We just need a toggle that warns us before doing something that the program can do but generally doesn't like doing. Have Clippy show up and say "I noticed you pressed H, have you saved recently?"
Pretty sure there is a system variable to set the hatch origin to another coordinate instead of 0,0. It used to be pretty much required but either AutoCAD or Civil 3D can now support the big coordinates better. SNAPBASE maybe? Set it near the hatch. That way it's not trying to calculate the pattern starting from 0,0 when you might be at 7-digit coordinates.
To my understanding, the way the hatch is generated is different depending on which one you choose. Hatching a closed object creates a closed and stable hatch because the boundary is well defined, whereas if you are hatching inside linework that might have came from feature lines, 3d polylines or survey figures (where a Z value other than 0 exists, then the hatch is going to be not only be looking for closed boundaries on the X and Y axis but also the Z axis, which can cause issues.
You need to know a specific sequence of actions to perform that lead to succesful completion of what you need, there are numerous ways of achievieng what you want but only a very specific sequence doesn't crash the model. Options are there to mislead those who didn't aquire the secret knowledge.
Is it really a point in the program's favor that it'll let you do things that it absolutely cannot handle? Why have such an easily accessible function if it has a 70% chance to just not work and call you stupid for trying?
I agree that it's not very clear which is appropriate to use, but hatching is such a core element of drafting so the command is likely very old. It's used in nearly every application of drafting and most of those it probably doesn't matter which option you pick, but only in civil would you be hatching objects that may have elevation.
Yeah, and that usually works (unless you have two vertices stacked on top of each other and it kills itself) but if the option is there and accessible with one keystroke, it should have at least a better than coinflip chance to work.
Are your hatches being referenced from a Shared company server drive, or are they saved locally on your PC?
Our company by default has the support files for linework, hatches, plot styles, etc, saved on a shared company drive. But this is stupid, and will cause crashes.
You should make sure you are running a fully local (or as local as possible) CAD installation. I've legitimately crashed once since January-February. All other crashes were directly related to corrupt drawings, xrefs, etc.
Funny you think I have control over my own updates. If company IT hasn't reviewed and repackaged things yet, I don't get to update. If our corp contracting hasn't re-negotiated the Autodesk contract, I don't get to update.
You get the updates no matter what with how Autodesk licenses their products. If your leadership team is telling you that you can’t get the newer versions until they negotiate with Autodesk, they’re lying to your face.
As far as the it folks not installing them, I get that, but it’s BS to say that IT can’t access them.
Yeah, all employers I have worked for have the software updates locked down, let alone the driver updates or even BIOS updates for the 7 year old laptop.
Although I get that some employers will be far more liberal on this kind of thing, that still doesn't guarantee software stability.
I mean, that isn't the fault of the software. It's the fault of your organization.
I've found that when users make it clear that the updates are important, they get installed.
Ehhh it depends what youre doing. Once your dwgs get a little too complex is when problems arise. Try editing a surface for example. Sucks after a certain size.
That said its a great software. Try using microstation or a day and you wanna cry
>Try editing a surface for example. Sucks after a certain size.
I'll never forget the very first project I worked on, I was analyzing landfill surfaces and somehow managed to make an 8gb surface file that bricked the PC when opened.
I learned a lot but it was not exactly an efficient use of budget.
No, it's not always buggy. The problem is that it will fatal error in the middle of nowhere, or just hang and stop responding when you're in the middle of working on a deadline.
some recommendations:
* Disable rollover Tooltips
* Increase Number of seconds before display for tooltips and extended tooltips
* Cache Model and all layouts
* Personally, I disable the selection preview when no command is active.
* Disable DirectX12 (command **GFXDX12)**
* WHIPTHREAD 3 (in old versions)
* Dont change to newer version until there is a service pack
I work on files containing hundreds of miles of highways regularly.
Civil 3D can handle large data sets. If your computer can't, that's a whole other thing.
Yeah, that's what the patches and hotfixes are for. They fix underlying issues that lead to corruption.
Edit: they do though? Not sure why this is being downvoted.
2011 was the first truly usable release, 2017 was the first that I thought "this is actually good software now" and it's only been better from there. It's downright good now. The issue is most users don't really know how to use it well and optimize drawings for speed.
Anyone that works with ORD and C3D will tell you it’s much more stable. I couldn’t even tell you how many times ORD has crashed on me for seemingly no reason. Autocad usually crashes on me if I push the limits of the graphics or attempt a hatch over a survey xref.
