AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014: Hidden Command – Export to DGN

At Ideate we are always digging and searching information to help improve your workflow. Have you ever needed to export your drawing to DGN because your work is going to be consumed by Microstation users without AutoCAD and hence no way to open a DWG? Read on for your options:
 
AutoCAD Civil 3D includes AutoCAD Map functionality and has historically included a command MAPEXPORT (not available in Civil 3D 2014 ribbon interface) to export to DGN and other formats listed in the picture below.

While this command is still available, Civil 3D now includes a newer command, DGNEXPORT (Application Menu > Export < DGN), to export to DGN. This command has options to specify the seed file and mapping setup such as layer, linetype – see picture below. Read the Help file to learn more about exporting to DGN and its limitations.

Tip: Before exporting Civil 3D objects to DGN, export the Civil features to AutoCAD using the appropriate EXPORTTOAUTOCAD (Application Menu > Export > DWG) command. In the resultant file, if need be, use BURST to reduce any blocks that remain to AutoCAD entities as well. Burst is similar to explode but maintains attributes and block entity layers and is well suited for this purpose.
 

You can access the same command using the command EXPORT (Application Menu > Export < Other Formats) and pick the appropriate DGN format.
 

Read further in the Help file about all the commands to import/export DGN files and associated system variables.

If you have to use MAPEXPORT and it does not work, follow the steps per this Autodesk technical solution.

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Gaurav Bagga
Ideate Infrastructure Solutions Application Specialist

Gaurav is a well rounded Application Engineer and Project Manager for Infrastructure Solutions at Ideate based out of San Francisco. He has over 15 years experience in construction industry and has been helping numerous small, medium and ENR 500 firms maximize their CAD investment for the last ten years. Gaurav is an Autodesk Certified Instructor and Autodesk Civil 3D Implementation Certified Expert. He has taught at several conferences, CAD Camps and Autodesk University. He has taught AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Land Desktop and Map 3D to thousands of students and helps Ideate develop the Infrastructure Services curriculum and courses. With his extensive CAD technology background he helps Bay Area engineering and surveying firms analyze and improve their design and drawing production process thereby improving productivity and the bottom line. Follow Gaurav on Twitter: @BeGeez

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Classroom Training – Open Classes

Know It. Ideate Training.

Position yourself to land dream projects. Tap the full potential of your software solutions. Increase your facility, fluidity and capability to maximize the value of your precision software tools.

7.10-12::Sacramento
Revit MEP Electrical Fundamentals

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Revit Architecture Beyond the Basics

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3ds Max Design for Architects

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Revit MEP Overview

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Revit MEP Mechanical

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Classroom Training – Open Classes

Know It. Ideate Training.

Position yourself to land dream projects. Tap the full potential of your software solutions. Increase your facility, fluidity and capability to maximize the value of your precision software tools.

Here are a few of the training opportunities Ideate has to offer in the coming weeks:

7.10-11::San Francisco
Navisworks Fundamentals

7.10-12::Portland
Revit Architecture Fundamentals

7.10-12::Sacramento
Revit MEP Electrical Fundamentals

7.15-17::San Jose
AutoCAD Fundamentals

7.16-17::Portland
Revit Architecture Beyond the Basics

7.16-17::Seattle
3ds Max Design for Architects

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Classroom Training – Open Classes

Know It. Ideate Training.

Position yourself to land dream projects. Tap the full potential of your software solutions. Increase your facility, fluidity and capability to maximize the value of your precision software tools.

Here are a few of the training opportunities Ideate has to offer in the coming weeks:

6.24-26::Sacramento
Civil 3D Fundamentals

6.24-26::San Francisco
Revit Architecture Fundamentals

7.10-11::San Francisco
Navisworks Fundamentals

7.10-12::Portland
Revit Architecture Fundamentals

7.10-12::Sacramento
Revit MEP Electrical Fundamentals

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Classroom Training – Open Classes

Know It. Ideate Training.

Position yourself to land dream projects. Tap the full potential of your software solutions. Increase your facility, fluidity and capability to maximize the value of your precision software tools.

Here are a few of the training opportunities Ideate has to offer in the coming weeks:

6.18-20::Seattle
Revit Mechanical and Plumbing Fundamentals

6.24-26::Sacramento
Civil 3D Fundamentals

6.24-26::San Francisco
Revit Architecture Fundamentals

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Ideate, Inc. Expands Tech Expert Team with Four Hires

San Francisco, CA, 6/11/2013–Ideate, Inc., an Autodesk Gold Value Added Reseller, today announced the Ideate Tech Expert Team has been expanded with the hiring of four technical experts. Ideate is also currently seeking qualified candidates for additional positions.

