tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59291851290570508102024-03-13T00:16:50.984-07:0045º N 122º WMap 3D, Geospatial and Cartographic Tips from Midway Between the Equator and the N Pole.Russell Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06185973582604785415noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929185129057050810.post-52998651263264060972011-03-30T08:42:00.001-07:002011-03-30T14:06:06.171-07:00Plotting to PDFs with DWG to PDF.pc3More and more often, the deliverables from our production work are PDFs, as opposed to paper plots. <br /><br />There are many drivers available to produce PDFs; here are some advantages to using the free one that comes with AutoCAD.<br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.cadapult-software.com/article_info.php/articles_id/142" target="_blank">To learn more, (and access many tutorials for Map 3D), follow this link...</a><br /><br /><p>Russell Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06185973582604785415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929185129057050810.post-71006826686073720122011-02-15T16:27:00.000-08:002011-02-16T14:20:45.892-08:00Using Range Tables in Property Alteration QueriesHere is a relatively easy way to create a quick thematic map, based on <span style="font-style:italic;">Object Data</span>, using a table of ranges in an <span style="font-style:italic;">Alter Properties Query</span>.<br /><br />My book "<a href="http://www.cadapult-software.com/product_info.php/c/books/p/digging-into-autocad-map-3d-2011-level-1/cPath/1/products_id/47" target="_blank">Digging Into AutoCAD Map 3D</a>" shows you how to alter the properties of AutoCAD objects when querying them into a current drawing, based on object data values. <br /><br />This tutorial takes it a step further, altering properties different ways, based on ranges of data. The tutorial begins with a drawing of line segments representing streets that was imported from a GIS Shapefile. An object data table was created during the import to contain the attribute data, which includes the speed limit of each street segment. From this, you'll learn how to quickly create a simple thematic map, with color-coded streets based on where the speed limits fall within two ranges: those 35 MPH and under, and those over 35 MPH.<br /><br />The technique can be used with a wide variety of data, and applied to many common work-flow scenarios.<br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.cadapult-software.com/article_info.php/articles_id/140" target="_blank">To learn more, (and access many tutorials for Map 3D), follow this link...</a><br /><br /><p>Russell Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06185973582604785415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929185129057050810.post-65636953235067641262010-12-09T09:25:00.000-08:002010-12-09T09:29:01.254-08:00Connect to a Geodatabase from ESRI ArcGIS 9More and more often, we encounter project data that was created with ESRI products and stored in a Geodatabase file. Autodesk has added the capability to directly access these files through FDO, from within Map 3D and Civil 3D.<br /><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.cadapult-software.com/article_info.php/articles_id/135" target="_blank">To learn more, (and access many tutorials for Map 3D), follow this link...</a><br /><br /><p>Russell Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06185973582604785415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929185129057050810.post-46998779421966568762010-11-15T14:04:00.001-08:002010-11-15T14:06:01.681-08:00Exporting Object Data to a DBFIn our book “Digging Into AutoCAD Map 3D 2011 – Level 1 Training” we cover the basics of Object Data and External Database Links. We explain the differences between these two methods of linking data to AutoCAD objects, and what types of data are appropriate for each.<br /><br />At some point, you might wish to do a little more with the Object Data than you can from within AutoCAD Map 3D. One very quick and easy way to do this is by EXPORTING the data to a Shapfile, and then opening the accompanying DBF file with a database program like Access, or with a spreadsheet program like Excel. From there, you can use Access or Excel tools to sort and display the object data in various ways, perform counts and math on values, etc.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.cadapult-software.com/article_info.php/articles_id/130" target="_blank">For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...</a><br /><br /></span>Russell Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06185973582604785415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929185129057050810.post-11325134987717968322010-10-18T11:55:00.000-07:002010-10-18T12:21:28.000-07:00Some Interesting New Views of the MoonIt's amazing what a little color can do to communicate information.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3M8YxLN_zWBxXW_IBPZzt8p7-Y2OUih7lnGg_EsaHhHYmBDuAI4xc1rgwIsRfD5FdJkCHRRSPpaf1nZNtsQ2clVGYSmM-W83O1iExQo6a4ZbMYTBBqoMgmo66LVwnnSwRPbaTf4ORY28/s1600/Lunar+Far+Side.png"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3M8YxLN_zWBxXW_IBPZzt8p7-Y2OUih7lnGg_EsaHhHYmBDuAI4xc1rgwIsRfD5FdJkCHRRSPpaf1nZNtsQ2clVGYSmM-W83O1iExQo6a4ZbMYTBBqoMgmo66LVwnnSwRPbaTf4ORY28/s400/Lunar+Far+Side.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529468226596783970" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is a color-coded topographic map of the far side of the moon. Since the Moon has no air or water, and hence no "sea level", zero altitude is set at the Moon's mean (average) radius, of just over a thousand miles. Altitudes below that use bluer tones, suggestive of oceanic regions on the Earth, and altitudes above that green and redder tones, suggestive of land regions on the Earth (areas shown in gray have no reliable altitude data). As the result, the lunar maria, once thought to be oceans, are shown as though they were oceans, while the lunar terrae, once thought to be highlands, are shown as though they were continents.<br /><br /><a href="http://cseligman.com/text/moons/moonmap.htm" target="_blank">Follow this link for more maps and descriptions.