CG Users Blog

Custom Tool Bars in CG for ICAD

2009-09-06T19:47:00.002-04:00

This is a test of my first YouTube Video.

If this works you should see a short video on how to customize the toolbars in CG for Intellicad.

I have some other ideas for useful videos. If you have something you'd like to see, let me know.

Larry P

The details are finally in.... ArcView for Free

2009-06-27T12:28:00.005-04:00

In the most exciting software related news I've heard in years ESRI and Carlson have joined forces to better serve their clients. As I indicated in my last post, we were just waiting on the details. The details are in.

All users of a Carlson product based on the Intellicad Engine will receive a GIS Starter Kit.

The kit contains:

ArcView 9.3.1
GIS Tutorial (a great book with step by step instructions to get you started)
A to Z GIS (dictionary of important GIS terms)
ArcView Data & Maps 9.3.1 (5 data dvd's)
Data and Maps and StreetMap North America
Global Imagery and Shaded Relief - North and South America
Global Imagery and Shaded Relief - Europe and Africa
Global Imagery and Shaded Relief - Asia and Australia
Elevation and Image Data - World

Wow. There is some awesome and powerful stuff here.

So, I hope some of you are wondering, how do I get the GIS Starter Kit?

Call 1-800-GIS-XPRT (1-800-447-9778). You will need to tell them you are a Carlson ICAD user and want the kit.

When I called they asked me where I was located and told me to send an email request to an ESRI employee who was assigned to my territory.

In my email I was to include:

Name
Company Name
Physical address
Mailing address
telephone #
email address
Carlson with Intellicad Serial #

In a week I received my package and have been learning some really cool stuff every day since.

A few days before I received the package I got an email from ESRI. When you get this email, print it. The email contains registration information you'll need when you install your software.

There are some important things to understand about the free offer.

They have limited the offer to one free starter kit per company. (That does not seem unreasonable since they are giving people $1,700 worth of products.)

You need to provide the physical address because they ship the products via UPS.

You will want to have some time to devote to learning the software once you install it. The data that is available is mind boggling. This might be a really great time to think about setting up a company GIS to track your jobs.

If anyone isn't sure whether or not they qualify, or has any questions about the GIS Starter Kit, please do not hesitate to contact me at 336-846-1101. If you are using CG 7, or 8 or 9, this might be a good time to think about upgrading. The good news those who upgrade now should be eligible for a free copy of the next release which is due out in the next couple of months.

Larry P

More big news from the Users Conference

2009-04-09T09:27:00.002-04:00

Besides the announcement that the next version of C&G will be included within Carlson Survey there was another big announcement.

Brent Jones of ESRI did a fabulous job as keynote speaker at the conference. Among the things he announced was:

... an upcoming grant program to be offered by ESRI for every Carlson IntelliCAD user. "ESRI is very supportive of Carlson’s development on IntelliCAD and we want to support your users," said Jones of this specialized grant program being developed exclusively for Carlson IntelliCAD users. "We want to help surveyors leverage their existing resources to help in the GIS market." With this offer Carlson IntelliCAD users will be able to access GIS technology and jump-start a GIS practice.

Hummm. Why is that important to CG users? With this next release, CG users will be Carlson IntelliCAD users. Well, you will be a Carlson IntelliCAD user unless you choose to upgrade to Carlson with the AutoCAD OEM embedded.

Ok, so what exactly does the "grant program" mean? Who exactly will qualify? When will this happen? Which ArcView products are involved? At this point, I can not say. The final details are being worked out.

What I can say is, the association of Carlson and ESRI should lead to really great things for us users.

Larry P

Big News for CG Users

2009-04-09T09:03:00.003-04:00

I just returned from the 2nd Carlson Users conference. There is big news for CG Users.

A few years ago Bruce Carlson and I had a conversation in his office. He told me it made no sense to pay different sets of programmers to solve exactly the same problems. Of course, he was right. The problem was how to integrate the Carlson approach to solving a survey problem and the C&G approach to solving those same problems. I'll admit, I was skeptical.

So when will the two products become one? It took some time, but the day is fast approaching. Carlson announced that the next version of Carlson Survey will include C&G software. That's right. Next time you upgrade your C&G software you will receive both C&G and Carlson Survey for the same price.