“We are delighted to help our architectural, engineering, and construction customers achieve their greatest possible success through application of advanced design solutions and expert training,” says Bob Palioca, President. “These four Ideate Tech Experts bring essential skills in especially fast-advancing solutions.”

To support the Ideate mission, the Ideate team of technical experts is a unique blend of architects, designers, and civil engineers; professionals with years of experience in their respective industries.

AEC Application Specialist Sash Kazeminejad, LEED AP, Ideate, Portland, Oregon, is proficient in several Autodesk solutions including AutoCAD and Revit Architecture, has worked in project management, IT, and as architectural design staff, and leads Revit workshops. Kazeminejad has taught Building Information Modeling (BIM) at Montana State University (MSU) Gallatin College.

Kate Ming, AEC Application Specialist, San Francisco Bay Area, provides training and support for Civil 3D, AutoCAD, and Navisworks. Her previous work at a multinational company engaged her in general civil design on large infrastructure projects. She is versed in roadway, rail, and utility design. She also has experience with utility demand analysis and Low Impact Development plans.

Bradley Cooley, Ideate Technical Support Dispatcher in the Portland, Oregon office, has a design build services for residential construction and environmental graphics focus in his professional experience. Bradley provides Ideate customer service by phone and online assistance for software installation and functionality.

The Ideate San Francisco office welcomes Jim Cowan, AEC Application Specialist. An Autodesk Certified Instructor (ACI), Cowan is a university curriculum developer, instructor and presenter. His expertise includes solutions interoperability, overcoming barriers to BIM adoption and sustainability issues.

Ideate is growing and looking for talented qualified candidates to join the Ideate Tech Expert Team. Complete details on job descriptions and application process can be found on the Ideate, Inc. Careers page.

About Ideate, Inc.
Ideate, Inc. is a leading Autodesk Authorized Developer with 25+ years’ experience in software development and specific focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM) and is a leading Autodesk solutions provider offering quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the AEC industry since 1992. Headquartered in San Francisco, California and operating five Autodesk Authorized Training Centers (ATCs) in the northwestern U.S., Ideate is recognized as an Autodesk Gold Partner for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, one of Autodesk’s highest levels of authorization.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, ATC, Civil 3D, Navisworks and Revit are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries.

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Ideate, Inc. Earns Autodesk Civil Infrastructure Specialization

San Francisco, CA, 6/3/2013–Ideate, Inc., (ideateinc.com), an Autodesk Gold Value Added Reseller, today announced that it has earned the new Civil Infrastructure Specialization designation for value added resellers from Autodesk, Inc., a world leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software.

As an Autodesk Specialized Partner, Ideate has shown that it provides a high level of expertise, experience and support to customers, has made a significant investment in its people, has a solid business plan specific to its specialization areas, and has customer references. Ideate offices including San Francisco and Sacramento, CA, Portland, OR and Seattle, WA have achieved the Civil Infrastructure Specialization.

The AEC industry as a whole, and Infrastructure within it, are adopting Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools.  The transportation landscape, for example, is changing to the extent that agencies are insisting on using Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D for new road and highway design projects. Ideate in cooperation with Autodesk Consulting is helping the State of California Department of Transportation, Caltrans, get its engineers trained on Autodesk Civil 3D.

Ideate has been at the forefront of AEC design technology innovation for decades. As a pioneer in BIM and an expert in Autodesk BIM solutions, Ideate has a long-standing history of providing solutions, training, support and custom consulting services to the industry. Civil Infrastructure Specialized is a new designation. Earning it is confirmation that Ideate has been and continues to be ready for the current transformation underway in Infrastructure.

This Civil Infrastructure Specialization is only one of many Autodesk Partner Specializations Ideate has earned. Such Autodesk Partner Specializations enable Autodesk value added resellers to highlight and brand their expertise in delivering services in key industry areas. By completing the required curriculum and training, as well as meeting required levels of service and standards set by Autodesk, Ideate demonstrates through its strong customer service and support in sales what it means to be a trusted adviser to Autodesk customers.

As Bob Palioca, president of Ideate, Inc. says, “The Autodesk Civil Infrastructure Specialization affirms the value of our commitment to customers. We have dedicated ourselves to staying abreast of advancing technology, and to providing top training and technical support. This specialization says as nothing else can that we are prepared to help the industry in BIM Infrastructure processes.”