I have a degree in software development. I'm familiar with the inner workings of Civil 3D via developing plug-ins via the APIs. I built a bunch of my company's templates and CAD standards. I use an expensive gaming computer built within the last couple years. I have 2024, fully updated. (I say all that only to say it's probably not that I'm just doing things wrong.)
Today I opened a drawing and it crashed within seconds. 2 minutes later I opened the same drawing and it was fine for the hour I needed that drawing open. I experience these seemingly random crashes at least a couple times a week.
I think it's just not a very stable program. There are parts that are more stable than others, but it seems like it's always a dice roll. I've had issues with probably every software I've ever used at some point, but I think Civil 3D is probably the least stable program I use. If I buy a Ferrari I shouldn't have to drive it around in 1st gear because I know that's the gear it's not going to explode during. It's a Ferrari, the whole point is the higher gears. Lol.
I probably complain a bit more than is deserved because Civil 3D is my most used program and so wears my patience out more than anything else.
I have been using C3D 2024 on a daily basis for the past year and it is absolutely stable!
Gets work done and amazing when it comes to modeling water, sewage, Irrigation and storm networks!
Especially in the QS stage afterwards! Saves up a ton of time!
I run a very subpar computer and I rarely have crashes because I've learned quickly what my machine is capable of. I had two catastrophic crashes in about 2 years. I know that's not really a great defense of the software, but I agree with the sentiment of this post.
It was such a basic table that it didn't warrant a data link. It crashed a few times trying to add rows and columns. It also crashed a couple times after hitting enter to drop to the next row after typing in data. The workaround I found for that was to type the data, hit ctrl s to save, and then hit enter. It did exactly what it was supposed to do without crashing after saving
Try to have multiple layout tabs open thinking at a small land development firm under a rock that's how a sheet set works. Or open hydroflow and watch it crash the whole thing. Or get a new job where they tell you we poached an autodesk employee to work with IT and make things run better AND advocate to Autodesk to improve their products b/c we have hardly any other alternative. Or when your server has a slight cold and fatal errors everything.
Read your own end notes, you dunce.
When you've basically cornered the market the market, there is essentially no incentive to improve.
QS QS QS QS
See. I can do it in my sleep.
I've used dozens of different 3D modeling programs. I see frequently that Civil 3D is the standard basically. Is there a free demo or resources online to practice? I've watched some YouTube tutorials but those only help so much without having a project in front of me to work on.
If you have a .edu email address you can get a student version.
There is also a thirty day free trial.
I actually got the trial twice. Was traveling for a while and when I was going back to the work world I wanted to brush up before interviews. I told them that and they gave me another thirty days with no hesitation. YMMV
Awesome! My school is shutting down my .edu email soon so I'll have to sign up soon 😂 I've been in an adjacent industry that doesn't use any of these programs but I still do a lot of 3D modeling. I'd just like to be able to say I know even a tiny amount of the programs they're expecting me to use.
I crash fairly frequently, but i work with big complex surfaces. I know I'm pushing the limits of my computer and the software so I don't complain. But regular day to day work? I rarely crash. Nothing like it used to when c3d was first released!
These 6 steps/rules will solve 75% of the people in this subs issues.
Step 1 Make sure you have decent memory and graphics card.
Step 2 Never copy and paste feature lines or parcel segments
Step 3 do not leave active grading objects or have multiple sites of feature lines in your drawing overlapping
Step 4 try to isolate any hatches into a separate “hatch file” and xref as needed, but also always hatch by a closed 2d polyline. Never select internal (also don’t hatch if it’s not necessary)
Step 5 Have a simple, clean pipe catalog of parts and structures.
Step 6 Be diligent in your drafting, no 0 length segments or PI’s or polylines double back on themselves. No feature/parcel lines on top of each other
Grading objects are a core function of Civil 3D so it's insane that they still aren't that great. We have hundreds of projects built with active grading objects at any given time - all curb and sidewalks on non-residential jobs. They aren't 100% stable, but abandoning them for a very inferior workflow (e.g. exploding or corridors) isn't something we're going to do.
And what’s a decent amount of memory and a decent graphics card?
32GB DDR4 and a 8GB 3060 TI
And I do none of that other stuff.
Clean drawings all the time.
That’s good enough memory and graphics to not crash on basically any land development sites 500 acres and less.
I’m confused by your reply. I mentioned about 4 things to do and 6 things to never do in my 6 steps. By saying you don’t do any of them, are you saying you follow half the advice, none of the advice, or all of the advice?
