Being Civil

Line and Curve… Curve Delta (∆) symbol Label issue…

Hi everybody… This one has been around for a little while. When you use a Line and Curve Label over a curve the delta symbol will not display. It will show as "D" but when you drag the label it will show the delta symbol. You can get in the label style composer and no matter what you do the delta symbol will not show. So now, how do I make this work?

Here is a little trick to make the impossible possible...

First you need to:

1. Go to the Setting tab -> Parcel -> Label Styles -> Curve, select the Delta over Length and Radios labels.

2. Right-click on it and choose Edit to get into Label Style Composer

3. In the Label Style Composer's Layout tab, select the Delta component. and click on Contents

4. Go to the Text Component Editor - Contents, highlight the component of the label and Copy it (CTRL + C)

5. Then cancel all out.

6. Now edit the Distance - Radius and Delta label for Line and Curve:

7. On the Layout tab, select the Delta component.

8. Go to the Text Component Editor again.

9. Paste the content that you just copied from the Parcel label; this will add an extra component on the properties of the label that wasn't available before.

10. Make your changes and adjustment for Precision and Format.

11. Save the label.

This will fix the delta issue. In case that you get lost trying to follow the steps, here is a video so you can see how to make it work.

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013 New Feature: Label Between Two Points

By now, we all know that Civil 3D is not a new version of Land Desktop and that almost all we could do with Land Desktop we could do in Civil 3D, but lot quicker and in my opinion much more elegant. There are still a (very) few things that Land Desktop users asked to have but were unable to find in Civil 3D. One of those was the ability to label bearing and distance (or anything available, really) by selecting two spots on the screen. These spots do not necessary need to be two COGO points. The functionality added to Civil 3D 2013 is  called “Add line between two points label” and it’s found in Annotate ribbon, Add Labels > Line and Curve> Add Line Between Two Points Label

 

As the command states, with this feature user could just pick any start and end points and the label will be drawn for you right between those spots. If you get something like this then you did it right!

One other thing, worth mentioning – Even though the line connecting those two spots on the screen is invisible, it does exist as a temporary line allowing user to see where it starts and ends, which may be useful in very busy drawings. As you may notice in the image below, it also updates dynamically any time you move it up and down.

 

Finally, you may notice two kinds of grips if you select the label. The diamond shaped one allows you to move your label along the “invisible” (well, it’s hard to call something invisible if you can see it) and selecting little squares will give you the options to Stretch the line (all directions) or Lengthen to shrink or lengthen the line.

 

Stay tuned for more!

 

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013 New Feature: Labeling Survey Figures

All of you that work with Survey Databases and Survey Figures… How many times you have wished to label your figures without having to convert them into a parcel?

We were able to label survey figure lines and curves earlier, but now we are able to label survey figures so that information is displayed in other label types, such as the General Note label.

The Survey Figure properties that can be labeled include figure properties, as well as any user-defined properties for your figures.

Labeling with Math Functions

With the arrival of Enhanced Styles in AutoCAD Map (and Civil) 3D 2012, a change was made as to how the program interprets the Math Functions in Expression Builder (Really, "Expression Builder" is just it’s street name. The official name of this is the Create/Modify Expressions dialog, that you get when you select an FDO layer, click Style, click under Feature Label, and in the Text context drop down choose Use Expression). In the past, when building a math expression, the Expression Builder expected a numeric value, and the syntax would have looked something like this:

Rotate Point Marker and Label Independently

Ability to rotate point marker and label independently in Civil 3D was customers’ wish for a while.  With Civil 3D 2012 that wish has been granted.  You could have read about Rotating Labels on Being Civil site. You may also remember how tedious this task was in previous versions. Our own, Seth Hall blogged about it before in his Rotate Point Marker Independently of the point Label post; but new way is easier, more elegant and does more. The following post goes one step further and explains other options available with this tool. If you click on the marker symbol of a point, you will notice options which would allow you to move point, rotate marker and rotate both label and marker altogether.

Clicking on upper grip (rectangular) will give you options to do move or rotate label as well as “Toggle sub item grips”. With this option you can grip edit individual pieces of label and position it the way you want it.

If your point marker and point label are already rotated you may notice some more options. Reset all will bring point marker and label to its default position. Others are self explanatory.

Enjoy! 

 

Quick Tip: Label Style Composer Missing Preview

If when composing or editing a label style, you happen to notice that your preview window is blank, this may lead you to believe that there is a graphics card issue or possible corrupted installation. Typically this issue has nothing to do with either of those, but rather the naming (or renaming for that matter) of this folder:

• Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\C3D 2012\enu\Data\Preview

• Windows Vista & Windows 7: C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 2012\enu\Data\Preview

These previews are stored as .DWG within these subfolders, so renaming them or any changes to the folder structure will cause the program to display a blank preview window. This is actually documented in the HELP menu within Civil 3D, but given the misleading nature of this issue it could lead down the wrong troubleshooting path. Enjoy!

 

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012 New Feature: Set Pipe End Location Pipe Rule

How long has it been since you’re seen an addition to pipe rules? What’s the most common gripe that users have regarding pipe labeling? Here’s a hint – do your pipes extend to the center of a given structure or do they stop at the walls of the structure?

If these questions intrigued you, then you might be interested in the new pipe rule included in AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012 – conveniently named Set Pipe End Location. With this pipe rule, you get the option to set the pipe end location and start location, as well as specify an offset for each. Start and end location options include Structure Center, Structure Inner Wall, or Structure Outer Wall. This should let you get your distance labels set up the way your local approving authority requires!

Custom LinkToMarkedPoint for labeling purposes

Occasionally customers will submit requests in which are wondering if it is possible to label a single corridor link in their section view using code set styles. The answer is yes, this is possible, but it requires a little bit of “legwork” to get the desired results.

In this particular example I would like to label the slope of my sidewalk. In order to achieve this single label on your sidewalk, you will first need to create a MarkPoint subassembly. We’ll start by launching the Tool Palettes (CTRL+3) and selecting the GENERIC tab. Down at the bottom you will find the MarkPoint. Clicking on this will reveal the Properties dialog and here we will supply this point with a name. In this instance I am simply going to be calling this point SLOPE. We need to name this so we can then point our LinktoMarkedPoint subassembly to it, and you will want to name it something appropriate and easy to remember in case you have multiple MarkPoints in the same assembly.