For us long term devotees of C&G software this might seem like a bad thing. It isn't. In fact, this is one of the best things I've heard lately. With many software upgrades the users receives a hand full of new routines and some limited improvements in others. When the user upgrades this time it will come with tons of new tools. Will it take some time to learn to take advantage of all the new routines? Yes. But the fact we have the new tools puts the power in the hands of us users. I like that. I hope you will too.

This leaves us with an important question. When will the new version of Carlson Survey (with CG Survey) be released? The "official" word is they hope to release by sometime in June. Of course, the programmers hesitate to speculate on release dates. They know well how unforeseen problems can cause needed delays. I personally believe we users can expect to see something in our hands sometime this summer. That is exciting news.

Larry P

The next version of C&G is available

2008-10-19T23:00:00.002-04:00

The next version of C&G is now available for download from the Carlson Download page**.

This newest version (CG 19) works with your existing seat of AutoCAD or installs an Intellicad engine.

I've been on the road for the past week +. So far I've not had a chance to install and check out this version. Hope to have a proper review later this week.

For anyone who wants to check it out, give me a call at the office and I'll get you a demo serial number.

Larry P
800-533-4387

** Choose the CGSurvey for Autocad and CGSurvey 19 options

Using Color Tables

2008-10-08T11:12:00.000-04:00

I've found that helping people understand complex maps is much easier with the liberal use of color. I don't mean color on your computer monitor. We all have that. I mean color on paper.

Trust me it sounds harder than it is. Let me show you how.

Figure 1 is a screen cap of a fairly typical map from my files.

Figure 1.

When preparing a version to share with clients (at least those without AutoCAD) we start by creating a new Page Setup. Do this by going to File>Page Setup Manager

Figure 2.

This will bring up the Page Setup Manager dialog box. We want to create a New Page Setup

Figure 3.

The New Page Setup Dialog box allows us to name our new Page Setup. I'm going to call mine PDF black and white. (Quick side note: I strongly encourage users to use names that are descriptive.)

Figure 4.

There are several options to be set when the Page Setup dialog box appears. Let's focus on just those involved with printing in color or black and white. (If my readers want more on Page Setups just let me know.)

First, we see that the current color table is set to a file called Phipps_Survey_b-w.ctb. To edit that table we click the icon just to the right of the color table name.

Figure 5.

The Plot Style Table Editor box tells us the name of the file being edited at the top (in this case Phipps_Survey_b-w.ctb)

Here we see Color 2 is set to print in Black.

Figure 6.

Here we see Color 4 was set to print in Black. This particular table, because it is a black and white table should have all colors set to Black.

Figure 7.

Well, almost all the colors are set to Black. I actually keep the gray colors gray. Turns out Gray is a perfectly valid color even on a black and white printer. Plus, I've found that using Gray for certain items can be quite useful.

Figure 8.

Here we see a preview of the map as it will look when the file is created. (Except where I modified the image to blur the client names.)

Figure 9.

Ok, so how do we do color? I'm glad you asked.

I've gone back to my Page Setup Manager and created a Page Setup named PDF partial color. By default, the black and white color table (Phipps Survey_b-w.ctb) is current. Edit that table by left mouse click on the icon next to the table name.

Figure 10.

Turns out the creek in my map is drawn using Color 130. To plot all items drawn using Color 130 in color, we edit the Color Table. Set Color 130 to use object color. Then save the table with a new name.

Figure 11.

When the Save As dialog box comes up be sure and use a name that is descriptive. You should be able to tell at a glance exactly what the table does for you. In this case I use Phipps_Survey_part color.ctb.

Figure 12.

Once this table has been saved we will be returned to the Page Setup dialog box.

We've done Step 1 (Create the new setup). Step 2 is to assign the new Phipps_Survey_part color.ctb as the active color table for this page setup.

Figure 13.

When we left click on OK to finish creating this Plot Style we will be asked if we wish to assign the table to all layouts. For most users the answer will be yes. (Advanced users who need to say No will know.)

Figure 14.

When we preview the file we see the creek is now plotted using Color 130.

Figure 15.

That is good; but, it's not the whole story. Some colors work well on a computer monitor but not so well on paper or in a pdf file. Colors with a high yellow content can be very difficult to see on paper.

The good news is we do not have to stick with the color we drew on the screen. In fact you can edit your color table to plot any other color you wish. Here we see I've edited my part color table to plot in Red.

Figure 16.

This preview shows the creek is now drawn in Red. If we looked on the screen at the drawing we wouldn't see any difference in the file. The Red only shows up when we use the use the Plot Style to "print" the map.

Figure 17.