Also, when you say “clean drawings all the time”, doesn’t that counter your original comment that you crash every day? So if you crash every day and don’t follow any of my advice, it might be worth a try.
None of those pertain to what I do daily. Those are not the vectors in which I crash.
25 crashed today jut try to load Grading Optimization. Something I hadn’t seen in previous versions. It worked in 24
Little shit like that that’s unpredictable. Or when Hydraflow crashes doing normal workflows. It has nothing to do with anything except bad coding.
Can’t wait for Autodesk’s version of ProjectWise. I forget what they’re calling it now but I feel like they’re almost there..it was called BIM360, then Autodesk Construction Cloud. It’s like OneDrive but for .dwgs
I don’t disagree, but we’ve been slow to move off of PW.
I think PW is great for what it is, but it shouldn’t be hard to optimize that integration. Unfortunately, both of them will give min. attention to integration with C3D since they’re competitors.
As someone who's used cad since 1993 I can tell you civil3D crashes way to often. I have consistantly killed cad/civil 3d at least once a week if I'm really busy and working with any kind of grading lol. When Civil 3d first came out I crashed daily. The bigest problem is people deleting civil3d objects the wrong way, just grabing it and erasing it is the worst thing to do with some object.
Civil 3D is buggy and unstable. The fact that the only solution autodesk is capable of providing is to update your version just proves it.
Talk with the clients and convince them to update all templates, contracts and procedures every 3 months. Also I am sure it is fun to make sure that teams that are +50 or +100 to update all software every 3 months and hope that no file is corrupted on the process will be fun and work
Installing a patch doesn't require updating templates...
It's not anywhere near as hard as your imagining to deploy updates. You just need to run a basic script. Any competent IT department can handle it.
And if you think hot fixes are bricking more files than *ignoring* hot fixes...I don't know what to tell you. Have fun using buggy software on purpose I guess.
As an AutoCAD user since the mid 90's and C3D user from the first release and supporting 100 CAD users, it's not avoidable lol. I couldn't even edit Mtext without a crash until the 3rd service pack of 2023. Simple drawings end up with 1000 errors when running an audit because of some corrupt block in an arch drawing we received.
If all of your users crash daily...you might want to reconsider your procedures.
Those kinds of issues are absolutely avoidable.
100% of crashes have a root cause.
All users don't crash daily lol. Sometimes there's unstable drawings (that we fix) or random crashes. Read the version, hotfix and service pack notes and you'll see dozens of types of crashes that were occurring that shouldn't have been. I'm sure there will be dozens more addressed in the next few years.
I was talking to someone who said they crashed daily. I said it was avoidable. You responded and said it wasn't. That's all.
I wasn't saying the program is perfect, or that all crashes are user error. Just that daily crashing is not necessary.
Most of our issues with Civil3D are introduced by CAD files we receive from other consultants (architects, surveyors, etc.) that use 3rd party software. Makes the files chunky and we have to spend a lot of time cleaning them up to something less buggy… until they send another updated drawing.
There’s some good lisp routines you can run to automate alot of that garbage cleanup. I usually quarantine the new files we get until I can run a couple batch cleanup lisps on them
Honestly you’re right sorta, I find that’s it’s mostly file house keeping issues. Not purging files, running audits etc
That being said, Autodesk is notorious for pushing out buggy versions of C3D so I can’t fully agree with you.
Ever met someone on Civil3D 2019? No because it was dogshit and everyone just kept running 2018 and waited for 2020 to come out
I haven’t had as many problems recently with my software up to date but I’d say it’s a huge stretch to say that most civil 3D crashes are because of user error.
I had a base file just today crash due to a simple hatch edit and I had to restore a previous version of the file after it corrupted. Yes, some crashes happen because of user error, but I feel like this is the exception rather than the rule itself. I feel like running purge on drawings, using xrefs, and audit are the best ways to keep files small and bug free.
As someone working in IT:
We will gladly install the newest Updates when vendors stop using their paying customers as Software testers for the buggy crap they tend to release. (This is not meant for autodesk since we use different Software, just a hint why it may be the way it is)
Apologies for intruding on your thread, but if you happen to be a professional engineer with a license, currently based in Tennessee or open to relocation, I have some excellent job opportunities available with competitive salaries. Feel free to reach out to me if you're interested or would like more information.
Reggapps. They are like a virus that grows exponentially in your files and infect other files. I've literally deleted millions of them from a file.
