Obscure Key-In You May Want to Know

I'm getting to the point in my CAD-life where it is a novelty to learn completely new tricks in base AutoCAD. But today I did, and here it is:

CONVERTCTB

Use this to convert a standard color table (CTB) to a style-based table (an STB).

Then, once you have an STB made, you can force your drawing to recognise the style table by typing:

CONVERTPSTYLES

ACAD will ask you if you really want to do this. Say yes. It will take a few minutes to kick in.

What does this mean? It means that you can now set plot styles by layer rather than by color. In other words, if Bob likes his "Roadway" layer to be Cyan and Sue wants her "Roadway" layer to be Magenta, they can plot the same shade of gray.

Oh happy.

Beta Name Suggestions

Ok. Software developers are insecure people, therefore they name versions-in-progress really hip-CIA-wannabe names. Here are my suggestions for next year:

• Bunnyhill
  
• Slingshot
• Karmabomb
• Uranus
• The String
  
• Miasma
• Denny's
• IHOP

Feel free to comment with your own ideas!

Styles Mystery Solved

I have figured out a problem I was having with my Pipe Label styles!
Yippee!












When I was attempting to put invert elevations on structures, I kept noticing that the Civil 3D default labels seemed a whole lot smarter than mine. Now, I realize there are TWO different types of text you can add to a structure. There's the good old Text Component, then there's a component called Text for Each. OOhhhh, I get it.

So Text gives you the following list:





These are items that there can only be one value associated per structure.
For example, you can only have one rim elevation.















Text for Each on the other hand gives you this list:




This list shows things there might be more than one of, such as upstream connected pipe invert elevations .

Booth Bunny

This week is the Wisconsin Land Surveyors Show in fabulous Wisconsin Dells.

Imagine Vegas after the apocolypse and you've got the "Dells." We're at the Kalahari Waterpark/Resort which is cheesy as heck but fun. I must be getting old. After one very freaky slide I got separated from my glasses and wandered around blind and disoriented until I found where I had left them. Then it was time for the lazy river. More my pace.

We're here through Friday doing Civil 3D demos all day. Stop by if you can!

Client Nightmare

As I have a client in my class this week who is seriously trying my patience, I am writing this post from his perspective. By doing this I am hoping to regain my empathy.

When I started this job 20 years ago things were different. The
secretary did all my typing for me on an old DOS machine. I had my
own office and drafting table with a shiny new power eraser. We were hired
if we were the best. I graduated in the top 5% of my tech
school class. For the first 15 years of my career I was
king. You want a sheet full of cross-sections? Give me a sheet
of vellum and I'll blow away any of these guys in speed. With just an
accociates degree I put three kids though college, bought a house in a nice
suburb and have no more payments on the Blazer.

A few years ago things started to change. They never
replaced the secretary when she retired and I got a PC dumped in my
lap. When the company moved to a different building, all us drafters were
moved into cubicles. They "flattened" the organizational structure
and I didn't have much say in anything. They sent me to a Microsoft class so I can plug away at letters and e-mail. And this CADD thing? I tried it once. Even bought a tablet device. The new kids coming in make it look like frosting a cake. I'm still faster with ink and vellum.

And today? Fuggitaboutit. They say I have to learn this
AutoCAD thing or I'd best retire. It makes no damn sence.
Right-click? Left-click? Middle mouse wheel? Do I hit enter or do I
hit Escape? What do I hit to get rid of this thing chasing the
mouse? What happened to those tablet things anyway? The teacher is half my age and she makes it look so damn easy. "Read the command line," she says. What the hell are you talking about? How am I supposed to remember Snap Overrides when I'm in the middle of figuring out dimensioning? (And I only know they are Snap
Overrides because the teacher had to remind me three times.) I'm never
gunna remember all this stuff. Theres three ways to do hundereds of
things. Its going to take me all day to build that sheet of cross
sections...and you're saying THIS is better?

But the teacher seems like a nice kid and she's attempting to give me some extra time. Kinda reminds me of my daughter.