Finally, if we go back to our color table, we can create a full color table by selecting all the colors from the Plot styles shown on the left, then assigning all the colors to plot using the object color. Be sure and use the Save As function with a name that makes sense.

Figure 18.

As you can see, I use a file name that includes my company name and the fact that this table plots using full color.

Figure 19.

We now have 3 color tables from which we can choose depending our needs.

Figure 20.

Along the way I saved each Page Setup to this drawing. Each Setup has been named so I can tell it's purpose at a glance.

Figure 21.

That covers the basics. If anyone has specific questions they'd like answered, send me an email and I'll see what I can do.

Larry P

Inserting a Block into your default template

2008-09-27T12:57:00.017-04:00

This time let's talk about inserting a block into your drawing template.

There are two Phases to this operation. Phase I involves getting the block into a drawing. For Phase II we save that drawing as our template.

__________________________

Phase I

We begin by starting C&G then going to the Insert > Block Menu. It is important you use a fresh Drawing1.dwg.

Figure 1.

This action opens the Insert Block Dialog Box.

The Name field shows blocks which are already in your drawing. (To see a list of all the blocks in the drawing choose the choices button to the left of the name field.)

If you saved the drawing with a preview button you will be able to preview the image in the upper right corner of the dialog box.

Because we want to add a block that is not already part of the drawing we choose the Browse Button.

Figure 2.

Choosing Browse Opens the Select Drawing File dialog box. We then navigate to the appropriate location and choose the drawing to insert as a block. In this example we will insert a drawing called C-18.dwg

Figure 3.

We choose C-18 by using your mouse to left click on the name from the list of drawings stored in the active folder. If we left click once we see a preview in the upper left of the dialog box. We can also hover our mouse and (depending on your system settings) we will see an information box appear. When we are satisfied this is the file we want, we can double left click the file name or we can left click once then move the mouse down to the lower left and click open.

Figure 4.

"Opening" the drawing will take us back to our drawing. The block will be on your cursor. You can move your mouse to place the block.

Figure 5.

In this case however, do not do that. Instead, use the escape key to stop placing the block. Even though you did not place the block on the screen it is now part of the drawing.

_____________________

Phase II

Now that we have the block in Drawing1.dwg we want to make that our default template.

Here is how we do that.

From the Pull down menu go to File >Save. (You can use the keyboard shortcut or toolbar icon if you wish as either of those will get exactly the same result.)

Figure 6.

Executing this command brings up the Save Drawing As dialog box. (Note that this box only appears the first time you save a drawing. If you have a drawing that has already been saved and wish to save a copy you should use the File>Save As command.)

By default the Save As dialog box will save the drawing as a standard AutoCAD drawing file. This means you get a dwg file type. But that is not what we want.

Figure 7.

We want to save our drawing as a template. So we have to change the file type shown at the bottom of the dialog box. We want to save as an AutoCAD template. Template files have a dwt extension.

Figure 8.

When we change the Files of Type box to dwt the program automatically changes the current folder to the template storage folder.

Figure 9.

For CG 9 the default template is named CGSurv_9.dwt. (For CG 8 the default template name is CGSurv_8.dwt. For CG 7 the default is CGSu.dwt.)

Locate your default template and either double left click the file name or left click once then left click open.

Figure 10.

When you save a file with the same name as a file that already exists, you will get a warning box asking if you want to overwrite the existing file. In this case we do so choose Yes.

Figure 11.

Next, we get a Template Description Dialog Box. If you wish you can type a detailed description of the template and what it is designed to do. Or, if you wish you can leave the box blank. Either way this box provides input to the user and will not in any way affect your actual drawings. When you finish typing (or not typing) left click Ok.

Figure 12.

Your block is now a part of the drawing. To check you can go to the Insert>Block menu for confirmation.

Figure 13.

If you wish to make other changes to your template now is a good opportunity to do so.

When you have finished making those changes, I recommend closing then restarting
the program.

I will get into more details concerning blocks in a future post. Please subscribe to my blog feed or check back regularly.

Larry P

Converting Old Dos Drawings

2008-08-24T16:27:00.011-04:00

On thing that concerns (or should concern) long term users of C&G surveying software is the ability to use older versions of drawings, coordinate files, point groups and raw data files. There is good news for those concerned about accessibility of older files.