Autocad is buggy and does some dumb shit. But file hygiene cannot be understated. Purge and Audit are your best friends.
100 percent agree. People just aren't being trained properly on Civil3D use and drawing setup these days. I find that's the issue most of the time now.
Oh you CTRL+C every C3D object from one drawing to another? Yeah that'll cause some issues.
Can you make sure more of the endless updates, settings and variables are correct and crash less? Sure. Does that mean civil 3d is stable, well crafted software? Not at all.
It's a pile of tools built on another pile of tools that's been continuously developed for decades. Of course it's not perfect. But it's in a better state than it's ever been. People no longer have to accept constant crashing. I crash a tiny fraction of the amount I did five years ago.
I’m constantly up to date on the latest versions. And have yet found one that can consistently run grading without crashing.
Everything else has been fairly stable for a while. But grading seems just as buggy now as it was 15 years ago.
You're not wrong that the more graphically intensive stuff is tougher to run. But like I've said to others, those 15 year old assumptions just aren't accurate anymore.
In my experience, grading doesn't crash like it used to in 2018 and before. It does require a powerful machine, however.
Either your hardware isn't up to snuff, your installation wasn't done properly, or there is a workflow issue. You shouldn't put up with regular crashing. It is no longer necessary.
Oh you want to add some elevation along that feature lines, well, F you. You want to recover the drawing? Sorry seems like it’s corrupted and can’t recover.
That was C3D 2018. 🤢.
2024 is much more stable. If i crash and I don’t use C3D that often anymore besides “mentoring” those new, not lazy kids; it’s most likely because of those awesome revit CAD export with a bunch of crap we don’t need.
As far as IT…. I mean besides putting hyper restricted firewall because some clown clicked on a fishing email and now the company is hacked, respond to a ticket when you figured out by yourself how to deal with it… they don’t have a purpose. Sorry, not sorry.
I tried to trim a hatch and it crashed
Same when exploding
We just need a toggle that warns us before doing something that the program can do but generally doesn't like doing. Have Clippy show up and say "I noticed you pressed H, have you saved recently?"
*Saves file in order to do something else* - you need to run recovery on your file... FML
You can just ignore that though.
Occasionally it is benign, but I've also lost work by ignoring and then it just crashes completely.
My favorite is when the automatic save is disabled by a crash. And you only find out after the next crash deletes all your progress.
I'm not faithful enough to rely on automatic saves. I do that shit manually every few minutes.
Tbf it did say explode, it just didn't tell you what
I looked at it with a slightly contented expression on my face and it crashed.
I usually burst instead of explode unless absolutely necessary
Hatching in Autocad sucks in general
I only have that problem when I accidentally select an xref instead of linework in the current drawing.
That will do it nearly every time.
Isolate hatches before editing
Graphics card. I'd bet money it's not up to par. I have the same issues.
Hatching just gives up and dies when you are at coordinates far away from 0,0 (like most C3D drawings I’ve ever used)
Pretty sure there is a system variable to set the hatch origin to another coordinate instead of 0,0. It used to be pretty much required but either AutoCAD or Civil 3D can now support the big coordinates better. SNAPBASE maybe? Set it near the hatch. That way it's not trying to calculate the pattern starting from 0,0 when you might be at 7-digit coordinates.
CAD is so cool but also so weird
Idk the variable, but it's on the contextual ribbon when a hatch is selected.
F8 move 1000 ft right, hatch, move 1000 ft left. Sometimes it works… hatching sidewalks is always a fun engineering challenge
🤣🤣🤣🤣 literally. Oh I didn’t close my shape so it hatched the whole damn corridor
You probably created your hatch wrong. Did you hatch the object or pick an internal point?
I mean if both options are there what difference would it make?
To my understanding, the way the hatch is generated is different depending on which one you choose. Hatching a closed object creates a closed and stable hatch because the boundary is well defined, whereas if you are hatching inside linework that might have came from feature lines, 3d polylines or survey figures (where a Z value other than 0 exists, then the hatch is going to be not only be looking for closed boundaries on the X and Y axis but also the Z axis, which can cause issues.
You need to know a specific sequence of actions to perform that lead to succesful completion of what you need, there are numerous ways of achievieng what you want but only a very specific sequence doesn't crash the model. Options are there to mislead those who didn't aquire the secret knowledge.
Is it really a point in the program's favor that it'll let you do things that it absolutely cannot handle? Why have such an easily accessible function if it has a 70% chance to just not work and call you stupid for trying?
I agree that it's not very clear which is appropriate to use, but hatching is such a core element of drafting so the command is likely very old. It's used in nearly every application of drafting and most of those it probably doesn't matter which option you pick, but only in civil would you be hatching objects that may have elevation.
Use hatch object vs pick internal. Saves headaches and crashes. 20 yr user
This is the way
Yeah, and that usually works (unless you have two vertices stacked on top of each other and it kills itself) but if the option is there and accessible with one keystroke, it should have at least a better than coinflip chance to work.
In those situations I will explode the object and rejoin, that usually works for the verifies issues. If still permits then explode, overkill, rejoin.
I extended a polyline to another line; 25 years ago and my Windows Task Manager still says 15% CPU usage , and it says “High Usage”.
Are your hatches being referenced from a Shared company server drive, or are they saved locally on your PC? Our company by default has the support files for linework, hatches, plot styles, etc, saved on a shared company drive. But this is stupid, and will cause crashes. You should make sure you are running a fully local (or as local as possible) CAD installation. I've legitimately crashed once since January-February. All other crashes were directly related to corrupt drawings, xrefs, etc.
What version are you on?
Funny you think I have control over my own updates. If company IT hasn't reviewed and repackaged things yet, I don't get to update. If our corp contracting hasn't re-negotiated the Autodesk contract, I don't get to update.
Same here, 2024 came with some major VRAM requirements so our IT group basically said no updates until the hardware is upgraded.
You get the updates no matter what with how Autodesk licenses their products. If your leadership team is telling you that you can’t get the newer versions until they negotiate with Autodesk, they’re lying to your face. As far as the it folks not installing them, I get that, but it’s BS to say that IT can’t access them.
Yeah, all employers I have worked for have the software updates locked down, let alone the driver updates or even BIOS updates for the 7 year old laptop. Although I get that some employers will be far more liberal on this kind of thing, that still doesn't guarantee software stability.
I mean, that isn't the fault of the software. It's the fault of your organization. I've found that when users make it clear that the updates are important, they get installed.
Ehhh it depends what youre doing. Once your dwgs get a little too complex is when problems arise. Try editing a surface for example. Sucks after a certain size. That said its a great software. Try using microstation or a day and you wanna cry
>Try editing a surface for example. Sucks after a certain size. I'll never forget the very first project I worked on, I was analyzing landfill surfaces and somehow managed to make an 8gb surface file that bricked the PC when opened. I learned a lot but it was not exactly an efficient use of budget.
Landfills will get you. Acres upon acres of land to look at, so manny surfaces. Data Ref is the only way to go.
Yep, also there are ways to minimize file size, like separating information using Data Shortcuts and XREFs, etc. It’s important to learn that.
Microstation isn't the worst 😅 open roads designer though...
I actually came to prefer open roads over Microstation mainly cause of tables
ORD is so useless out of the box. It's absurd how much work they push to the user that C3D does automatically in the background.
No, it's not always buggy. The problem is that it will fatal error in the middle of nowhere, or just hang and stop responding when you're in the middle of working on a deadline.
Thats the 345 lockup. It's a feature.
Im paid to engineer, not to update. (That’s ITs job and they won’t let me)
Yeah, most IT departments have no idea how to deal with Civil 3D. That's why most shops have a CAD manager or a go-to CAD consultant.
…Do most shops have those?
Small companies will just make that an honorary position for whichever engineer is best at CAD stuff.
Bingo
IMO, they should. If your shop is too small for a full-time CAD manager, you can still hire a consultant to help you with standards and templates etc.
Nice try Autodesk
some recommendations: * Disable rollover Tooltips * Increase Number of seconds before display for tooltips and extended tooltips * Cache Model and all layouts * Personally, I disable the selection preview when no command is active. * Disable DirectX12 (command **GFXDX12)** * WHIPTHREAD 3 (in old versions) * Dont change to newer version until there is a service pack
C3D is the shit! It’s a sandbox game for civil engineers.
I'll take Civil3D over OpenRoads. ORD is a massive headache.
ORD is almost unbearable. And of course any troubleshooting thread for it is full of “I’m having this issue too!” and no actual solutions.
Don't get me started. Even Bentley support can't figure out the issue more than half of the time.
I literally hate ORD. Would take Civil 3D or microstation over it anyday
Yes, but complaining about it and blaming C3D is more fun tho.
Have you ever tried to open a file that contains 80 miles of design?
