Jump 4 Products Known Issues and Help

Known Issues Jump 4 2011

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• Report Problems

  You can report problems in Jump Platform products by emailing us

  support@cadpilot.com

  Please include a description of the problem and screen capture(s).

  You can employ the FREE AutoCAD WS service to share drawings, plots (DWF and PDF), and markups.

  Use of AutoCAD WS significantly reduces email back and forth traffic and YOU are completely in control of ALL file and content security.
  Create an AutoCAD WS account upload and Share you issues to the support email address above.

• Update 1 Description Key Priority and Drawing Scale

  This is a known Update 2 Bug

  The Update 1 update for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 may cause Civil 3D to lose the ability to restack DKS priority. This behavior is also untermittent. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. Once is occurs in a drawing the condition appears to be a permenent condition.

  You must Check the Description Key Set priority each time BEFORE you Apply Description Keys.

  Currently the only way to change the Description Key Priority is to remove all the DKSs and add them back into the drawing in the order you desire.

  The update also changed how the Drawing Scale checkbox in a Decription Key affects Point Styles already set to always relate to Drawing Scale.

  The Update actually fixed a previouis but long-term incorrect behavior. In other words, now Keys work correctly, but the tresults are different from prior Releases and the initail 2011 release.

  Drawings upgrraded from 2010 to 2011 with the update installed where the Description Key Set and Keys are not edited will continue to behave as in previous releases and updates.

  Changing Key Set by adding or editing individual Keys will typically cause the behavior of the Key Sets to change the behavior of Point Styles related to Drawing Scale and employing the Drawing Scale checkbox in the Key.

  Newly created Keys and Key Sets will employ the new behavior.

  Sets and Keys that are not edited appear to function as they did before. Sets and Keys that are edited after Update 1 installation typically require that you reset Drawing Scale properties in Point Styles to conform to the new behaviors results. 

  This means you will have to update all Point Styles to new Drawing Scale values and Overwrite Point Styles to get the correct scale result.

• Points Styles in the Free Jump

  Most Point Styles in all Jump 4 Release versions of the Free Jump by default employ the Drawing Scale property for the Markers.

  Most Point Style also employ View orientation by default. In other words, the Point Style symbols will respond to the AutoCAD cammera location by default. Changing the Orientation property in the Point Styles to World Coordinate System will force the Marker to display in a more typical planer fashion.

  The Drawing Scale property default value is set to "0,0033" inches to scale the Point Style Marker along with a Applied Description Key Set. 

  The supplied Description Key Sets also employ Key with Drawing Scale checkboxes set to apply drawing scale when the Set is applied by commands.

  The Update 1 for AutoCAD Civil 3D changed to how the Drawing Scale checkbox in Keys works. This will require you to change the Drawing Scale Property to "0,2" in all the Point Styles AND remove the checkbox from all Keys that employ Point Styles referencing Drawing Scale.

  Instant On Basic 4 products have these default changes already in place.. 

• A Bad Object in Blocks Create Strange Point Style Scaling

  A number of blocks employed in Jump 4 Update 1 downloads prior to Feb 17, 2011 unfortunately include an invalid AutoCAD arc entity. The "impossible" arc object was created by the AutoCAD Audit and/or Revcover commands used in our quality control process for all templates and support drawings.

  The bad blocks may cause the AutoCAD Display System to improperly display instances of these bloxks at incorrect scales when used in Point Styles. 
  The blocks do not cause any other issue in templates or drawings in 2010, 2011, and preliminary testing in betas of 2012.

  Two examples of the blocks are:

  C-PMON-IP
  V-PMON-IP

  The bad blocls are employed in Civil 3D Point Styles of the same name.

  Fixes:

  Move Civil 3D project data to new drawings based on updated templates.

  Easy way to find instances of the blocks in a drawing - Construct a temporary Tool Palette from the drawing or template file. Blocks pictures in the Tool Palette will have noticable different scales. All also include a small circle as demostrated in examples above. 

  1) Employ a alternative blocks in the Point Styles and purge the bad blocks from drawings.

  2) Use the AutoCAD Block Editor (BEDIT) to remove the arc entity from the blocks in templates and drawings.

  3) Temporarily detach the block from the Point Styles, purge the blocks, reinsert fixed versions, and reattach to the Point Styles.

• NCS 4.0 Linetypes for Utilities

  The NCS 4.0 linetypes supplied in Jump Platform products are designed for use with single line Pipe Styles. 

  Note that layer assignments are intentionally different for Double Line and Single Line Pipe Styles in Plan and Model. Assignment also varies by piping/utility system. The intent of Single Line is to allow for the display and publication of typical utility infrastructure in a classic CAD fashion.

  NCS 4.0 compliant (employ x subscripts) and typical USDOT (upper and lower case) utility linetypes are suppied with all Jump Platform InstantOn products and above.
  Additional typical pipe material linetypes are also included (e.g. "RCP").