For the past several versions C&G has included the ability to convert the old PL files to dwg files. The process is really easy and fairly quick. Before I show you how the process works, I do want to issue a word of warning. When you convert a PL file, a new dwg will be created with that same name. If you previously had a dwg file with the same name as the original PL file, it will be over written without warning. Be careful when converting these old drawings. You can find yourself losing data when the existing file is over written.

With that warning, let me show you how to convert the old PL files.

Begin by starting the program.

There are two basic steps. First, we must Setup the process. During this setup we define the data path for CG Inserts. CG Inserts from the PL file will converted to CAD Blocks.

Go to the CGFile pull down menu. Choose CGFile>CGDos Drawings>Setup.

Figure 1.

When the CG Dos Drawing conversion Box opens, set the data path for any CG Inserts referenced in the PL file you wish to convert. In this case, the Inserts for our drawing are contained in data path c:\data\95060.

Figure 2.

When the data path is properly set, Choose OK.

Next we go back to the CGFile pull down menu. Choose CGFile>CGDos Drawings>Open Drawings.

Figure 3.

Next we choose the drawing we wish to open.

Figure 4.

After chosing the file and then Open, the process begins. The time necessary to complete the conversion will vary with the size of the drawing being converted. Simple drawings happen in a few seconds. More complex drawings will take a bit longer. (Even very large drawings should take less than a minute to convert.)

The the drawing layers being converted will show in the command line.

Once complete, the conversion successful dialog box will appear. Note the warning. I always encourage everyone to keep their color and pen width definitions consistant. Doing so will insure your old drawings will look the same as your new drawings and vice versa.

Figure 5.

Figure 6 shows the converted drawing. This particular drawing is a realitively simple preliminary drawing. The conversion not perfect. I sometimes have issues converting my title block. This is partly because I used attributes in my DOS drawings.

Also you'll find drawings containing "J" line types won't look the same when converted. (A CG Dos J line type is a double line offset from the center.) These do not convert properly to CAD because until recently AutoCAD did not support double offset lines.

Figure 6.

Larry P

Draw Mapcheck and Input Scale Factor

2008-08-16T22:22:00.001-04:00

I want to touch on a couple of topics with this post. One is a way to take a deed description written in units other than feet (or meters). The other function I want to highlight is new to CG Survey 9. The Draw Mapcheck function.

Let's start with a deed written in poles. (One pole equal 16.5 feet). Figure 1 shows a fairly typical Mapcheck file from my records.

Figure 1.

Notice the distance units I have in the Mapcheck file. The first deed distance is 10 poles. Insert each distance just as it appears in the deed.

Close the Mapcheck file and go to the CG Tools> CG Options Pull down menu. (Figure 2.)

Figure 2.

In the CG Options Dialog box you will find the Scale Factor Options in the lower left.

Figure 3.

Since we know 1 pole = 16.5 we change the Input Scale Factor to 16.5. Close the CG Options Dialog box by choosing the OK button at the bottom. (If you close the dialog box by clicking the red x in the upper right your changes will not be saved.)

Next let's take a look at the Draw Mapcheck function.

Go to the CG Draw > Draw Mapcheck function.

Figure 4.

The Draw Mapcheck dialog box allows us to do many things. At the top of the box you see we have to choose exactly which Mapcheck file we wish to work with. If needed, we can even edit the file by choosing the Edit File button.

Figure 5.

We have control of all the elements of a map. We can reduce the Mapcheck file to coordinates. We choose the starting and ending point numbers as well as coordinates for those points. See Figure 6.

Figure 6.

We can change the line type to be used. See Figure 7. If the line type you wish to use is not a part of the current drawing you can even add the type from a linetype file. See this post and this post for more details on linetype files.

Figure 7.

If we wish to draw calls on our map we can use the Calls Setup button to set them as we wish. See Figure 8.

Figure 8.

You change the point symbol and annotation settings by choosing the Drawing Settings button. See Figure 9.

Figure 9.

Once we have all our options set, choose the OK button. Your map is drawn and annotated per your choices. See Figure 10.

Figure 10.

Certainly this quick sketch is not ready to hand to a client; but, it does show you can quickly get data on the sheet. Minor moving of calls or point descriptions are easy at that point. Also note that our distances are shown in feet. The magic of the Input Scale Factor has converted the distances for us.

Finally, if we look at the reduced data we see the closure report and that the coordinates are correctly calculated in feet. See Figure 11.

Figure 11.

Larry P

Converting Raw Data Files to CGR

2008-08-08T08:56:00.009-04:00

I had a call this week from a friend having some problems converting a TDS data collector file to a cgr file he could edit with his C&G Raw Data Editor.

