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Civil Site Design V21.00

Civil Site Design for Civil 3D, AutoCAD & BricsCAD V21.00.

This readme contains important information regarding the installation and use of Civil Site Design versions as described above.

Civil Site Design is available for:

  • AutoCAD Civil 3D 2015 to AutoCAD Civil 3D 2021
  • AutoCAD 2015 to AutoCAD 2021 including all AutoCAD derivatives
  • BricsCAD V20 (64bit install)
  • Civil Site Design Plus

CONTENTS

CRITICAL INFORMATION

BRICSCAD USERS

We are experiencing an issue when running Civil Site Design on BricsCAD V20.2 versions. 

When plotting long sections (roads and pipes) or cross sections, if the required Title Block doesn’t already exist in the drawing (the block hasn’t previously been inserted into the drawing) then the Title Block will not be included in the plot preview or output.  BricsCAD V20.2 versions crash out the routine that inserts blocks, if the block includes Attribute Definition objects.

If you have BricsCAD V20.1.08 installed, Title Blocks insert as expected.  During download, you can click on the button to download older versions and download BricsCAD V20.1.08.

We have reported this but to Bricsys and hope they can address this in their next update.  

BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY

After installing this version and opening a drawing, the CSD data structure may be updated and will not be compatible with Civil Site Design V19.01 or earlier. The drawing file itself (.dwg) is unaffected.

Note: A backup copy of the -Data folder is not made when the data format is updated.

NAHIMIC SOFTWARE INTERFERES WITH MODEL VIEWER

We have found that the software ‘Nahimic’ may prevent Model Viewer from displaying – the installation of Nahimic creates a conflict in Eyeshot (the graphics engine we use in Model Viewer).

If Model Viewer will not open, please check if Nahimic is installed. If so, updating Nahimic may resolve the issue. Uninstalling it will resolve the issue.

Nahimic software provides enhanced audio (typically for gamers) and is commonly installed with gaming laptops. More information about Nahimic can be found here: https://www.nahimic.com/gamers/

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

CIVIL SITE DESIGN

You do not need to uninstall any previous versions of Civil Site Design. This installation will install over the top of any previous CSD installation.

If you are upgrading from Civil Site Design V20 or earlier, you will need a V21 license key to continue use beyond the default 30 day evaluation period.

Subscription customers can obtain their V21 license keys, and obtain Home Use Licenses, directly from the CSS Subscription Portal:

Subscription centre

An update to the Civil Survey Solutions Network License Manager is required for V21. Please refer to the Installation Guide for more information:

software installation guide

CIVIL SITE DESIGN PLUS

Customers installing this product will required a new V21 license.  Licensing is set for the current user and the activation process is the same (user generates trigger codes, this is emailed to us and we provide an activation code via email).

If you already have Civil Site Design Plus installed, you will need to first uninstall the application in order to install this updated version.

  • Windows 10 method:
    • Open the Start Menu and click Settings
    • In the top search bar type ‘Add or remove programs‘
    • From the list, select Civil Survey Solutions Civil Site Design v21
    • Click the Uninstall button that appears

Note: Uninstalling the application will not delete your license or remove your Civil Site Design settings.

NEW FEATURES V21.00

Pipe Export to Civil 3D

  • Users can now export a fully functional Civil 3D Pipe Network any Civil Site Design pipe network. Subject to having applied branch sequencing and pipe/structure(pit) names, the output includes all connected pipes and structures, alignment for each branch as well as profile view with pipes and structures included.
  • Pipes and structures can be named to match what is assigned in Civil Site Design
  • Description fields can be set in the Civil Site Design pipe network Exchange Settings.
  • There are a number of commands to support this new process, as listed below
  • Network Settings
    • Establishes the translation between Civil Site Design pipe and pit/structure types and Civil 3D Pipe Network parts.
  • Create Network
    • Creates a Civil 3D pipe network, with structure and pipe names set to match the naming assigned in Civil Site Design.
    • If Branch(Trunk) sequencing has been applied, alignments, profiles and profile views will be created for each ‘branch’ in the network, including the addition of the pipes and structures for that branch.
    • Users can pre-set the Descriptions assigned to each Civil 3D part when it is created (this otherwise is inherited from the Network Catalog.
    • By default, dynamics is enabled. Changes made in the Civil Site Design pipe network will be reflected in the Civil 3D pipe network
  • Multi Create
    • Enables creation of multiple networks in the one command
  • Manage Corridor
    • Turn corridors off/on for synchronisation and dynamics
    • Delete, synchronise all or rebuild a pipe network with changed settings

Sync Export

Click to rebuild pipe networks previously created using the Create Network command

Support for BricsCAD Surfaces (BricsCAD BIM V20 only)

  • A new BricsCAD Surface command has been added:

  • The command can be found in the menu and on the following ribbons:
    • Surfaces Tab > Create/Edit Panel > BricsCAD Surfaces dropdown > BricsCAD Surfaces
    • Roads Tab > Modelling Panel > BricsCAD Surfaces dropdown > BricsCAD Surfaces
  • The Add Surface Exchange supports:
    • Two way surface creation (from Civil Site Design to a BricsCAD surface and vice versa).
    • Creation of a BricsCAD Volume Surface
    • Creation of a BricsCAD Merge Surface
  • Sync enables automatic surface updating (particularly for BricsCAD surfaces) when design changes are made in Civil Site Design
  • Edit Surface Styles button allows for the user to establish pre-set display controls for BricsCAD surfaces
  • A new Surface Style command has been created to allow management of BricsCAD surface display controls at the time of creating the surface

  • Captures the inputs available for BricsCAD surfaces and allows users to preset the display output
  • Create Styles to describe the desired display and apply in the BricsCAD Surfaces command

