BIM on the Rocks

Creating a Land Use Theme in Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler

My state has a nice land use shapefile. It contains polygons that are labeled things like “airport”, “forest”, “mixed urban” and “single family residential”. Your state or county might have zoning information. Or you probably have access to things like flood zone polygons, or similar.

I want to make a theme based on these land use types.

After I import the data, I go into the Configure dialog, just like I showed you the other day. In addition to all of the normal configuring stuff about style and draping, I need to tell Infrastructure Modeler which field in my data is important to me. In this case, I know the LANDUSE07 field contains the information that I’d want to “theme”, so I pick that for the NAME field.

Next, choose Analyze > Feature Themes.

For the Property, you want to theme on the Name. That’s the field I assigned to my LANDUSE07 information.

I can pick a color range, or assign individual colors to each unique property. Also note, I can made the theme transparent.

Now, I can see all of my different land uses in color!

Think of all of the valuable things you could theme to show your client their options for a project, or work on region planning, how about watershed studies? Lots of great ideas.

Another Way to Use Tooltips in Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler

Earlier, I showed you how to read a field in an imported data file to create a tooltip. There are a few other ways you might use tooltips in your model.

In this case, I’ve located a historic site near my project. It didn’t come from GIS data, maybe I was doing research at the county or my archeologist alerted me to the affected parcels.

I can create a Coverage Area and assign my own custom style.

 

Once the Coverage Area is created, I select it then right-click > Properties.

In the Properties dialog, I can manually type what I would like the tooltip to be. I could also use the %NAME% or any other field in the tooltip, just like I showed you in the last post on tooltips. Be sure to UPDATE the model (or check Auto Update).

Remember that tooltips don’t work in edit mode. Change back to “Explore Model”

Now when I hover over the area, I see the tooltip.

What else can you use this for?

Making Tooltips in Infrastructure Modeler

I have a shapefile of Land Use in my state. I want to make it so that when I hover over one of the polygons that it tells me the land use.

Like this:

In the Data Sources dialog, I right-click on my Land Use entry and choose Configure. In the Data Source Configuration dialog, I need to tell Infrastructure Modeler which field in the dataset matters to me. I’m going to say that the Name of each polygon should be the LANDUSE07 field. I know that is the field that will give me the information I need.

Next, I switch to the Tooltip tab. This is where I say- use that NAME field as the tooltip. Type %Name% in the Tooltip space.

Close and refresh.

I need to make sure I am out of editing mode to see tooltips. Switch to Explore Model first.

Now, I can explore my model and see different land uses.

Curious about how I did the color theme? Check out Monday’s post on theming in Infrastructure Modeler!

Importing Parcels with Black Outlines in Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler

Hello there again! Yes, I am knee deep in Infrastructure Modeler this week. Have I mentioned that Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler is part of the Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite? Well, now you know!

Yesterday, I left you with a model that included images, terrain and water. Well, how about some parcels? Or maybe you’ve tried importing parcels and couldn’t figure out the best way to display them.

First, import your file that has the parcel data. My county serves this up as SHP. You could also make your own SHP, SDF, or whatever using Map 3D tools and bring those in.

You’ll import and nothing will happen- because you ALWAYS need to configure when importing into Infrastructure Modeler.

Assign Coverage as type.

Now, in theory, you should assign a style here. But right now, the only choices are like sand and grass and other stuff that makes no sense for parcels. So I’m going to leave it blank for now. We’ll make a style in a second. Or maybe two seconds.

Select Drape so that the parcels are projected onto your terrain.

Wait, nothing happened? Time to panic? No, remember, we didn’t assign a style yet. If you hover over a parcel, you can see that they “light up”. They are just invisible to the naked eye.

So bring up the Style Palette, and then press the green (+) sign to make a new style!

I made mine to have no fill color and a black outline.

Go back into Configure and assign your new style.

Boom!

Tomorrow- how to add tool tips that tell you the parcel number! (or anything else interesting.)

Adding That Pretty Water to Your Infrastructure Model

Yesterday, I posted about setting model extents in Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler using the new interactive tool.

Someone on twitter asked “What happened to the moving water?”