I was able to help and thought it might make a good post for others. So, here is how you convert non-CG type files to CGR files.

First, you'll need to download the raw file to your hard drive. (Be sure you make note of the location of the file on your hard drive.)

Once the file is on your hard drive Open C&G and go to the CGTrav pull down. Select Data Collector Transfer.

Figure 1.

Next set the Data Collector Type file to match the raw data type you have. Remember the type is not the hardware type. It is the software type. In this case I was converting a TDS type file.

Figure 2.

Since you have the raw data file on your hard drive already, you need check the Use Disk File option. Then you click Browse. This will allow you to designate which file you want to convert.

Figure 3.

Usually when you get to the folder containing the file you wish to convert, you won't see the file listed. This is because C&G is looking for a file extension that may not match the actual extension of your file. If this happens, go to the bottom of the screen and change the Files of type button.

Figure 4.

You want to show All Files (*.*)

Figure 5.

If you have the correct folder you should see the file you wish to convert. Choose it now. In this case I wish to convert zion_tbrown.raw so I choose it.

Figure 6.

This will return you to the Data Collector Transfer box. Next we set the File Format on the Computer Options side of the CG Data Collector Transfer box. We set the File Format to C&G(*.cgr)

Once you have the File Format set you are ready to choose Transfer

Figure 7.

The transfer happens really quickly. Once done, the CG Transfer Report dialog box will pop up. This box allows you to choose the location and file name for the new file.

Figure 8.

If you choose a location and file that already exist, you have the option to replace or append the existing file.

Figure 9.

After taking care of these options you should receive a Conversion complete notice.

Figure 10.

If you wish to confirm the conversion Use the CG Editor to Open the file.

Figure 11.

You now have a cgr file ready to edit or ready to investigate using the Raw Data Graphic Viewer.

Larry P

A Large Utility Linetype

2008-07-22T23:39:00.003-04:00

Let's apply the lessons learned in this post on Creating Custom Line types.

Let's create a special linetype for use with large overhead utility lines.

A line that looks something like this.

You can tinker with the size of the symbol and the exact spacing to get it looking exactly like you want.

First things first. You will need to define a Text Style. The reason we do this is because the tower symbol you see in the line is actually the capital "T" in a CAD font that comes with CG Software. The font file is called symap.shx

To define the text style, go to the Format Menu and select Text Style.

The Text Style Dialog box will come up.

Creating a new Text Style is a 4 step process.

Step 1. Select the NEW style button.

Step 2. Name the new style Map_Symbols
(It is very important that you spell this exactly
this way so you can copy and paste the text
located at the end of this tutorial.)

Step 3. Choose the Font Name you want associated with this Text Style.
(Be sure you choose symap.shx from the list.)

Step 4. Apply the changes then close the dialog box.

Now that you have the text style properly defined you are ready to work with the linetype definition file.

First you need to determine exactly where your linetype file is stored on your system. To do this go to the Format Pulldown menu and choose Linetype.

This should pull up the Linetype Manager Dialog box. Once there choose the Load button.

This will bring up the Load or Reload Linetypes Dialog box.
You will see the name of a line type file (extension lin) next to a button labeled File.

Choose the File button.

You can work with any linetype file you wish.
CG Survey 9 users should look for one called "CGSurv_9.lin"
Users of other versions should see a file with a similar name.

Pay attention to where this file is stored on your system.
We will need to open that file and make some changes.

Once you know the exact file name and data path
we are ready to open the file and make some changes.

As I mentioned in the previous post, be sure and open this file with a plain text editor NOT MSWord. I use Notepad for this. Start Notepad then Open a file.

We determined the location of the proper file just a bit ago so we would know exactly where to find the file.

Again, users of other versions of the software might find a slightly different name. This is the name of the file in CG Survey 9. If you don't see the file there check to see that Notepad is looking for all file types and not just text files.

Pay particular attention to any text in the file that is proceeded by two semi colons. This text is where the programmers leave users important information.

In this case we find a note telling us to make any changes need to be saved to the end of the file.

This must be an important message because here it is again.

Go to the end of the file and add these two lines of text. It should be fine to copy and paste from this post

*Major-Utility-Line
A,1,-.1,["T",Map_Symbols,s=.12,x=-.05,y=-.06],-.1

I know we covered this before, but lets take a moment or two to go over again exactly what this text means.