  These linetypes are not supplied with free versions of Jump products.

• Proposed Curb Offset Alignment Component Layers

  Issue:

  The {Pr}Curb Offset Layout - JS Alignment Style places Line and Curve Extention objects on incorrect NCS 4.0 layers.

  Fix:

  Edit the Style via the Display tab for Plan and Model to place the objects on compliant
  C-ROAD-LINE-EXTN layer

• Pipe Data Band Styles

  Pipe Network Band Styles in 2011 products downloaded prior to June 2011 have issues with Band height changes as well as component value connections to SSA supplied Pipe and Structure Feature data.

  The location of Band Style attachments responding to Band Height changes is a known 2011 bug. Hopefully Update 2 that is due to be released "real soon now" will fix this issue.

  New Pipe Data Band Styles have been created to replace the current Styles in InstantOn Basic.
  They are available on the InstantOn Basic download page as of the first week of June 2011.

  The Jump Kit 2 2011 includes these fixes and considerably More Band Styles including Styles that support More SSA integrated data.

Known Issues Jump 4 2011 upgrades to 2012

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• Report Problems

  You can report problems in Jump Platform products by emailing us

  support@cadpilot.com

  Please include a description of the problem and screen capture(s).

  You can employ the FREE AutoCAD WS service to share drawings, plots (DWF and PDF), and markups.

  Use of AutoCAD WS significantly reduces email back and forth traffic and YOU are completely in control of ALL file and content security.
  Create an AutoCAD WS account upload and Share you issues to the support email address above.

• Profile Structure Label Updates

  Profile & Section Structure Label Styles that display Top Down or Bottom Up

  Issue:
  These Label Styles include xTD or xBU in the Label Style Name.
  Labels do not position correctly from the Structure Dimension point of the label.
  Labels incorrectly appear near the Label Attachment point.
  Structure Label Styles that connect to Structure Dimension point need a  property update change. This is required due to a change in the Line Length property default for Structure Label Style Line components.
  For upgraded Structure Label Styles the Line component Line Length property will convert by default to Fixed Length. This changes a 2010 and 2011 default.

  Fix:
  Edit these Styles in a Jump 4 template upgraded to 2012
  For each xTD and xBU Structure Style
  Change the Line Length property of the Line component to Percent Length

  Apply updates to Structure Label Styles in project drawings from the template using the 2012 Style Management Tool. 

• Surface Slope Proposed Run over Rise Labels

  Proposed Run:Rise Surface Slope Labels

  Run Rise appears in the Labe Style name

  Issue:

  Direction Arrow components do not display for Surface Slope Label Style for unknown reasons.

  Fix:

  Perform the edit in an upgraded template

  Delete the Slope Label Style and recreate the Slope Label Style from the Rise Run version making the appropriate Name, Description, and Surface Slope component changes.
  For the Surface Slope component Contents in the Label Style Composer change the Format property from rise:run to run:rise.

  Apply updates to Surface Slope Label Styles in project drawings from the template using the 2012 Style Management Tool. 

Things you Need to Know about Civil 3D

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• The Power of Names

  The Power of Names

  If you have used an AutoCAD based application for even a short time you are probably very aware of how reliant the software is on the NAMES you supply.

  Layers are a simple Style

  The best examples of this “Power of Names” in AutoCAD are Layers. In AutoCAD or Land Desktop the only thing that makes a sewer line different from a water line is the layer it resides on. So, if your good buddy in the cube next door goes into your drawing and moves the sewer linework to a water layer or renames the sewer layer to a water layer name, you have a PROBLEM.

  Civil 3D does use layers, BUT then again C3D, run properly, almost doesn’t use layers at all from a user’s working perspective. In fact, in our CAD Pilot courses, users learn and use C3D and NEVER visit the Layer Manager to do ANYTHING. Somehow they even manage to plot a project!

  Feature and Label Styles Do the Work

  When used to its best potential Civil 3D does NOT rely on user manual control of AutoCAD layers and their properties. This is probably the most difficult thing for new users migrating from older Autodesk software to get their head around. How is that even possible? The Power of Names.

  The Display Tab

  If you root around in any C3D Feature Style you will find the Display tab. This looks remarkably like the Layer Manager, but in C3D this box controls the display properties of feature Components not Layers. Every C3D Feature has different Components.

  In our templates we made things easy. Mostly, but NOT always, the Components are mapped to a ByLayer property. Since Color doesn’t matter (we use the STB plotting method), we do force Component Color properties occasionally to make things easier to visualize feature Component differences better. This is done so you can visualize, analyze, and decide faster. Therefore, you can also design faster in C3D.

  If Layer names mattered to you in AutoCAD. Style names matter even more in C3D. Style names themselves are used to link lots of things together inside C3D.