The model in my window just contains some aerial imagery. If I want water, I need to find some water polygons or lines to add to my model. I could also draw some using the water tool, or make my own polygons in AutoCAD, Map 3D or Civil 3D and bring them in. I found some in this area from the NHD dataset, so I can use those. Other good datasets include- wetlands polygons, or even floodplains, depending on what you are trying to show.

Import the files that you want to use, then right-click > Configure on the Data Sources panel.

Use the pencil button to pick a water style.

Water works best when it is draped on a terrain, so be sure to chose “Drape”. Infrastructure Modeler will project the polygons on to any terrain in the model.

Ooooooh. Aaaaaah.

Consider the possibilities beyond making your existing condition. You can combine design data, analysis outputs, and GIS information to tell a lot of stories here.

1. What would your neighborhood look like if we don’t fix this stormwater pond?

2. How much water is on the road during a 100 year storm?

3. Would a water feature look better here or over here?

Setting Model Extents with Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler 2013 R2

There is a new version of Infrastructure Modeler available for subscription customers! It has a lot of new tools. I have a few projects to do with Infrastructure Modeler between now and Autodesk University, so I should be able to post tidbits as I run into them.

Sometimes, it the small things that make a difference. There is now an interactive tool for defining your model extents. You don’t have to trim down your data beforehand, or try to figure out coordinates.

I like to start with all of the imagery for the area I am working on. Then:

1. Pull down the “I” and choose Model Settings

2. Choose Define Interactively.

3. Use the BBox tool to select the area you need.

Now, when I import things like- an entire state’s worth of road data- I’ll only get the pieces that fall within my model extents. Hooray!

See what John wrote about Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler R2 here.

10,000 Fans for AutoCAD Civil 3D Facebook Page

Three years ago, I started a Civil 3D Facebook page just because it seemed like something I should do. This week, we reached 10,000 fans! (Note: I am assured that is not Comic Sans in the image. It’s Arial Rounded MT Bold. I checked.)

September has always been a big month for Civil 3D. I mean who could forget the September of 2007 when the world was blessed with both Prospector and the first edition of Mastering Civil 3D?

Or September 2009, the same month I started the Civil 3D Facebook page, when I visited Hazen and Sawyer to help record a customer story, and discover The Critical Path to Ice Cream?

Thanks for all of your support the past three years on Facebook. The Civil 3D page has been a bit of a grass roots effort. We haven’t done any paid promotions to date, so our fan base has grown thanks to your shares and likes. The page will evolve over the next few months, so “like” us and let us know what you want to see!

Using Raster Design to Merge Images For Draping in Civil 3D

I’m leaving on vacation tomorrow, which means I am really busy trying to finish a bunch of projects. Perfect time to take time out to blog, right?

Once of the projects I am working on has some tiled imagery. I wanted to show this imagery draped on a surface, but you can only drape one image onto a surface. I have six images! Time to panic!

But wait! Remember when I showed you how to merge images using Raster Design? Remember when I said that Raster Design is now part of the Infrastructure Design Suite?

Magic. One image! I’ll want to export it out with its own world file, etc. etc. etc.

Now, I select my surface and look up at the incredibly handy and very easy to use (you know you love it) context sensitive panel. Surface Tools > Drape Image.

Kapow!

Remember that you need to have triangles visible in the style

Also handy for merging images for use in 3DS Max Design and Infrastructure Modeler. Good news- those are also part of the Infrastructure Design Suite!

Carry on.

Using Raster Design to Crop and Convert MrSID

Connecting to a Raster Image through the FDO

Favorite Uses for Raster Design: Georeferencing Scanned Images

Favorite Uses for Raster Design: Cropping Aerial Imagery

Transforming Images from One Coordinate System to Another

Registration Now Live! Infrastructure Symposium at #AU2012

A few weeks ago, I posted about the Infrastructure Symposium at Autodesk University this year.

AU2012 Registration is now live!  I want to invite you to also register for the Infrastructure Symposium on Monday, November 26, 2012.

The Autodesk Infrastructure Symposium will provide peer networking opportunities across owner/operators and the ecosystem of engineering, design, and construction firms who are focused on supporting infrastructure segments. The symposium will kick off with a general session where an executive panel will discuss industry and technology trends, followed by presentations on game changing technology that is setting the tone for the discussions that will take place in the breakout sessions. 

(We’ll have a more detailed agenda in the next two weeks as we confirm some speakers. I know you’ll be pleased.)

· Register now for both AU 2012 and the Infrastructure Symposium

· Registration code: INFSYM2012

What if I have already registered for AU 2012?   If you completed your AU2012 registration, and now want to add the Infrastructure Symposium to your registration, you will need to call toll free +1-888-371-1722 (or direct +1-415-446-7717) between 08:00 a.m. – 05:00 p.m. (Pacific).  Make sure to provide your code: INFSYM2012.  Or contact us for assistance at infrastructure.symposium.2012@autodesk.com.

What if I am not planning to attend AU, can I still attend the Monday Infrastructure Symposium and breakouts? You can register for the Symposium only at the same link using the registration code as above.

Friday Whetstone: Reliving 1996

When I decided to go to Georgia Tech, the three biggest things that influenced my decision were:

1. I had seen Gone with the Wind so many times that I knew I wouldn’t have any trouble finding my way around Atlanta.
2. I was rejected by my first choice school (Your loss, Rice University), and going to college in my home state just seemed like a non adventure.
3. The Olympics would be on campus in the summer after my sophomore year.

I managed to get myself a job at the newly constructed Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in the Summer of 1995. I worked as a lifeguard and pool staff during the regular school year and they kept us on during the Olympics. It was a terrific experience and I am grateful for the opportunity.

The logistics behind designing, building running an Olympic venue were mind blowing, but we were compensated well. The most valuable piece of compensation was this little paper strip that you could stick into a Coke machine instead of a dollar and get all the free Coke you could drink! Keep in mind, I was 19 and sleeping in my friend’s living room along with all of her relatives that were in town for the events, so I wasn’t too picky.

I had some mild hero worship issues with venue architect and site manager, Craig Penzler. I used to carry around a notebook and pen and take copious notes of all of the cool things I would make sure I designed into my sports venues when I was a famous sport venue engineer. Then, in the fall of 1996, I took structures and decided to take another look at dirt.

We kicked out pay TV in favor of web services a few years ago, and we don’t get an NBC station with our antennae, so I offered myself up as a babysitter to a few of my neighbors this week to watch the games. I love watching the sports, but I always look for the behind the scenes stuff and I know that somewhere, behind those perfectly branded barriers, there is a 19 year old girl counting trashcans and lining up chairs in the ready area.

After the Olympics, we had a very short summer semester where I took Fluids (not very memorable) and Engineering Ethics with Dr. Leroy Z. Emkin. On the first day of class, Dr. Emkin delivered an energetic lecture about how computers would destroy our careers, rot our minds and create the illusion that any monkey could design infrastructure and the public would no longer feel they needed engineers. The great irony here is that Dr. Emkin is the Founder and Co-Director of the Computer Aided Structural Engineering center at Georgia Tech, which was, and still is, well known for the application GT STRUDL.

Coincidentally, I had been reading a book called Silicon Snake Oil: Second Thoughts on the Information Highway. While Clifford Stoll was an avid computer user in 1995, he believed that the dreams of internet grandeur were bloated. Last week, Panorama and I were at the library, and if my nostalgia for the summer of 1996 wasn’t already keeping me floating through a flashback dreamworld, here was Silicon Snake Oil begging for a reread 16 years later.

The book is so charming, so readable, so very right and so totally completely wrong. It’s like Bill Bryson meets Robert Scoble.

For example:

Well, I don’t believe that phone books, newspapers, magazines, or corner video stores will disappear as computer networks spread. Nor do I think my telephone will merge with my computer, to become some sort of information appliance.

As I sit on the couch turning the pages, I’m tempted to throw on some Deana Carter and ponder if it’s really the Olympics and the sweaty Atlanta summer and the wide eyed wonder of this new toy the internet that I miss, or being nineteen and still holding on to some small amount of hope that I would enjoy my structures class that fall?