You see now why we created the Text Style called Map_Symbols. Without that, this line definition won't look right.

I'm sure many (most?) of you will want to tinker with the various parts of the line definition to get the line looking exactly like what you have in mind. This should give you the information you need to do that.

Save the line definitions file and close Notepad.

Now you have to load the new line definition into your drawing.

Go to the Format Pulldown menu and choose Linetype.

From the Linetype Manager Dialog box choose the Load button.

Choose the File button.

Find the proper linetype file.
Highlight the linetype name "Major-Utility-Line" 1
choose OK. 2

Your new line type should now be a part of your drawing.

In a later tutorial I'll talk about how you save this file type to your prototype drawing so it is available when you open the program.

Larry P

Raw Data Graphic Viewer

2008-07-16T14:43:00.015-04:00

One of the most overlooked yet very useful C&G functions is the Raw Data Viewer. This function is available in CG 7, 8 and 9 as well as the corresponding versions for AutoCAD.

The Raw Data Viewer allows the user to take a raw data file and "graphically view" the data. This viewing happens before any data reduction. The program doesn't do anything except show you a graphic representation of what the data will look like after it is reduced.

This is an extremely useful tool in finding blunders.

Here is an example of the Graphic Data Viewer file associated with some data from my office.

Figure 1.

My traverse points are drawn with a square. My traverse lines are drawn with red lines

My side shot points are drawn with a circle. My side shot lines are drawn with green lines.

Point numbers are shown. Traverse numbers are slightly larger than the side shot numbers.

So, how does it work? I'm glad you asked.

Start your CG program and open the CG Editor.

Open the raw data file you wish to view.

You can go to either the pull down menu under View>Graphic View (Figure 2.).

Figure 2.

Or you can choose the graphic view button from the toolbar (Figure 3.).

Figure 3.

Your data should be shown in a graphic form similar to what I show in Figure 1 above.

Next, pay attention to your Graphic View tool bar (Figure 4.). This tool bar will help you control the look of your graphic screen.

Figure 4.

The "Pan" button (Figure 5.) looks like a hand.

Figure 5.

Here is the "Zoom In" button (Figure 6.).

Figure 6.

Here is the "Zoom Out" button (Figure 7.).

Figure 7.

Here is the "Zoom Extents" button (Figure 8.).

Figure 8.

Here is the "Zoom Window" button (Figure 9.).

Figure 9.

Here is the "Zoom to Point" button (Figure 10.).

Figure 10.

This button allows the user to change settings (Figure 11.).

Figure 11.

This button refreshes the screen (Figure 12.).

Figure 12.

Using these functions the user can navigate around the screen enough to see if there are major problems with the data. If you have a significant blunder in your data it should be obvious.

As for changing the Graphics Options. The user can change most of the settings to suit your own tastes.

Here we see the Points Setting Tab in the Graphics Setting Dialog box (Figure 13).

Figure 13.

You see you can control many options including the symbol, color, size and label size for various types of points. Choosing options that fit your style may take some tinkering.

Next you can set various options for lines associated with types of data (Figure 14.) using the Trav/SSs Tab.

Figure 14.

When the user gets the settings adjusted to taste, I think they will find this routine most helpful.

When the user is finished looking at the data graphically, simply close the graphic data window and proceed with data editing or reduction.

Larry P

File Save dialog box problem

2008-07-12T17:54:00.002-04:00

I had a call from a friend with a problem. The problem was the file save (or saveas) dialog box wouldn't come up as it should.

We've all seen what happens when you save a file.

The Save Drawing As box opens so you can specify the data path and file name.

Like this:

My friend was seeing this in the command line rather than the dialog box:

Now I'm not going to pretend I instantly had the answer for this problem. I didn't. In fact, I'd never seen this problem before. But I was able to find out how to fix the problem.

My friend's computer had a system variable that had been reset. (We aren't sure exactly how or why. It probably happened when the system crashed.)

If you have this problem you can fix it. Type filedia in the command line.

When prompted, specify a new value. 0 = all actions happen in the command line, no dialog box opens. 1 = Save As Dialog box appears.

Larry P

Line Stops

2008-06-30T22:06:00.017-04:00

Sometime back in the early 1990's I was one of many folks who called Ed and Dean (the C and G of C&G software) to request they add a feature to their software.

We (I) liked the look of the maps I was able to produce with the software. But there was one thing that would make them look much better. Thus was born (I'm guessing some here) the C&G line stop function.

The idea is simple really. When I plot a symbol on my map I should be able to make the line(s) connecting to that symbol stop at the edge of the symbol.

We started using the command as soon as we knew about it and everything was good. Well, sort of.

There are some things we need to know about line stops. Turns out, line stops can be a bad thing. A very bad thing. Let me explain.

C&G software plots points and draws lines based on the coordinates that define those points and lines. This is great because it is exactly what we want, right? The coordinates we gather in the field and process in the office are King and that is how it should be, right?

So long as we are using C&G and the associated coordinate geometry routines, all that makes sense. The worm pops it's ugly head out of our beautiful apple when we share a drawing with someone else. Someone not using C&G.

You see, most software packages (can you say AutoCAD) don't know about our beautiful, hard earned coordinates. Nor do they care. All they know is what they see graphically. Right there on the screen. Therein lies the problem.

Say you design a subdivision with 100' frontage along several lots. Let's also say you use the C&G line stops to make your map look nice. (Seems reasonable to me.) Now, let's say the developer asks you to send your CAD drawing to an engineer for some needed design work.

Almost certainly, the engineer (or architect) who gets your drawing will be using software that reads the physical length of the line (yep, AutoCAD does it that way). So there you have a drawing with the stated 100' of frontage but with lines that read to the designer as something less than 100'.

Oooops. You have a problem. If you are lucky, the designer will call you and claim you are an idiot for not being able to design the lots as labeled. If you aren't so lucky they will call your client and tell them to fire you for being incompetent.

Of course, we know the problem isn't the our lack of understanding or lack of ability to design and label. Instead the designer is the one that doesn't understand. And yet, I still contend the problem is ours. Other professionals have a right to expect us to produce something they can use. If we know they can't use the CAD drawing as is, it is up to us to fix it so they can use it.

This is why I always set the line stops to 0 (zero) before sharing a drawing with anyone outside my office. I never know who might end up opening that drawing and not understanding. So I fix the problem before it is a problem.

Does it hurt the "look" of my map? Yes, somewhat. But that is a small price to pay for avoiding those ugly phone calls claiming incompetence.

Here is a portion of a map with line stops that match the symbol size. For sharing paper copies with clients I like how this looks.

Here is that same map without line stops set.

I happen to think this version doesn't look quite as good as the other; but, as I state above this is something you just have to live with when you are going to share the CAD file with an outside professional.

So how do we set the stops if we want them? and How do we know the proper size for the stop?

On the Graphics Tab of the C&G Options menu set the line stop amount to something other than zero to have the lines stop. You should match the size of the line stop to the size of the symbol at the end of the line being stopped.

So what about when we have a drawing with line stops set but we have to send it to a designer. How do we "turn them off"?

Step 1. Go to the CGDraw Pull Down menu and choose the
Global Edit function.

Step 2. Select from the screen the items you wish to edit.

Step 3. Check the Line Stop box. To turn off line stops set the value to zero. (To turn on the line stops if they are already off, set the value equal to the symbol size.)

There you have it. Probably more than you wanted to know about C&G line stops. Hope that helps.

Larry P

Custom Line Types

2008-06-23T08:41:00.002-04:00

I made a new video tutorial. This one is about custom line types.

Give it a look and let me know what you think.

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by LarryP

Let me know what you think.

Larry P

Choosing more than one object at a time

2008-06-10T16:51:00.008-04:00

This is a problem I see from time to time. Suddenly and without warning when you try and select an object, CAD starts "unselecting" the previous item. You can only choose one thing at a time. Talk about wanting to pull out your hair and scream.

Worry not. There is a solution.

First you CAN select more than one object if you press and hold the shift key while you are picking items with your mouse. But who wants to do that? Not me.

Ok, so how do we get CAD to go back to letting us choose more than one item without keeping our finger on the shift key?

Go to the Tool>Options pull down menu.

Once the dialog box opens go to the Selection Tab

IF you have a check in the Use Shift to add to selection option. It will cause you to be able to select only one item at a time. Uncheck that box and your problem will be solved.

But, that doesn't explain WHY it changes. Seemingly at random this option changes.

There is a way you may have changed it without even knowing it. If you open the properties dialog box you should see something like this:

Accidentally press that button and this option changes.

Hope this helps.

Larry P

Need a block you don't want to create yourself?

2008-06-02T05:32:00.001-04:00

A couple of years ago I got a call from the local Parks and Rec. Director.

