Civil 3D Project Environment

[mlw]

Is it possible to share data in a project between drawings on a single computer or between multiple users in an office working on the same project without using Vault? We have just upgraded to Civil 3D 2007 from LDT 3 and the project environment we are used to is gone. I have viewed a webcast about data sharing but it was on C3D 2006 and I'm not sure if the differences I'm seeing are due to the different version of the software or because we arent currently running vault.
Any help would be appreciated.
Mike

[freddy_j]

I'm using vault on a small scale and have had good luck with it. Granted, it requires someone mantaining it to keep the sizes down. There's something about data short cuts people use which is like xrefs of alignments, surfaces, and profiles. This is a oversimplification so do some research. To answer your question though, it's very possible.

Fred Mitchell
APAI

[mlw]

I saw the data shortcuts on the webcast but I didn't know if Vault was required for that to work. When you say it's very possible do you mean to share data without Vault?

Thanks,
Mike

[kirknoonan]

Persistent data shortcuts have been re-instated in 2007 SP3, and they work well if you don't want to switch to the vault yet.

[Anonymous]

kirknoonan wrote:
> Persistent data shortcuts have been re-instated in 2007 SP3, and they
> work well if you don't want to switch to the vault yet.

Yes, SP3 brought back Data Shortcuts. However, please research in
depth your two options (data shortcuts and Vault) - many people don't
understand the power of Vault, and those that finally DO "get it" are
pretty happy with it.

--
Jason Hickey
www.civil3d.com

[mlw]

We aren't prepared to use vault but need to share data. We just installed SP3 this week. Can you tell me whare the data share is? On the webcast it showed right clicking to attach to project and then right clicking to create data short cut but my only option when I right click is to set the working project folder. The other options aren't there.
Any suggestions?
Mike

[kirknoonan]

Menu drop down General > Data Shortcuts > Edit ...
Create your shortcuts and then export them to a file.
In the target drawing(s) import shortcuts from a file and then create references.

[Anonymous]

I use Data Shortcuts exclusively; they work great. Jason gives good advise
to test both options... you may find vault works better for you. I like the
ability to still access drawings directly without the use of Vault, but you
need to judge for yourself.

--
Larry Bettes
ADT, C3D & LDT/CD
(all 2007 with all SPs installed)
P4 - Dual Core 3.0 GHz, 3.00 GB RAM
nVidia GeForce 6800 GS AGP - 256 MB
Windows XP Pro, SP 2


wrote in message news:5426241@discussion.autodesk.com...
Menu drop down General > Data Shortcuts > Edit ...
Create your shortcuts and then export them to a file.
In the target drawing(s) import shortcuts from a file and then create
references.

[mlw]

We are working through this now and it seem to be what we need. Is the xml file updated automatically? Are there any webcasts or other info on this topic?
Thank you to everyone that helped with this.

Mike

[Anonymous]

with the reinstatement of automatic DS in SP3, these work fabulously. I
choose to create one xml file per project. I simply load the xml shortcut
file before I create any new shortcuts, then overwrite the original file. I
have heard others suggest using a separate xml for each shortcut you
create... more to manage but greater security from corruption. with SP3,
you only need this xml file once... to create the shortcut and use it to
create the reference. Once the reference is created, yes, it updates
automatically. No the XML is not updated automatically.

--
Larry Bettes
ADT, C3D & LDT/CD
(all 2007 with all SPs installed)
P4 - Dual Core 3.0 GHz, 3.00 GB RAM
nVidia GeForce 6800 GS AGP - 256 MB
Windows XP Pro, SP 2


wrote in message news:5426355@discussion.autodesk.com...
We are working through this now and it seem to be what we need. Is the xml
file updated automatically? Are there any webcasts or other info on this
topic?
Thank you to everyone that helped with this.

Mike

[mlw]

One more question on this subject. Can you create the data shortcut for everything at once? So far I've only been able to create shortcuts for each item by selecting on screen one at a time.

[kirknoonan]

Ahh, there you have stumbled upon the shortcoming of the system. Unfortunately, no.

[mlw]

I'm afraid this is going to be more work than most are willing to take the time to do properly, with LDT no one really had to think about it. Our IT department is concerned if we install Vault it will become a major problem for them and if I understand its function correctly I'm concerned without it sharing project info will not be consistent.

[kirknoonan]

Your choice/policy. The system works well if you use it correctly. If you still have some people using LDD, you probably don't want to switch to the Vault.