IMAGINiT Civil Solutions Blog

What are Regapps?

Bob Mason | Applications Expert

Have you heard of “Regapps” or, “Registered Applications” and wondered what people are talking about?

In short, these things mini, embedded code which is added to AutoCAD files from other programs or objects. It is possible for programs to attach data to objects which is known as “Extended Entity Data” or XData. This XData allows information to be associated with AutoCAD objects which amount to data baggage. For an application to store or retrieve data from an object (XData), it is given a “Regapp ID”.  A Regapp name, or ID is an identifier of XData that is, or was attached to objects in the drawing. 

GREAT! So what does all this mean to you – the user?

When these objects with XData are removed from a drawing, the associated referenced XData/ReggApps does not always get purged with the objects, leaving behind “Unregistered Applications” or “Regapps”. When a file contains a large amount of “Unregistered Applications” or Regapp IDs, which can add considerably to file size and can negatively affect performance. If you Xref attach a drawing that contains RegApp IDs, those IDs are cloned into the host drawing and can remain in the host even after the Xref has been detached. To correct this issue, the unreferenced RegApp IDs need to be purged from the drawing.

• Using the AutoCAD Command line version of Purge (-PURGE), we have the ability to delete unreferenced RegApps from the drawing.

• Selecting the “R” keyword will access the Purge RegApps option

• Accepting the default “<*>” all wildcard will search for all Registered Application that can be purged

• Next, you have the option to individually verify the name of each Regapp to purge. Choosing “<Y>” is helpful as you can see what specifically is in the file, and what you want to keep or purge. 
  • Note: The names of many RegApps are a bit cryptic, so it may take some additional research on your part to know exactly what something is.

Hope this little bit of info helps you out in the future.

Rotating Symbols in Map 3D

Here’s something that I came across a long time ago and just bumped into again.  It’s about rotation values in Autodesk AutoCAD Map 3D.

Here’s a drawing of a curb line with some curb inlets.  These inlets are blocks.  I know, they’re a little close together, but I just want to demonstrate the angles these are placed at.

 

Now, I’ll export these inlets and the curb line out to SHP files using MAPEXPORT.  First the line, which is simple, so I won’t go into the details.  Next, the inlets.

 

Select Point objects and use the manual selection to get the four inlet blocks.

 

Select the BLOCKNAME and ROTATION data attributes.

 

 

Finish the export once these have been selected.

Now, we’ll bring the line and the inlets back into a new drawing using an FDO connection.

 

Here’s what we get.

 

Now, that’s not quite what we want.  We’d like to see the inlets as they were represented as blocks.  So, I’ve made a symbol from the block and that’s what we’ll use.

 

And we get this.

 

Close, but still not exactly what we’re after.  The inlets need to be rotated to line up with the curb line.  Taking a look at the data table, we see this.

 

We’re going to use the rotation values to align the inlets.  Note, though, that the rotation values created during the original export are not in degrees, but in radians.  If we add a calculated column to the table we can see the degree values.

 

These degree values are what we need to align the inlets.  Here’s how it looks in the style editor.

 

Here, I’ve used the expression defining the ROTATION_DEG column as the rotation value.  You could use the expression (180*ROTATION/3.14) directly if you wish.  Now, the inlets line up.

Success!

When "“Points already exist”"

Bob Mason | Applications Expert

Recently, an issue was brought to me that seemed a bit odd. I was told that when points are imported through a text file, only a very small portion are being brought in.  Strange that AutoCAD Civil 3D would be that fussy about importing points. What is convenient is that we have the ability to control how AutoCAD Civil 3D reacts when importing points.

Let us start in the Toolspace inside the Settings tab. Find the section for CreatePoints under Points > Commands. Right-click on the selection and select Edit Command Settings.

In this dialog box, you will be able to view and change point related default settings. The particular setting I am going to focus on is the one pictured below “Point Identity”…

The Point Identity section defines how to work with points as they are imported into the drawing. Defining these settings prior to brining in points can simplify the process and preserve the integrity of the points in the drawing.