  You know what a nested layer can do in a block? Recognize that C3D uses a similar concept of nested Styles to do almost all of the annotation of the model.

  Layers are important to your output in AutoCAD. Styles are more important in C3D.

  Style names are used to determine how the output of almost everything in the model looks and how it is labeled.

  C3D Name mapping speeds up complex tasks

  Styles with the same name but referring to another Feature altogether can speed up and simplify some complex tasks like Corridor creation in C3D.

  Sets of Named Styles keep it simple

  Collections of Styles called SETS can make all the difference between being productive and being frustrated with the software.

  Sets allow you to remember just one name instead of five names and a bunch of other related detailed information.

  Hint: If the task appears complex and detailed, there is probably a Set and/or a wizard that uses the Sets available to make it easier.

  Never take what you Name in C3D lightly

  You may have to live with the name longer than you expected.

  Always use the Description box

  Document what you’ve done because you will name a lot more things in C3D than in AutoCAD or Land Desktop

  The Description fields in Features, Feature Styles, and Feature Label Styles are there to help you. If you don’t use them you will waste time and work a lot harder. Your work will also be much harder for others (and you) to follow.You will forget why you did it. So document:
      Why you made it? 
      What did you make it for? 
      How did you make it?
      What makes it different?

• Style Naming Conventions

  Style Naming Conventions

  We know that Names are really important in Civil 3D, it stands to reason that we need some rules about how to name things – a naming convention.

  Civil 3D contains a large number of Features and many Features have a potential host of related Label Styles that are used to annotate the civil engineering model.

  The goal - KISS!

  Over the last five+ years we have attempted a number of naming schemes to address the complexity problem that all C3D users face. The Jump Start naming conventions are the result of our long term effort to discover something that works but is not too complex or difficult to learn. The template(s) themselves are a continuous work in progress and we are always searching for a better, cleaner, and easier way to get it done.

  We employ a planned way of naming everything in the Jump Start template(s). Unfortunately this cannot be an absolute LAW with a single set of rules. Civil 3D’s power, functionality, and variety of solution paths appear to make that impossible unless you want to have long and overly complex names.

• The Simple Style Rules

  Here are the basic rules about styles you should respect to successfully use Civil 3D or any style based software.

  The Simple Style Rules

  1. Never edit a Style in a production drawing.

  This creates chaos and inconsistency in your production drawings and projects.

  You will be tempted to break Rule #1. You will do it. You will probably regret it later.

  You are much more likely to lose data and/or corrupt styles and related features when you edit styles that are In Use in a drawing.

  2. Always use Copy and/or New to create a different named version of the style if you must make a change in a production drawing.

  Rename the new style in some way to tell the edited version apart from the original

  Employ the Apply button when changing tabs and before using OK

  Save frequently when editing styles

  If you do not like things and want to change them, do so at the highest level possible.

  3.  Always test your results with a standard test drawing that includes both C3D data and typical production Layouts that actually plot on your hardware and that you understand thoroughly.

• Style Creation is NOT using Civil 3D

  Civil 3D is designed to run with tested and stable Feature and Label Styles that work and are not being changed on the fly. When you are creating or making lots of edits to styles, Civil3D will be more unstable than when you use it with the finished and tested products.

  Since you have to build styles right away to get the software to a working condition, this can lead you to believe the software is unstable and that it does not work. Not true.

  Remember creating and editing Label Styles in particular is more like programming than anything else. In fact, some structured programming is exactly what you are doing. They just didn't tell you that when you create a new named components that is what you are doing. 

  Recognize that all Programmers expect things to crash. That's why it's critical to test. Save often and expect to things to go bad at unexpected times. They will.

  The Jump Platform has thousands of styles...how many times do you think we crashed?

• Bad Styles can Make Civil 3D Blow up

  In Civil 3D you create new Styles and Label Styles. What is not obvious is that this almost unlimited customization power can get you into trouble. You can create things that the software developers never expected. You can connect things together in ways no one could ever predict. You can also create styles that appear to work but are not exactly healthy.

  Usually these problems come up in the Label Style collections because you are actually making new objects in Civil 3D when you add a named components in a Label Style.

  All the branches in the Setting tree are all collections. Each of the collections has Hierarchy - what is called Parent/Child relationship. 

  The Drawing>>Feature>>Type>>Parent>>Child Hierarchy is built-in to Civil 3D to help things more consistent and easier to maintain. Label Style Defaults (LSD) are both powerful and useful.  But LSD has a hidden death trap or two that can trip you.

  It is all too easy to edit a specific Child style and make it conflict in some way with the uphill Parent style. Often you can get away with this now and then. This is particularly true for simple Label Styles. Label Styles for more complex Features have more potential components and more potential Feature data sources too. If you create major differences between Child Styles and Parents too often, you can make your drawings unstable and cause the software to crash more often.

  Therefore, add new components FIRST to the uphill Parent or a copy of the Parent Label Style.