AUGIWORLD March 2025 Issue

Tip and Tricks

We can all use new input, more help, and more knowledge for all things in life!

This month at AUGIWORLD join us as we focus on our most progressive and productive tips and tricks.
 
In the March 2025 issue:

• Procrastinating — Mark Kiker explores the nature of procrastination, differentiating it from laziness and highlighting common causes such as fear of failure, perfectionism, and feeling overwhelmed. He emphasizes the importance of setting deadlines, reducing the scope of projects, staggering deliverables, and finding internal motivation to overcome procrastination. Mark concludes by advising readers to be kind to themselves when they procrastinate, acknowledging that it is a common human experience, and encourages them to refocus their efforts and maintain a proactive approach to their work.

• AutoCAD Architecture 2025: Tips & Tricks in ACA — Melinda Heavrin discusses how AutoCAD Architecture provides architects with specialized tools for efficient design and drafting, including layer management, enhanced object selection, intelligent dimensioning, powerful rendering capabilities, and robust geographic location features. These tools streamline workflows, improve accuracy, and enhance the overall design process.

• Civil 3D: Tips and Tricks — In this article Shawn Herring explores several often-overlooked features within Civil 3D that can significantly enhance workflow efficiency. These include improved surface editing capabilities, advanced labeling techniques, streamlined grading transitions, efficient corridor editing within the Section Editor, innovative parcel creation methods, enhanced stage storage analysis, and the utilization of the Volumes Dashboard for effective earthwork management. By incorporating these tips and tricks, Civil 3D users can streamline their design processes and achieve greater efficiency in their projects.

• Weekly BIM Mastery: Tips and Tricks — Jason Peckovitch describes the “Weekly BIM Mastery” program, an internal initiative designed to enhance Building Information Modeling (BIM) knowledge and skills within a company’s Buildings Business Line. Delivered through SharePoint, the program provides weekly tips, tricks, and best practices on BIM software and workflows, covering topics like Revit, Navisworks, and Autodesk Construction Cloud. By focusing on practical applications and emphasizing continuous learning, the program empowers team members to improve project efficiency, enhance collaboration, and deliver higher-quality projects.

• What can I do with a point cloud in Autodesk Civil 3D 2025? — Ms. Eva Helps demonstrates how to effectively utilize point cloud data within Autodesk Civil 3D 2025. She outlines the process of attaching point clouds in .rcp or .rcs format, generated using Autodesk Recap, and explores various visualization techniques, including adjusting display properties and creating cross-sections. She further details how to extract data from point clouds, such as creating surfaces, snapping to points for linework, and generating section views. By leveraging these capabilities, civil engineers can enhance their design accuracy, improve visualization, and streamline workflows, ultimately leading to more efficient and successful projects.

• Life Lessons: An OG CAD Designers’ Perspective — Mark Behrens a veteran CAD designer shares lessons learned throughout his career. He emphasizes that failure is a valuable learning experience and highlights the importance of seeking solutions from online resources and attending conferences to stay up-to-date and improve one’s skills.

• BricsCAD moves the Business Needle (Part 2): Tips and Tricks — Mr. Craig Swearingen explores the crucial role of effective drafting standards and best practices in improving efficiency and productivity within a BricsCAD environment. He emphasizes the importance of developing comprehensive standards documents, leveraging templates for consistent design, providing thorough user training, automating repetitive tasks, conducting regular audits, and encouraging feedback to refine standards over time. By implementing these strategies and utilizing BricsCAD’s powerful tools, such as the Standards Checker and DWGHealth, organizations can enhance drawing quality, reduce errors, and achieve greater efficiency in their design workflows.

• AutoCAD: How do you Calc? — Paul Li chronicles the evolution of calculators within AutoCAD, from its initial absence to the introduction of the QuickCalc command. Early versions lacked a dedicated calculator, forcing users to rely on external tools or cumbersome AutoLISP commands. He highlights the ongoing evolution of calculation tools within AutoCAD and encourages users to find the most suitable method for their individual needs, whether it’s a physical calculator, a custom solution like DDCalc, or the built-in QuickCalc command.

• Inside Track 5b: Let’s Look at DiRoots! (cont’d) — Rina Sahay delves into several DiRoots add-ins, including the DiRoots App Manager for managing all Revit add-ins, DiStellar (Beta), a web-based IFC viewer with limitations on larger models, and DiRootsOne for AutoCAD (Beta), which enhances element filtering and searching. She emphasizes the importance of judicious add-in usage to prevent performance issues and recommends enabling or disabling add-ins as needed to maintain optimal software performance.