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Civil Site Design V25.01

This page contains important information regarding the installation and use of Civil Site Design V25.01

Civil Site Design is available for the following platforms:

  • AutoCAD 2019 to AutoCAD 2025
  • BricsCAD V21 to BricsCAD V24
  • Civil 3D 2019 to Civil 3D 2025

CONTENTS

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

New Licensing System

A new licensing system has been introduced from Civil Site Design V25 to support all Civil Survey Applications and provide an enhanced user experience.

If you are upgrading from Civil Site Design V24 or earlier, please ensure you have the license activation and login details to activate your new license.  The assigned Subscription Manager has been issued activation key/s and login details

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

If you are upgrading from Civil Site Design V23 or earlier, you will need a V25 license key to continue use beyond the default 30 day evaluation period.

Subscription customers can obtain their V25 license keys, and obtain Home Use Licenses, directly from the Customer Centre:

customer centre

Refer to the Software Installation Guide for installation instructions:

software installation guide

Users must right click on the application icon and select ‘Run as Administrator’. This only needs to be done on first time operation of the software.

Civil Site Design and Stringer Topo Compatibility

Because Civil Site Design and Stringer Topo share common functionality, there will be a requirement to update both applications if both are installed on the same computer.

When both products are installed on the same computer, updating Civil Site Design V24 to Civil Site Design V25 will update the licensing system, which will also impact the licensing (and operation) of Stringer Topo.  When updating one product (Civil Site Design or Stringer Topo) it is highly recommended to update both products (if both are installed on the same computer) to V25 to avoid conflicts.

FEATURES

  • Shift Chainages (Stations)
    • Added a new command to support shifting the templates, design data entries, subgrade varies, conditional templates and model builder chainages for a selected string
  • Reposition open Windows
    • Added a new command to reposition any open windows or forms (such as the Vertical Grading Editor) onto the main screen

AutoCAD 2025, Civil 2025 ONLY

  • Surface-to-Surface Section Volumes
    • Added a new command to compare surfaces along a string to calculate volumes.
    • Supports both average end area and prismoidal volume methods
    • Visual display of volumes per section 
    • Report and table output

IMPROVEMENTS

  • Drawing Switch and Drawing Close
    • Improved CSD/Stringer form close when drawing changed, deactivated or closed (all modeless forms) to prevent potential data corruption.
  • Alignments
    • Updated alignment table to support more geometry point data and include superelevation
    • Added Excel export for alignment and alignment curve tables
  • Pipe Drafting
    • Pipe drafting now supports Bylayer and Byblock.  Previously only RGB colours could be applied
  • Surface Manager
    • Surface Manager now does not close when users select to Rebuild Surface for a built model
    • Limit visibility to only show functional controls when TotalModel surface is selected
  • ScriptX
    • Added new known variable of alignmentStartChainage and AlignmentEndChainage
  • CAD Output
    • Users can now output surface triangles, even if not currently displayed
    • Added a message in CAD Output to notify users to toggle on Analysis display, if not currently shown but selected for output
    • Include an option to not output 2D polylines using curves (in some geometric conditions the curve direction is not as expected)
  • Project Assist
    • Project Assist settings are now stored locally with a project.  Previously, the settings were always referenced from the CSD Settings folder.

FIXES

  • Fixed an issue with the location search on Model Viewer 
  • Fixed error opening Pack Mode temp folder, when the folder directory did not exist

KNOWN ISSUES

  • Using the Toolspace to turn surface contours and/or triangles on/off is not remembered when you close and reopen the drawing.
  • Custom Variations are not backwards compatible. Design Data containing Custom Variations should not be opened in a pre-V25 Civil Site Design. Doing so will render the Custom Variation inoperable in all versions.  
  • Cadastral Lines command
    • If duplicate point numbers are created in a drawing, the software will automatically use one of the duplicates only
    • Mixing traverse lines and side shots will result in the ‘traverse’ polyline being removed up to the first side shot.  It is recommended to separate traverse lines and side shots into different groups
  • Acronis anti-virus and malware applications may assume that the Pack Mode process (whereby we zip the software data folder and include it inside the drawing file) is a possible malware threat.  This is a false positive and can be added to the allowlist.
  • If you run Save As on an unpacked Stringer project:
    • In AutoCAD/BricsCAD or CSD Plus
      • The Sampled Surface will display as a block in the drawing, able to be deleted.  
      • If you have created Profile Strings (for long and cross section output, and point setout) the Sampled Surface (usually the surveyed surface) used when the Profile String was created will display as a block in the drawing, able to be deleted..  
      • Drafting linework will reside in the drawing – running Cleanup will remove the drafting.

V23.00 and earlier

  • Where a COGO point is visible to the alignment (measured perpendicular to the alignment) multiple times (such as a looped alignment) Civil Site Design may adopt the chainage/offset of the furthest intersect, instead of the closest.  A new Point Property called ‘Reference Chainage’ can be used to force the chainage you want the software to us, in the event the automated calculation isn’t suitable.
  • High degrees of overlap in applied Templates on Survey Lines will generate unexpected elevation results on the offset linework.
  • Using XML import for alignments with spiral-spiral curve geometry will be imported as non-editable alignment geometry.
  • Circular alignments will not be imported correctly via the Alignment LandXML import tool.  A small gap between the start and end position is required
  • Draped Strings viewed in forms will display in uppercase
  • In Civil 3D 2018 the Batter code widths cannot be graphically edited using grips
  • Using the Offset alignment will create an alignment with a start chainage of zero (it will not adopt the start chainage of the source alignment).  To assign a start chainage, users can run the Trim Alignment command (when running this command, there is an option to set a start chainage.  Set a start and end chainage that is before and after the offset alignment chainage range, so it is NOT trimmed)
  • AutoCAD 2018 & Civil 3D 2018 platform users will not have Civil Site Design object grips enabled.  A stability issue has been detected in the 2018 platform when grips are enabled.
  • AutoCAD platform: If a polyline is drawn and then converted into an alignment, grip editing the alignment will leave a ‘ghost’ of the original alignment geometry on screen.  Typing REGEN will clear this duplicate and it will not return
  • Using XML import for alignments with spiral-spiral curve geometry will be imported as non-editable alignment geometry.
  • Circular alignments will not be imported correctly via the Alignment LandXML import tool.  A small gap between the start and end position is required
  • Draped Strings viewed in forms will display in uppercase
  • Using the Offset alignment will create an alignment with a start chainage of zero (it will not adopt the start chainage of the source alignment).  Users can however run the TRIM ALIGNMENT command on offset (and other non-editable alignments) and set a Start Chainage there (set the trim range to be well before and well after the actual extents of the alignment, so nothing is trimmed)
  • Command: Pipes Tab > Service Design Panel Drop-down > Service Pipes/Pits (or Service Objects)
    • This command allows users to assign a network name. At present, the software creates a network name called Pipe-Editing, regardless of the user input name. This can cause issues with 3D output, as all networks have the same name.
  • 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.
  • Cul-de-saccreation
    • 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
    • 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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