</a><br /><p></p>Russell Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06185973582604785415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929185129057050810.post-86372413469320895552010-09-28T14:27:00.001-07:002010-10-01T09:41:03.787-07:00Plotting Large Image Files<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">I recently received a 100 MB raster image file from a client, and needed to use it as a background image in a bathymetric map of a reservoir. The image was a very high resolution TIFF file, depicting the bottom of the reservoir in great detail, which the client needed to see in his maps. It looked great in model space, on the layout tab, </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span>and even showed up in a plot preview,</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> but when I tried to plot it to a PDF, the image was absent from the final plot.</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cPvi6WGy3G0DZnKbGh-17Tjb-w9yyGJ5jDnXQajwgPgAFdr3bkH3K5oel3IfGDFbpVwxxGYx-sNJqcdvJa87dfzobPXm_GsgucrN2u3E95P-dFmxq4pRZPu47H-5QKksMisxhFI8sO0/s1600/tutorial-128-blog.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 331px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cPvi6WGy3G0DZnKbGh-17Tjb-w9yyGJ5jDnXQajwgPgAFdr3bkH3K5oel3IfGDFbpVwxxGYx-sNJqcdvJa87dfzobPXm_GsgucrN2u3E95P-dFmxq4pRZPu47H-5QKksMisxhFI8sO0/s400/tutorial-128-blog.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522081052726605618" border="0" /></a><br />Obviously, when plotting a lot of software and hardware variables come into play. I found a couple of solutions that helped in my situations; perhaps they will help you in similar situations.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.cadapult-software.com/article_info.php/articles_id/128" target="_blank">For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...</a><br /><br /></span>Russell Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06185973582604785415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929185129057050810.post-15403466639527909532010-09-21T13:23:00.000-07:002010-09-23T19:04:25.107-07:00Maps on ClothingEveryone who knows me knows that I am a map nerd. I surround myself with maps, even on everyday objects. The coffee cup I've used for over 23 years sports a map of the London Underground, and my favorite shirt features coastline patterns from nautical maps.<br /><br />I thought I would list a few other sources for maps on clothing, starting with my friend <b>Autumn's <a href="http://www.topotees.com/Home.html" target="_blank">TopoTees</a></b>; skillfully printed T-shirts featuring images of some of the lakes in the Adirondacks from vintage USGS quadrangles. If you order one, please tell them: "Russell sent me!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.topotees.com/Home.html" target="_blank"> <img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 384px; height: 201px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKPdFWz2JVywDy4jxn0flYjxRUDzDkCRMZAnbe8pH7QIBcCFfuHY79z10I62KoyZsQeJ9U7x_E_uhuVfLmlRhSQ733yw0ARbbgKy59i1GAZffn9pt8-9cbN2nYOSlPfbrbHVp_gBBLjQ/s400/TopoTee.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519471313448299794" border="0" /></a><br />There are many different sources for maps on clothing. You can also get maps on <a href="http://www.miblox.com/shoe_preview.asp?item=mbrp0002#" target="_blank">shoes</a>, <a href="http://www.thesavvytraveller.com/tools/interarts/1home.htm" target="_blank">jackets</a>, even <a href="http://www.transitmuseumstore.com/product/New-York-City-Subway-Map-Boxer-Shorts.html" target="_blank">boxer shorts</a>, but the TopoTees are more my style...<br /><br />Please send me links to your favorite items featuring maps.<br /><p>Russell Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06185973582604785415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929185129057050810.post-58207007038358950002010-08-18T13:11:00.000-07:002010-08-18T13:15:34.769-07:00A Better Way to Join Polylines<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">We’ve all been there. It’s crunch time and you encounter hundreds or maybe thousands of individual line segments that should be continuous polylines. The end points are snapped together, but when you try to select them or perform some analysis on them, you get individual lines, or lots of unconnected polylines.<br /><br />There is a much better, though often overlooked alternative to the <span style="font-style: italic;">Polyline Edit > Join</span> command, in the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Drawing Cleanup</span> suite of tools, called <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dissolve Pseudo Nodes</span>.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.cadapult-software.com/article_info.php/articles_id/124" target="_blank">For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...</a><br /></span>Russell Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06185973582604785415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929185129057050810.post-86279095927368302262010-06-30T10:31:00.000-07:002010-07-08T07:27:57.098-07:00Defining Scale Ranges in the FDO Style Editor<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">When stylizing Feature Data Objects in Map 3D, there is a powerful setting that many users overlook: Scale Ranges.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">One example of how this setting can benefit you is using it to cause a very detailed set of features, such as a street map or a soils map, to only display when that level of detail is useful, and cause it to be invisible when zoomed out to where it would just be a blur of detail.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.cadapult-software.com/article_info.php/articles_id/122" target="_blank">For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...</a><br /><br /></span>Russell Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06185973582604785415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929185129057050810.post-62503809967184737742009-12-06T18:21:00.000-08:002010-07-08T07:27:22.117-07:00Vexed by 3D polylines in Map 3D?<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">An interesting question came up during the class I taught at Autodesk University last week:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">"At what elevation will all of the vertices end up when you convert a 3D polyline to a regular polyline, using the </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" >Drawing Cleanup</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> tools?"</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The answer is that all of the vertices will be moved to the Z-value of the FIRST vertex of the 3D polyline. For example, if you start with a 3D polyline that was drawn from "10,10,10" to "20,20,20", and then use the Map 3D Drawing Cleanup tools to convert that object to a regular (flat) polyline, then all of the vertices will end up at elevation 10.