About Ideate, Inc.
Ideate, Inc. is a leading Autodesk Authorized Developer with 25+ years’ experience in software development and specific focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM) and is a leading Autodesk solutions provider offering quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the AEC industry since 1992. Headquartered in San Francisco, California and operating five Autodesk Authorized Training Centers (ATCs) in the northwestern U.S., Ideate is recognized as an Autodesk Gold Partner for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, one of Autodesk’s highest levels of authorization.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, ATC and Civil 3D are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries.
 

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AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014 Pressure Pipe Improvements – Extracting Material Quantities

Ideate is dedicated to bringing you the latest information on the new releases of Autodesk software. In AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013 you could extract material quantities from gravity based pipe network by assigning them pay items. With Civil 3D 2014 you can now do the same for pressure pipe network parts. It’s easy! Here’s how: 

1. Edit the Parts list from the pressure pipe network contextual tab

2. To assign the Pay Item to the part – Click on the Dump Truck

3. Open/load a Pay Item file. Default Civil 3D install keeps a sample file at the following location:
 
C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 2014\enu\Data\Pay Item Data\Getting Started\Getting Started.csv

4. Assign the pay item to the pressure pipe network part

5. Layout the network.

6. And then extract the quantity from Analyze > QTO > Takeoff. This is summary takeoff is displayed as HTML.

 

In addition, you can now create pressure pipe and fitting table similar to pipe table for gravity pipe network.

Don’t forget to look through other great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2014 releases for Revit MEP, Revit Structure, Revit Architecture, AutoCAD and more: ideateinc.com/2014

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Gaurav Bagga
Ideate Infrastructure Solutions Application Specialist

Gaurav is a well rounded Application Engineer and Project Manager for Infrastructure Solutions at Ideate based out of San Francisco. He has over 15 years experience in construction industry and has been helping numerous small, medium and ENR 500 firms maximize their CAD investment for the last ten years. Gaurav is an Autodesk Certified Instructor and Autodesk Civil 3D Implementation Certified Expert. He has taught at several conferences, CAD Camps and Autodesk University. He has taught AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Land Desktop and Map 3D to thousands of students and helps Ideate develop the Infrastructure Services curriculum and courses. With his extensive CAD technology background he helps Bay Area engineering and surveying firms analyze and improve their design and drawing production process thereby improving productivity and the bottom line. Follow Gaurav on Twitter: @BeGeez

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Civil 3D 2014 Pressure Pipe Network Improvements: Data Shortcuts

Ideate is dedicated to bringing you the latest information on the new releases of Autodesk software. The 2014 release of Civil 3D has many improved editing features for Pressure Pipe Networks. One of the most important improvements is the ability to create pressure pipe network data shortcuts. This means that you can share pressure pipe network data with the use of data shortcuts and references.

Data Shortcut Options for Civil 3D 2013
vs. Data Shortcut Options for Civil 3D 2014

The data shortcut process for Pressure Networks is the same as other data shortcut objects. Once created, pressure networks will appear in their own category under the Data Shortcuts section of the Prospector tab.

Since this is a new feature, however, you will not be able to use the data shortcuts and data references in Civil 3D 2013 files. Files created and saved in 2014 with pressure network references will open in 2013, but the network will not have full functionality in the earlier release.
 
If you’re using Civil 3D 2014, take advantage of the new pressure pipe network data shortcut options for improved project efficiency and data sharing.

Don’t forget to look through other great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2014 releases for Revit Structure, Revit Architecture, Revit MEP, AutoCAD and more: ideateinc.com/2014

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Kate Ming
Ideate AEC Application Specialist
Kate has a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley. Prior to Ideate, she worked at a multinational company for four years doing general civil design on large infrastructure projects. She is versed in roadway, rail, and utility design. She also has experience with utility demand analysis and Low Impact Development plans. At Ideate, Kate provides training and support for Civil 3D, AutoCAD, and Navisworks.  

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AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014 Pressure Pipe Network Enhancements: Creating a Pressure Network from an Object

At Ideate, we are reviewing and summarizing the enhanced features of the latest releases of Autodesk Software. In this blog post, I will be discussing one of the numerous additions to the editing functionality of Pressure Pipe Networks in Civil 3D 2014. Specifically, Autodesk has added the ability to create a Pressure pipe Network from an AutoCAD or Civil 3D object.

Pressure Pipe Creation Options in Civil 3D 2013 vs. 

Pressure Pipe Creation Options in Civil 3D 2014

This function is accessible from the Pipe Network drop down menu on Create Design Panel of the Home Tab and works in the same way as creating a gravity pipe network from an object. After starting the command, selecting the object, and indicating the flow direction, the Create Pressure Pipe Network from Object box appears. 

Create Pressure Pipe Network from Object Dialog Box

In this dialog box, Pressure Network properties and options are specified for creation as shown in the image above. Click OK to complete the process, and the new Pressure Network appears in the drawing and in the Prospector tab under Pressure Networks.
 
If you’ve taken advantage of the Pressure Network tools in Civil 3D 2013, be sure to give this new feature a try when you install the 2014 release.

Don’t forget to look through other great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2014 releases for Revit Structure, Revit Architecture, Revit MEP, AutoCAD and more: ideateinc.com/2014

---

Kate Ming
Ideate AEC Application Specialist
Kate has a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley. Prior to Ideate, she worked at a multinational company for four years doing general civil design on large infrastructure projects. She is versed in roadway, rail, and utility design. She also has experience with utility demand analysis and Low Impact Development plans. At Ideate, Kate provides training and support for Civil 3D, AutoCAD, and Navisworks.  

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AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014 Pressure Pipe Improvements

Civil 3D 2014 has been released and you are scrambling to find out what’s new.
 
Relax! Ideate brings to you a series of blog posts and YouTube videos telling you exactly what’s needed to plan accordingly. In this post we discuss some of the enhancements in pressure pipe networks.
 
With the release of Civil 3D 2013 you saw the introduction of Pressure Pipe Networks. 2014 moves the agenda forward and adds some exciting features to this functionality. Here are some major improvements. 

Create Pressure Pipe from Objects
Create a pressure pipe network from objects viz. line, polyline, feature line or survey figure.

Add Pressure Networks to Section Views
Well, as it says, see the figure below – blue: storm drain pipe; cyan: water pipe

Sort Pressure Network Part Lists by Size
As you can see below there is a sort option

In the forthcoming posts we will focus more on these functionalities.

Don’t forget to look through other great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2014 releases for Revit MEP, Revit Structure, Revit Architecture, AutoCAD and more: ideateinc.com/2014

---

Gaurav Bagga
Ideate Infrastructure Solutions Application Specialist

Gaurav is a well rounded Application Engineer and Project Manager for Infrastructure Solutions at Ideate based out of San Francisco. He has over 15 years experience in construction industry and has been helping numerous small, medium and ENR 500 firms maximize their CAD investment for the last ten years. Gaurav is an Autodesk Certified Instructor and Autodesk Civil 3D Implementation Certified Expert. He has taught at several conferences, CAD Camps and Autodesk University. He has taught AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Land Desktop and Map 3D to thousands of students and helps Ideate develop the Infrastructure Services curriculum and courses. With his extensive CAD technology background he helps Bay Area engineering and surveying firms analyze and improve their design and drawing production process thereby improving productivity and the bottom line. Follow Gaurav on Twitter: @BeGeez

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Civil 3D 2014 and Civil 3D 2013 File Interoperability and OS Requirements

At Ideate, we are on top of the new releases of Autodesk 2014 software. One of the most exciting features of the Civil 3D 2014 release is its backward compatibility with Civil 3D 2013. This is great news, as it means that files started in 2014 can be opened and edited in 2013 and, users can work in either version throughout a project. 
 
Most Civil 3D object types are editable; however you may see some limitations when editing certain object types in 2013 that are new, or have additional functionality in 2014. Specifically, pressure pipe networks have enhanced editing features and are Data Shortcut compatible in 2014 but not in 2013. You can check out our video specifically highlighting these additional pressure pipe network editing features.
 
Along with file compatibility, we also took a look at Operating System support for the Civil 3D 2014 release. Looking back at OS support for the past two releases, we see that 2013 version is supported on Windows XP and Windows 7. Civil 3D 2014, however, will be supported on Windows 7 and Windows 8 only and not on Windows XP. For those of you who intend to use both versions of the product, Windows 7 will be the only OS compatible with both releases. Keep that in mind if you’re considering an upgrade in the near future.

Don’t forget to look through other great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2014 releases for Revit MEP, Revit Structure, Revit Architecture, AutoCAD and more: ideateinc.com/2014

---

Kate Ming
Ideate AEC Application Specialist
Kate has a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley. Prior to Ideate, she worked at a multinational company for four years doing general civil design on large infrastructure projects. She is versed in roadway, rail, and utility design. She also has experience with utility demand analysis and Low Impact Development plans. At Ideate, Kate provides training and support for Civil 3D, AutoCAD, and Navisworks.  

Get it. Know it. Use it.

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