Point Number Offset - Specifies the offset added to imported point numbers when If Point Numbers Are Supplied is selected.

Sequence Point Numbers From - Specifies the starting point number for imported points to be assigned as imported.

If Point Numbers Are Supplied - Specifies how to handle point numbers that are included in the point data being imported:

Use - Uses the point numbers in the point data file.

Ignore - Does not use the point numbers in the point data file, points are numbered according to the If Point Numbers Need Are Supplied setting.

Add an Offset – Applies a fixed additive value to the supplied point number from the source file.

If Point Numbers Already Exist - Specifies how to handle point numbers that already exist.

Renumber - Assigns new point numbers to any imported points whose point numbers already exist.

Merge - Point properties that are specified in the point data file overwrite the point properties existing in the drawing. Point properties not specified in the point data file are not affected.

Overwrite - Overwrites all point properties using the values in the point data file.

Notify - Notifies the user that a point number collision has occurred. The program then opens the Duplicate Point Number dialog box where you can specify how to resolve the collision.

I hope this helps understanding some if the issues that could occur when importing points. Most of the time we just need to adjust some of the settings and things work just fine.

Have you ever wanted to NCOPY?

Bob Mason | Applications Expert

 

I always thought it was neat how I could copy object through a reference to my active drawing in Microstation. I wanted to be able to do this in my AutoCAD environment also. For that, we have the NCOPY command. NCOPY copies objects that are contained in an Xref, block, or DGN underlay into the active drawing.

Additionally, we have some nice control with these objects as they are placed into the drawing. By selecting the settings option (on the command line or right clicking, whatever your preference) you can define Bind or Insert. These settings control whether named objects that are associated with the selected objects are added to the drawing.

Insert

Duplicates the selected objects to the current layer without regard to named objects. With this option, the object is placed on the layer that is supplied from the XREF.

Bind

Includes named objects such as blocks, dimension styles, layers, linetypes, and text styles associated with the copied objects into the drawing. This option will place the object on the same layer and same name as it was in the original drawing.

Not a bad option when you need an object or two from an Xref or block.

 

What is an Unreconciled Layer?

James Branagan | Applications Expert

Have you ever see this in an AutoCAD-based drawing…?

My guess is you have and then you promptly closed the notification. For most, that works, yet the question arises, “what exactly is an Unreconciled Layer?" For the users who do not just close the notification– there are still questions on it.

A brief history on the subject. . . .  Autodesk added this feature with the 2008 version of AutoCAD (and AutoCAD-based programs) to give users more control over drawings, and more specifically drawing layer standards. Cool, we all like standards and control.  Essentially what happens is the program records the layers content (what is and isn’t in the file) and thereafter, any changes made to the file are deemed “Unreconciled”, hence the notification.

You, the user, can control this notification in the Layer Settings dialog box. Select this button right here…

This opens the Layer Settings dialog box.  From here you can decide what AutoCAD should do when evaluating layers.

 

When used as intended to alert the users that there is an unsanctioned Layer-related change, it’s a great thing and helps keep users and files from going rouge.  For others that either don’t need or want to strictly adhere to Layer standards, it could be a bit of an annoyance.  Use it as you see fit.  Or, don’t use it at all.  The choice is yours.

 

Lines with Many Colors

I had occasion to use the multiline (MLINE) command recently,  I was just drawing standard two line multilines, which served the purpose, but was kind of boring.  Was there a way I could add some character to a multiline?  Well, to start with, each of the lines in a multiline can be a different linetype and color.  That’s good.

 

 

You can also set the offset of the lines to zero, so the lines overwrite each other.

 

 

Here’s how it is set up.

 

 

Note that the first element uses a Continuous linetype with a ByLayer color.  The second element has a defined color and a ZIGZAG linetype.  The multiline will look like this when used.

 

 

In this case, I’ve set a lineweight for the layer on which the MLINE is drawn.  The element defined using the ByLayer color inherits the layer’s color and lineweight.  The other element, which has a specific color defined, does not.