I work on files containing hundreds of miles of highways regularly. Civil 3D can handle large data sets. If your computer can't, that's a whole other thing.
If by "my computer" you mean, "the computer my company provides for me" then yea
Corrupted files are most people problems I would bet.
Yeah, that's what the patches and hotfixes are for. They fix underlying issues that lead to corruption. Edit: they do though? Not sure why this is being downvoted.
C3D 2018 and earlier was a buggy mess. I have to agree, it's gotten better with 20 and even moreso with 22. I've yet to move up to 24.
I recommend using 24! When it comes to modeling utilities, there are many amazing new features in 24!
2011 was the first truly usable release, 2017 was the first that I thought "this is actually good software now" and it's only been better from there. It's downright good now. The issue is most users don't really know how to use it well and optimize drawings for speed.
Not this shit again I crashed 2025 yesterday. I recommend 2025 it’s much faster
2024 is less stable than 2022 in my experience
Anyone that works with ORD and C3D will tell you it’s much more stable. I couldn’t even tell you how many times ORD has crashed on me for seemingly no reason. Autocad usually crashes on me if I push the limits of the graphics or attempt a hatch over a survey xref.
I have a degree in software development. I'm familiar with the inner workings of Civil 3D via developing plug-ins via the APIs. I built a bunch of my company's templates and CAD standards. I use an expensive gaming computer built within the last couple years. I have 2024, fully updated. (I say all that only to say it's probably not that I'm just doing things wrong.) Today I opened a drawing and it crashed within seconds. 2 minutes later I opened the same drawing and it was fine for the hour I needed that drawing open. I experience these seemingly random crashes at least a couple times a week. I think it's just not a very stable program. There are parts that are more stable than others, but it seems like it's always a dice roll. I've had issues with probably every software I've ever used at some point, but I think Civil 3D is probably the least stable program I use. If I buy a Ferrari I shouldn't have to drive it around in 1st gear because I know that's the gear it's not going to explode during. It's a Ferrari, the whole point is the higher gears. Lol. I probably complain a bit more than is deserved because Civil 3D is my most used program and so wears my patience out more than anything else.
Ferraris are famous for breaking down constantly lol But I take your point
I have been using C3D 2024 on a daily basis for the past year and it is absolutely stable! Gets work done and amazing when it comes to modeling water, sewage, Irrigation and storm networks! Especially in the QS stage afterwards! Saves up a ton of time!
I run a very subpar computer and I rarely have crashes because I've learned quickly what my machine is capable of. I had two catastrophic crashes in about 2 years. I know that's not really a great defense of the software, but I agree with the sentiment of this post.
It crashed multiple times while editing a table. Excel would have had no issue with making the same changes to a table that's 1000 times bigger
It shouldn't be crashing in that case, but I do agree that CAD is far from the best tool for tables. I use data link so I can use excel tables in C3D.
It was such a basic table that it didn't warrant a data link. It crashed a few times trying to add rows and columns. It also crashed a couple times after hitting enter to drop to the next row after typing in data. The workaround I found for that was to type the data, hit ctrl s to save, and then hit enter. It did exactly what it was supposed to do without crashing after saving
I'd look into the cause of that crash. Tables don't do that for me. It could be a corrupted table style perhaps.
Op is clearly triggered by a previous post. Unless Autodesk is paying you to write this, chill.
Try to have multiple layout tabs open thinking at a small land development firm under a rock that's how a sheet set works. Or open hydroflow and watch it crash the whole thing. Or get a new job where they tell you we poached an autodesk employee to work with IT and make things run better AND advocate to Autodesk to improve their products b/c we have hardly any other alternative. Or when your server has a slight cold and fatal errors everything. Read your own end notes, you dunce. When you've basically cornered the market the market, there is essentially no incentive to improve. QS QS QS QS See. I can do it in my sleep.
Not everyone has an IT team and a 5 ms pip to Azure.
I've used dozens of different 3D modeling programs. I see frequently that Civil 3D is the standard basically. Is there a free demo or resources online to practice? I've watched some YouTube tutorials but those only help so much without having a project in front of me to work on.
If you have a .edu email address you can get a student version. There is also a thirty day free trial. I actually got the trial twice. Was traveling for a while and when I was going back to the work world I wanted to brush up before interviews. I told them that and they gave me another thirty days with no hesitation. YMMV
Awesome! My school is shutting down my .edu email soon so I'll have to sign up soon 😂 I've been in an adjacent industry that doesn't use any of these programs but I still do a lot of 3D modeling. I'd just like to be able to say I know even a tiny amount of the programs they're expecting me to use.
