The much beloved Autodesk Land Desktop civil engineering solution was discontinued almost 10 years ago and replaced by Civil 3D, but that’s not to say it went away entirely.

However, Land Desktop is no longer supported by Autodesk (i.e. no technical assistance if things go wrong, hot fixes, or service packs). Additionally, civil engineering software, in the form of Civil 3D, has evolved drastically since 2008, adding more features, functionality and product integrations.

By Kevin Spear, P.E.

Corridors are quite fun to build, configure and eventually model various surfaces. Everyone has seen the smooth and clean examples.

Converting AutoCAD entities into land parcels is made easy in Civil 3D. Using a few simple steps you can convert entities into parcels with automatic labels that show useful topological data, such as land data.

Parcel layout tools can be used to create and edit those parcels with precision. Here’s what you need to know:

Civil 3D users always seem to have the need to batch export drawings for one reason or another. Years ago, there was the Pack n Go routine which would grab all dependent files and such and package everything up into a zip file. Obviously, this has been replaced by the E-Transmit routine. I had discovered issues with E-Transmit that had me looking at other alternatives. Some of the issues included not saving all files back to the format I specified as well as keeping settings and styles in the exported drawings and not stripping them out.

Here we are again, another New Year, another opportunity to look back and plan ahead!

We’ve published over 100 articles this year, featuring insights, tips, best practices and commentary on all aspects of public sector digital design. A big thank you goes out to our stable of guest bloggers and partners, including Line//Shape//Space, Synergis Engineering Design Systems, CADD Microsystems and CADSoft Consulting.

It’s likely that your agency’s procurement office requires proof of performance before even considering the purchase of a new software solution.  But government case studies are often hard to come by, after all agencies have a habit of keeping their projects and innovations quiet.

In recent years this has changed as more and more agencies are stepping forward to showcase their achievements. And, what better way to demonstrate that tax payer dollars are being used wisely and efficiently than case studies.

Dorado County, CA, contains more than 1,100 miles of road. Nothing unusual about that, but when you consider that these roads stretch from the suburbs of Sacramento to the shores of Lake Tahoe, then you’re dealing with some interesting terrain.

It’s the job of the El Dorado County Department of Transportation (EDCDOT) to manage these roads and highways in line with California’s stringent safety and environmental standards.

Do you with work with GIS data in ESRI’s MDB or GDB file formats? Autodesk has noticed that many of its government users are, which is why they want you know that AutoCAD Map 3D and Civil 3D allows you to import this data.

To connect with an ESRI personal or file geodatabase you’ll need the following:

Just over five years ago, very few transportation engineers had even heard of Autodesk, but today more and more DOT agencies are adopting its software. But why are they making the change now? Cost savings, better workflows, and more have a lot to do with it.

The latest state to adopt Autodesk technologies is New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT)

Want to be known as an infrastructure rock star? Looking for some useful apps for govies that can help increase your team's productivity?

These and other stories are featured in this week’s CAD News & Tips for Govies -  a weekly feature on Acronym that scans thousands of industry articles to present you with a regular source of CAD and GIS news, tips, events, and ideas that impact the public sector: