause problems, sometimes as serious as not being able to log into your site!

So if you are having problems with AIMS, it's good to know how to find out which version of PHP your server is running. This is easy to find. Here is an example of how you might do it on your server:

1. In a text editor, start a new file and enter the following:
<?php
phpinfo();
?>

2. Save it as phpinfo.php in:
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Autodesk Infrastructure Web Server Extension 2013\www\mapadmin

3. Now browse to:
http://localhost/mapserver2013/mapadmin/phpinfo.php



4. Check your php version against the System Requirements for AIMS. For AIMS 2013, you can find them in the installation media folder here:
en-US/Help/files/AIMS-sys-reqs.htm


The System Requirements for AIMS 2013 specify PHP 5.3.8. Is this the same PHP as you are running?

Computer Freezes After Open, Save As,...

Sometimes some issues should be classified in rather “bizarre” category if there is a tag for it. Many times hangs and lock-ups are bad signals that may be related to bad installation, application conflicts, graphic related issues or just bad files…but not always. A few days ago we have received one report from a customer who was experiencing lockups any time he tried to run OPEN or SAVE command. This customer did some homework and made sure the system is up-to-date, graphic drivers are also updated. CMDDIA and FILEDIA were set to 1 (you would be surprised how many of these we see).

So, what is bizarre about this one is that the issue is not with program, installation, bad driver or whatever,... but the fact that user was running multiple screens (very common these days) gave us this wild idea. One of the common reasons for dialogs not to show up, acting as there is a lock-up while in fact program is waiting for user response, is because the dialogs are displayed off screen. Put it this way, if you have multiple screens and you have different resolution settings, you may have your screens mapped differently causing some dialogs to show off screen.

So let’s see how we can check if this is the case.