IMPROVEMENTS V21.00

  • Templates
    • The Select Templates form is now re-sizable and also includes a customisable display, allowing users to show Local or Public or both template types within the same view.
    • The Template Options form has also been updated so users can see ALL Options in the same view.
  • New Material Search tool in Template Options.
    • User can pick a material and see all code pairs across all Templates (local and public) that use the material. You can also change the material and/or the material depth from this form. As you select a code pair that template will be displayed and the material highlighted. Click on the Update button to apply the changes.
  • Insert Extra Samples / Chainages
    • This form has been updated for easier workflow and use of functions:
  • Pipes
    • In the pipe settings, you can now prevent the cycling of Pit Types based on the road longitudinal slope, when pits are attached to roads. A new toggle has been added for this.
    • The Network Labelling Settings form has been renamed the ‘Auto Name Network’ form and the form has been updated. The Pit/Structure Naming Style can now be edited from this form (previously this was a separate command)
    • After applying branch (trunk) sequencing and closing this form, the ‘Network Labelling Settings’ form can be set to immediately open
    • Added a tick box in the Active Network Settings > Drainage > Pit Tables
    • For imperial (USA) customers, displaying pipes and structures on the Civil Site Design Profile View was only possible for pipes and structures able to be projected to within the string extents. Now, designers can opt to include display of pipes and structures that extend beyond the string extents
  • Alignment Edits
    • After editing an alignment the software will update vertical IP positions to account for the geometry changes. The software stores the old and new alignment geometry. Measurements are made perpendicular to the new geometry to locate the position of the current vertical IP’s. The calculated chainage is then applied to the new alignment geometry.
  • Alignment XML Import
    • When importing alignments via XML, vertical IP’s move along the length of the alignment to accommodate changes to alignment geometry. The software stores the old and new alignment geometry. Measurements are made perpendicular to the new geometry to locate the position of the current vertical IP’s. The calculated chainage is then applied to the new alignment geometry.

FIXES V21.00

  • Grading
    • Using Delete Alignment to remove a Grading string no longer causes an error.
  • Pipes
    • Any Comments added to the downstream pit in a network are now displayed in reports.
  • Long Section Plotting
    • When displaying volumes on the long section plot a crash could occur depending on the pickup of section spacings for the string. This has been fixed.
    • After loading a default plot style, the vertical grading row entry -> string selection pulldown would be blank. Leaving it blank after editing would display an error message.

KNOWN ISSUES

  • Civil 3D Pipe Network Creation Tools
    • Inlet/Outlet type parts are not supported at this time.
    • If there is no match between a Civil Site Design part and a Civil 3D part, no pipes or structures will be created
    • Pipe Data Source is not managed at the time of creating the profile views – the first network will automatically be assigned. Pipe Data source needs to be manually set by the user post creation of the profile views
    • Alignments created by the software will not trace curved pipes – geometry will consist of a straight line between structures.
    • Selecting surface profiles at the time of creating the Civil 3D pipe network is a once off assignment. This cannot be changed by using Manage Network and updating. The Profiles will need to be deleted and recreated. To do this:
      • Delete all Profiles for the Pipe Network
      • Use the Manage Networks to Update the Pipe Network with the desired surface.
    • If the Civil 3D pipe network is created and then curved pipe/s are applied in Civil Site Design (replacing previously straight line pipes) the user will need to delete that Civil 3D pipe in the drawing and run the Sync Networks command to create the curved pipe.
    • If using Multi Create and there are a mix of networks that are branch sequenced and not branch sequenced, profile views will not be created for any of the networks.
  • Cul-de-sac creation
    • It is possible that upon first creation of a Cul-de-sac, the centre line string of the incoming road may extend through the cul-de-sacs and result in crossing strings in Totalmodel.  Reviewing the Cul-de-sac geometry and string creation settings and then Updating the string should resolve the issue.
  • Knuckle creation: Widening Options
    • Using the widening option of Move the ‘Match to Code’ may result in unexpected elevation changes at the start/end of the knuckle if the adjacent road elevations are adjusted.
      • If this widening option is desired it is recommended instead to select “None” and then use Variations and Batter overrides on the Road to associate the EB code to the knuckle string.  Section edits over the knuckle range would include: Variation > Set Code Offsets &/or Levels to String, then Variation > Delete All Sections Outside Selected Codes to remove codes outside of the EB code, then Batters > Slope Batters (set the side with the knuckle to have blank entries for cut/fill).
  • Export Corridor
    • Corridor sections will be assigned to the corridor using the sampled sections in Civil Site Design, not including the ‘mesh refinement’ applied for vertical curves. Customers will need to increase sampling over these regions to have tighter sampling assigned to the corridor
    • Regions are created to support changes in default widths on the template – this is deliberate to help speed up the corridor (by reducing the number of parameter overrides)
    • It is recommended that when exporting a corridor that includes a cul-de-sac with offset geometry, the Apply targets to cul-de-sac settings be un-ticked.  Applying targets to cul-de-sacs in this case will likely result in errors in the exported corridor.  Users can review the Corridor Settings to change this option and then run Sync Corridors to update the corridor in the drawing.
  • Exchange Settings
    • If Subassembly Composer was used to create the desired subassembly, it is recommended to use the Import PKT option when selecting the subassembly, and not selecting it from the Tool Palette it may have been added to. If the subassembly doesn’t live in a Catalog (even though it may be in a tool palette) it will not work in the corridor.

It is likely that a message will display when using Select Subassembly, about providing read/write access to certain folders. The software is trying to access all folders that contain subassembly catalogs and finding issue – follow the instructions in the message to resolve the issue. This does not stop you from exporting corridors, but may limit the list of subassemblies you can use.

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