As you can imagine, you can get pretty creative in assembling all sorts of unique combinations for a multiline.  You’re not limited to two elements within the multiline and you can use the layer properties for additional effects.

The final example I want to show uses two elements, both of which are dashed lines.

 

 

Here, I’ve set both the line elements to have a defined color and to use a dashed linetype.  The other thing I’ve done is set the fill color to be green.  What this does is set the color for the “white space” between the elements.  In the case of a standard two line multiline with a ByLayer fill, you would get this, where the fill would inherit the layer color.

 

 

Since both elements in this dashed style are set with zero separation, the fill shows up in the spaces between the dashes, effectively making a dashed line of alternating colors.

 

 

That’s it!

What About Infraworks?

The post I was going to write this week was on an entirely different topic.  I had done a bit of research on another technology trend I thought might be interesting, but because of a question that came up late last week, I’ve decided to put that one on hold.  The question I was asked that changed the topic path was regarding the relationship between Autodesk Infraworks 360 and Civil 3D.  Is Infraworks (when I say Infraworks, I am referring to the 360 version) going to replace Civil 3D, or does it serve a completely different purpose?

It’s a good question and one that doesn’t, as of yet, have a really clear cut answer.  Both of these applications talk about using 3D models, but a model in Infraworks is handled quite differently from one in Civil 3D.  We all remember the early days of Infraworks where you could only produce these cartoonish models which were good enough for a preliminary rendition of an area, but little else.  The more recent versions of Infraworks have added significant capabilities, not the least of which is Model Builder.  With Model Builder, you now can select a project area just about anywhere on the planet and Infraworks will gather whatever data is available within its search capacity and create the base model for you.  While the available information varies depending on the project location, Infraworks generally does a pretty good job of producing a model, even over a fairly large area.  This is one of the key differentiators between Infraworks and Civil 3D.  While you can gather much of this information and use it in a Civil 3D drawing, it is time consuming and the modeling environment in Civil 3D is not as fluid as that in Infraworks.  Civil 3D works within the DWG environment, while Infraworks is a database backed application.

Civil 3D is detailed design software, and as such, works best when the model area is small.  Scaling Civil 3D models over a large area has always been and continues to be challenging.  While there are a number of strategies for optimizing the Civil 3D environment, things bog down when the drawing size gets too large.  As Infraworks does not work in a drawing environment, it is not hampered by those constraints.

For some time now, we’ve been using Civil 3D for everything from conceptual design through final plan production.  While many of the Civil 3D objects are three dimensional, we’ve mostly been working in plan, profile and section views throughout the process.  You do, of course, have the ability to style and render your model, orbit around it, drive along the roads, etc., but this really can’t be thought of as a full 3D context.  Infraworks sees things differently, and you always are working within a dynamic three dimensional framework and seeing the existing and designed objects within a representational real world context.

The inclusion of the roadway, bridge and drainage tools and their continuing evolution make Infraworks suitable for more detailed design at the early stages of a project.  Granted, these tools are not yet perfect, but they are gaining capabilities in each release (which is quarterly, so there generally is quite a bit of momentum).  Functions like traffic and movement analysis are not the sort of thing that are impossible within the Civil 3D environment, but doing them in an Infraworks model allows you to see the results in a broader and richer context.  The amount of factual information may be the same in both cases, but seeing the results as part of an active model does help clarify their relationship to other objects within the model.

My feeling, at the moment, is that Infraworks will not be the replacement for Civil 3D in the near future, although with rapidly changing technologies like these it’s difficult to predict things farther out.  The meaning of “near future” can be nebulous when dealing with software evolution.  Right now, though, these two products compliment each other, one being for concept and rapid design, the other being for detailed design and preparation of engineering drawings for permitting and construction of selected portions of the overall area.

Keeping up with evolving technology is challenging.  There are a lot of moving parts and getting them all to work together efficiently can be daunting.  We can help.  Our expertise is in understanding the trends and the software, developing and implementing solutions and guiding  organizations like yours along the best path to success.  For more information about how IMAGINiT Technologies can help your organization, just contact us.  We'd be happy to work with you!