They were going to apply for some grant funds to do some expansion work at a local park. They needed to show how some extra little league and softball fields might fit in the space they had.

I told them to send me the dimensions for the standard fields they had in mind and I'd see what I could come up with.

Fifteen minutes later (before I got the dimensions) I had what they needed.

How did I get it done so quickly?

I went to CBEN.net and downloaded a block with the appropriate dimensions.

They have tons of blocks. The variety is mind boggling. Plus, the site and service are free. It's hard to beat that price.

Here is a screen cap showing some of the Categories.

Many (most) will be of little or no interest to land surveyors; but, some will be.

Check it out sometime.

CBEN.net (Cad Block Exchange Network)

Larry P

Updates posted

2008-05-30T22:56:00.002-04:00

Updates posted

CG 9.0.4 (Stand alone) and CG 18.0.4 (for AutoCAD) have been posted to the Carlson Software download page.

I got CG 9.0.4 yesterday. I installed this morning.

I found a slight issue with the install routine.

Running the exe file unzips the installation files into a folder called "CG 9 Install Package".

From there I tried the Update.bat version. This usually works and does not reinstall the entire program it is designed to only update files needing updating.

The version I had downloaded didn't work for me.

After that, I went ahead and ran "setup.exe". That worked fine.

Larry P

CG Class Scheduled near Greenville NC

2008-05-28T16:10:00.004-04:00

I will be going to Greenville NC to teach a class for the Eastern Chapter of NCSS. Below is the announcement. There is one thing to note. This class may (or may not) be using the Intellicad version of CG Survey.

The newest version (the one built on the Intellicad engine) has not yet been released. If it is not released in the next several days, I many not be prepared to teach the class using that product. Also a possibility, we may not be able to get the lab set up and ready to use that product.

Either way, I'm sure this will be a good class. Also note that this class is limited to Eastern Chapter members only until June 4th. After that, get in touch with Bryant Hardison (252) 943-8185.

Larry P

**************************************************

Eastern Chapter

North Carolina Society of Surveyors

Presents

C & G Software training seminar at Pitt Community College in Greenville, NC

Introduction to using C & G Software for Windows, Intellicad version

When: June 26 and 27 – Basic Beginner user in C & G software. Larry Phipps - Instructor

Where: Pitt Community College on Hwy 11 South of Greenville, NC

Time: Thursday & Friday - 8:00 am – 5:00 PM (with a hour lunch break)

Cost: $ 250.00 for the course. (Same student both days)

Description: Introduction with hands on the computer with C & G software. After these two days you can produce a map with your software. You will also pick up shortcuts and helps for the novice CAD user. The price includes both days and breaks are provided with refreshments. Continuing Education credits given for this class (90% attendance required).

Required: Must be 18. Must pay for course by June 23. Limited to 15 seats. First come – first served.

_______________________________________________________________

Advanced C & G Software Users

When: June 28 – Advanced User in C & G software. Larry Phipps - Instructor

Where: Pitt Community College on Hwy 11 South of Greenville, NC

Time: Saturday 8:00 am – 5:00 PM (with a hour lunch break)

Cost: $ 150.00 per student.

Description: Advanced instruction with hands on the computer with C & G software. Topics will cover Insert Blocks and tricks, Network Lease Square Adjustments, Photo importing, 3D viewer, Topographic routines, profiles, etc. You will also pick up shortcuts and other helps for the working user. The price includes breaks provided with refreshments. Continuing Education credits given for this class (90% attendance required).

Required: Must be 18. Must pay for course by June 23. Limited to 15 seats. First come – first served.

Contact: Bryant Hardison (252) 943-8185 or complete registration attached and send to 42 South Teach’s Point, Bath, NC 27808. Checks should be made to Eastern Chapter of NCSS.

Name: ________________________________________________________

Address: ______________________________________________________

Town: ________________________________________________________

State: ________ Zip Code: ____________ Ph# : _________________________

Course attending: Beginning: ______; Fee: $ 250.00 Advanced: ______; Fee: $ 150.00

Creating a 3D Image

2008-05-26T15:02:00.000-04:00

I am testing a new way of sharing information with other C&G users. I hope you will understand if I don't get this perfectly right the first time.

This is an attempt to link to a presentation on how to create a 3D Image in C&G and then get that image into a form you can share with clients.

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by LarryP

If you enjoy this presentation, please let me know. If you have specific ideas on other presentations you'd like to see, let me know that as well.

Larry P