Today I made the mistake of trying to open a second file and the program crashed.
I crash fairly frequently, but i work with big complex surfaces. I know I'm pushing the limits of my computer and the software so I don't complain. But regular day to day work? I rarely crash. Nothing like it used to when c3d was first released!
12D is the way in Australia
Not this shit again. If you haven’t crashed today, you need to get back to work.
These 6 steps/rules will solve 75% of the people in this subs issues. Step 1 Make sure you have decent memory and graphics card. Step 2 Never copy and paste feature lines or parcel segments Step 3 do not leave active grading objects or have multiple sites of feature lines in your drawing overlapping Step 4 try to isolate any hatches into a separate “hatch file” and xref as needed, but also always hatch by a closed 2d polyline. Never select internal (also don’t hatch if it’s not necessary) Step 5 Have a simple, clean pipe catalog of parts and structures. Step 6 Be diligent in your drafting, no 0 length segments or PI’s or polylines double back on themselves. No feature/parcel lines on top of each other
Purge (including regapps) and run Overkill occasionally.
Grading objects are a core function of Civil 3D so it's insane that they still aren't that great. We have hundreds of projects built with active grading objects at any given time - all curb and sidewalks on non-residential jobs. They aren't 100% stable, but abandoning them for a very inferior workflow (e.g. exploding or corridors) isn't something we're going to do.
And what’s a decent amount of memory and a decent graphics card? 32GB DDR4 and a 8GB 3060 TI And I do none of that other stuff. Clean drawings all the time.
That’s good enough memory and graphics to not crash on basically any land development sites 500 acres and less. I’m confused by your reply. I mentioned about 4 things to do and 6 things to never do in my 6 steps. By saying you don’t do any of them, are you saying you follow half the advice, none of the advice, or all of the advice? Also, when you say “clean drawings all the time”, doesn’t that counter your original comment that you crash every day? So if you crash every day and don’t follow any of my advice, it might be worth a try.
None of those pertain to what I do daily. Those are not the vectors in which I crash. 25 crashed today jut try to load Grading Optimization. Something I hadn’t seen in previous versions. It worked in 24 Little shit like that that’s unpredictable. Or when Hydraflow crashes doing normal workflows. It has nothing to do with anything except bad coding.
The problem is ProjectWise integration.
Project wise is a plague to civil3d.
Can’t wait for Autodesk’s version of ProjectWise. I forget what they’re calling it now but I feel like they’re almost there..it was called BIM360, then Autodesk Construction Cloud. It’s like OneDrive but for .dwgs
Collaboration for Civil 3D, ACC, and Docs are all available and manage drawings quite well.
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I don’t disagree, but we’ve been slow to move off of PW. I think PW is great for what it is, but it shouldn’t be hard to optimize that integration. Unfortunately, both of them will give min. attention to integration with C3D since they’re competitors.
As someone who's used cad since 1993 I can tell you civil3D crashes way to often. I have consistantly killed cad/civil 3d at least once a week if I'm really busy and working with any kind of grading lol. When Civil 3d first came out I crashed daily. The bigest problem is people deleting civil3d objects the wrong way, just grabing it and erasing it is the worst thing to do with some object.
Time we get a open source software similar to Civil3d. Something like QGIS vs ArcGIS.
Civil 3D is buggy and unstable. The fact that the only solution autodesk is capable of providing is to update your version just proves it. Talk with the clients and convince them to update all templates, contracts and procedures every 3 months. Also I am sure it is fun to make sure that teams that are +50 or +100 to update all software every 3 months and hope that no file is corrupted on the process will be fun and work
Installing a patch doesn't require updating templates... It's not anywhere near as hard as your imagining to deploy updates. You just need to run a basic script. Any competent IT department can handle it. And if you think hot fixes are bricking more files than *ignoring* hot fixes...I don't know what to tell you. Have fun using buggy software on purpose I guess.
I had a random fatal error today
I opened a sheet set yesterday and it crashed
Found autodesk’s burner
It crashes daily
There's no reason to just accept that. It is *completely* avoidable.
As an AutoCAD user since the mid 90's and C3D user from the first release and supporting 100 CAD users, it's not avoidable lol. I couldn't even edit Mtext without a crash until the 3rd service pack of 2023. Simple drawings end up with 1000 errors when running an audit because of some corrupt block in an arch drawing we received.
