Being Civil

Quick Tip: Optional Parameters Units

You may have noticed that some parts retain certain measurments in Imperial units even if they are a Metric part in a Metric catalog. For example the Minimum Curve Radius will display as inches even with a Metric part. These are even "greyed out" in the part properties which makes it even more confusing.

This is because these units are being controlled by the AeccPartParamCfg.xml file that is typically located here:
 
C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 2013\enu\Pipes Catalog\Aecc Shared Content

Look for the line calling out the parameter you want to edit and change the units. Example:

<AeccDfParameter name="MCR" desc="Minimum Curve Radius" context="MinCurveRadius" index="0" datatype="Float" usage="Double_Distance" unit="in" visible="True" internal="True"/>

Once edited this should populate within Civil 3D. Please note that this a "shared" file and is shared between the Imperial and Metric folders so you will need to change it back if need be.

Hope this helps!

Unable to Save Changes Made in Part Builder

This issue seems to be a hot topic lately so I thought I would write a quick post on the subject. Have you been  experiencing issues when you try to add new part sizes or make other changes in Part Builder? In most cases this is a permissions related issue, so if you are experiencing this, please read on.

First step is to select the Civil 3D icon, right click, and select PROPERTIES. In the resulting dialog, please select the COMPATIBILITY tab and check the RUN THIS PROGRAM AS ADMINISTRATOR, then click OK. After doing this please try launching Civil 3D again, and see if you are able to make and save the edits. You can also do this directly from the icon's right click menu, but that will apply only to that session of Civil 3D.

  
Even though you may have full administrative rights on your machine, I have still seen this issue occur, especially on Windows 7 machines. Another place to check would be to ensure that you or your users have full control of the C:\ProgramData folder as this is where the part catalog is located if running a typical install. Hope this helps!

Sump depth at 0.000’, Why does my Profile View not show it?

An interesting question came to me the other day, in which a customer had reported that they had set their structure rules to follow a sump depth of 0.000’. Everything looked fine from the part properties, however when placed in Profile View, the sump did not appear to be at 0.000’ as defined by the rules.

Simple Shapes in Part Builder

A while back a user sent me a case asking where she could find simple shapes in Partbuilder. Not being the Partbuilder guru on our team, I was initially unsure what she was even talking about. However, through a little research, I found some structures that I had never seen before – a simple box and a simple cylinder. Well – these are in my catalog, why can’t I see them in my parts lists? As usual, follow the link to find out how.

Runtime Part Parameter Configuration Error

Those of you that have made custom changes to Parts List and added Optional Parameters, may have come across this little error message upon launching Civil 3D:

Assigning Optional Properties to a Part Size

It may just be my perspective, but I seem to come across more and more users inquiring about this custom functionality lately. Although this is customization above and beyond what we deal with here in Product Support, I thought some users would like a more in depth overview than what is found in the HELP file: Assigning Optional Properties to a Part Size

Part Builder: How To Add Custom Part Sizes

In Support a fairly common question we hear is “How can I add a <insert size here> to my Part Family?” For some Users the mere mention of Part Builder will send chills down their spine (myself included), but this procedure is easier than one may think.

For this example I will use Corrugated Metal Pipe (CMP) as this is a very common pipe type we used to come across in my field crew days. If you notice when you go to add a part size to the Part Family, there is already quite a few size options available to you. But for your project you are requiring 32” CMP for your culverts, this is where Part Builder comes in handy.

First we will start out by launching Part Builder from the HOME tab>CREATE DESIGN panel dropdown>PART BUILDER. This will launch a dialog that you will be able to select which part catalog you would like to work with and since we are using CMP, we will select Pipe. Expand the US Imperial Pipe Catalog until you get to Corrugated Metal Pipe, select this option and click on the Modify Part sizes button. After clicking this button the Content Builder will appear along with the option to edit and create parts. Since we are going to edit this particular part, we are going to now select Size Parameters, right click and Edit Values.

This will bring up the Edit Part Sizes dialog, listing out all the default part sizes available. We need that 32” CMP, so we will select the 30” and that will allow the NEW button to be selected. Selecting NEW will automatically insert a new field, but this new field will then be populated at the bottom of the list.

At this point we can edit this size to reflect our new size 32”, click OK. You will then need to  Validate the new part size by clicking on the “traffic light” button, then save the part family. At this point we are almost done and ready to use our brand new 32” CMP, but first we will need to type the command PARTCATALOGREGEN for it to show up in our add sizes list. This command will allow you to regenerate either the pips or structures, for this example we will select pipes. At long last we are finally able to add this custom size to out Part family to use in our designs. I hope this helps in the quest for custom part sizes!