</span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.cadapult-software.com/article_info.php/articles_id/109" target="_blank">For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...</a></span><br /><br /></span>Russell Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06185973582604785415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929185129057050810.post-48974771191407924122009-11-19T11:52:00.000-08:002009-12-06T18:27:03.677-08:00DRAGGING to Copy and Move Objects QuicklyFor quick repositioning of objects “by eye”, selecting them first and dragging them can be a lot faster than issuing the command first. This is a particularly good technique for last minute repositioning of text labels on a map, once all of the other elements are in place, where absolute precision is less important than fast editing.<br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><a href="http://www.cadapult-software.com/article_info.php/articles_id/106" target="_blank">For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...</a></span><br /><br /><p> </p>Russell Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06185973582604785415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929185129057050810.post-51962615144162911762009-10-27T11:31:00.000-07:002009-10-27T11:50:02.613-07:00Windows 7 and AutoCAD Map 3DAs of October 22, 2009 <a href="http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=14054482&linkID=9240857" target="_blank">Autodesk has not tested any versions of Map 3D on Windows 7</a>, which doesn't mean it won't work, just that it's not recommended or supported.<br /><br />Since Windows 7 is now the likely default OS offered on any new hardware for Autodesk products, surely some of you are giving this combination a try. If so, we'd all appreciate hearing about your experience here - please let us know by posting a comment below. Thanks!Russell Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06185973582604785415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929185129057050810.post-10052870961879373412009-10-06T13:21:00.000-07:002009-10-08T12:39:27.754-07:00Map 3D - Save Current Map to DWG<span style="font-family:verdana;">A major benefit of AutoCAD Map 3D’s thematic mapping styles is that they do not permanently alter the stylized AutoCAD objects or features, only the way they appear. However, there may be times when you want to save a map styled with the Map 3D Display Manager to a new drawing, permanently fixing the styling as object properties. Or, you may want to share this map with an AutoCAD user, or with someone who uses an earlier version of Map 3D.<br /><br />The next time you come up with a map in the Display Manager that you want to save out as a separate drawing, use <span style="font-weight: bold;">Save Current Map to DWG… </span><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><a href="http://www.cadapult-software.com/article_info.php/articles_id/103" target="_blank">For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...</a><br /><br /></span>Russell Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06185973582604785415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929185129057050810.post-89870080310730692832009-10-02T08:45:00.000-07:002009-10-08T11:14:52.597-07:00Map 3D - Tracking Coordinates on the Fly<span style="font-family:verdana;">AutoCAD Map 3D provides a simple way to obtain or enter coordinates from one system, (Lat/Long, for instance), in a drawing which is based on an entirely different system (such as State Plane). This tool is called </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >Coordinate Tracking</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">You can select from hundreds of supported coordinate systems, and then see a real-time conversion in the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >Track Coordinates Palette</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">. Your base drawing coordinates will be displayed normally in the AutoCAD status bar, and the secondary coordinates will be displayed in the floating palette. As you move the cursor and work with entities, both sets of coordinates are available. You can then enter converted coordinates into an active command, by typing them (or pasting them) into the palette and clicking the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >Digitize</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> button. The converted coordinates are then passed on to the command line.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.cadapult-software.com/article_info.php/articles_id/49" target="_blank">For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...</a><br /><p></p>Russell Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06185973582604785415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929185129057050810.post-59728784184883818292009-09-16T14:25:00.001-07:002009-10-08T11:13:04.289-07:00Map 3D - Boundary Trim & Boundary Break<span style="font-family:verdana;">At one point or another, most of us face the tedious prospect of breaking or trimming a lot of drawing objects on different layers. Often, performing each operation individually is simply not practical.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">AutoCAD </span></span><b style="font-family: verdana;">MAP3D </b><span style="font-family:verdana;">offers two great utilities to make these tasks simple and fast: </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Boundary Trim </b><span style="font-family:verdana;">and </span><b style="font-family: verdana;">Boundary Break</b><span style="font-family:verdana;">. The dialog boxes that control these two tools are very similar.<p></p><p style="font-family: verdana;">This tutorial shows how <b>Boundary Trim</b> works. Simply substitute the word <span style="font-style: italic;">trim</span> with <span style="font-style: italic;">break</span>, and most of the information applies to the <span style="font-style: italic;">Boundary Break</span> dialog box, as well.<br /></p><br /><p style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://www.cadapult-software.com/article_info.php/articles_id/53" target="_blank">For the complete tutorial, (and many others) follow this link...</a></p></span><br /><p></p>Russell Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06185973582604785415noreply@blogger.com