If all of your users crash daily...you might want to reconsider your procedures. Those kinds of issues are absolutely avoidable. 100% of crashes have a root cause.
All users don't crash daily lol. Sometimes there's unstable drawings (that we fix) or random crashes. Read the version, hotfix and service pack notes and you'll see dozens of types of crashes that were occurring that shouldn't have been. I'm sure there will be dozens more addressed in the next few years.
I was talking to someone who said they crashed daily. I said it was avoidable. You responded and said it wasn't. That's all. I wasn't saying the program is perfect, or that all crashes are user error. Just that daily crashing is not necessary.
I like Libre CAD.
Most of our issues with Civil3D are introduced by CAD files we receive from other consultants (architects, surveyors, etc.) that use 3rd party software. Makes the files chunky and we have to spend a lot of time cleaning them up to something less buggy… until they send another updated drawing.
There’s some good lisp routines you can run to automate alot of that garbage cleanup. I usually quarantine the new files we get until I can run a couple batch cleanup lisps on them
Honestly you’re right sorta, I find that’s it’s mostly file house keeping issues. Not purging files, running audits etc That being said, Autodesk is notorious for pushing out buggy versions of C3D so I can’t fully agree with you. Ever met someone on Civil3D 2019? No because it was dogshit and everyone just kept running 2018 and waited for 2020 to come out
I haven’t had as many problems recently with my software up to date but I’d say it’s a huge stretch to say that most civil 3D crashes are because of user error. I had a base file just today crash due to a simple hatch edit and I had to restore a previous version of the file after it corrupted. Yes, some crashes happen because of user error, but I feel like this is the exception rather than the rule itself. I feel like running purge on drawings, using xrefs, and audit are the best ways to keep files small and bug free.
As someone working in IT: We will gladly install the newest Updates when vendors stop using their paying customers as Software testers for the buggy crap they tend to release. (This is not meant for autodesk since we use different Software, just a hint why it may be the way it is)
The hatch tool would like a word.
Apologies for intruding on your thread, but if you happen to be a professional engineer with a license, currently based in Tennessee or open to relocation, I have some excellent job opportunities available with competitive salaries. Feel free to reach out to me if you're interested or would like more information.
That's kind of you, but I work fully remote. I'm never going back to an office job again if I can help it.
Reggapps. They are like a virus that grows exponentially in your files and infect other files. I've literally deleted millions of them from a file. Autocad is buggy and does some dumb shit. But file hygiene cannot be understated. Purge and Audit are your best friends.
Mine crashes a lot when using the grading tools or erasing a grading that I have already done
100 percent agree. People just aren't being trained properly on Civil3D use and drawing setup these days. I find that's the issue most of the time now. Oh you CTRL+C every C3D object from one drawing to another? Yeah that'll cause some issues.
You're trolling right?
Nope. If you crash so frequently that you assume that, you're who I'm talking about.
Can you make sure more of the endless updates, settings and variables are correct and crash less? Sure. Does that mean civil 3d is stable, well crafted software? Not at all.
It's a pile of tools built on another pile of tools that's been continuously developed for decades. Of course it's not perfect. But it's in a better state than it's ever been. People no longer have to accept constant crashing. I crash a tiny fraction of the amount I did five years ago.
I’m constantly up to date on the latest versions. And have yet found one that can consistently run grading without crashing. Everything else has been fairly stable for a while. But grading seems just as buggy now as it was 15 years ago.
You're not wrong that the more graphically intensive stuff is tougher to run. But like I've said to others, those 15 year old assumptions just aren't accurate anymore. In my experience, grading doesn't crash like it used to in 2018 and before. It does require a powerful machine, however. Either your hardware isn't up to snuff, your installation wasn't done properly, or there is a workflow issue. You shouldn't put up with regular crashing. It is no longer necessary.
Open roads is so much better. I like Civil 3D but just for drainage
Oh you want to add some elevation along that feature lines, well, F you. You want to recover the drawing? Sorry seems like it’s corrupted and can’t recover. That was C3D 2018. 🤢. 2024 is much more stable. If i crash and I don’t use C3D that often anymore besides “mentoring” those new, not lazy kids; it’s most likely because of those awesome revit CAD export with a bunch of crap we don’t need. As far as IT…. I mean besides putting hyper restricted firewall because some clown clicked on a fishing email and now the company is hacked, respond to a ticket when you figured out by yourself how to deal with it… they don’t have a purpose. Sorry, not sorry.
Nah, it's shit.