Civil 3D on a high resolution tablet

[odoshi]

More of a public service announcement than a question --

I recently picked up a Surface Pro 4 which runs a native 2736 X 1824 resolution, with text scaled at 200% (default settings).

Out of the box, AutoCAD (and all its flavors) just runs as if it is a normal display, so most of the UI is not readable without a magnifying glass.

Now, if you are using a 30" 4k screen, things may work out. But if you have a Surface or other ultrabook/tablet with a 13" screen or smaller, your toolbar buttons are the size of a gnat. 

So, I found this nice post with a solution - that works - and allows AutoCAD to scale up to that 200% setting.

http://www.danantonielli.com/adobe-app-scaling-on-high-dpi-displays-fix/

Download their sample .manifest file and stick it in the acad.exe directory with the name acad.exe.manifest.

Bottom line: You too can look cool sporting Civil 3D on a Surface Pro 4. (Yes, I hocked my Apple Macbook Air) 🙂

New specs are an i5, 8GB RAM, and a 256GB SSD - and it still rocks.

[tcorey]

Hi Mike,

Would you care to tell us how much that set you back? Can you add more RAM? Larger SSD?

Tim

[odoshi]

So-- They are all pre-configured with set processor/RAM/Hard Drive combinations and are not expandable.

I went with the middle of the road. You definitely want 8GB RAM for CAD. I paid $1299, plus added the keyboad cover for $129, plus a wireless HD adapter to project to a large screen.

You also will want to get more than the base 128GB hard drive, because Windows will eventually eat all that up.

It's for portability more than anything. As a trainer, I don't like lugging a 15 lb laptop around (with charger and bag).

Hope that helps...

[sboon]

Drool....

Please post pictures.

Steve
Please use the Accept as Solution or Kudo buttons when appropriate

[odoshi]

Not a product pic, but a screen grab of C3D running with a small drawing.

This screenshot is 2736 x 1824, but on the high DPI screen, feels about half that size, 1368 x 912. Still more than enough room for the largest of dialog boxes that may pop up in CAD.

Before I edited the registry and applied the manifest file, you could barely read Prospector.

Regards,

[sboon]

What is it like from a operator's perspective - using the keyboard, trackpad etc.  Can you use the stylus input for drafting?  What about battery performance?

Steve
Please use the Accept as Solution or Kudo buttons when appropriate

[odoshi]

You'll still need a mouse for CAD. Middle button pan and real-time zoom are a must to navigate.

Battery life is about 8 hours, but I haven't run it down to 0 yet.

The keyboard feels like a normal keyboard. I had little need to adjust my typing style (which after nearly 2 decades of computer work, is still hunt and peck). And at night, the backlit keyboard is a savior.

The pen, which I mainly keep stuck to the side of the screen, is very responsive when I do use it. I've sketched some drawings in MS Paint. The double click of the "eraser" captuers a windows screen shot - pretty cool. A single click starts OneNote, which was pretty good at keeping up with my cursive writing with the stylus.

If you're on the go, it shouldn't cramp your style. But if you have 8 hours of CAD work to do, better dock it and get a full keyboard and mouse to boot, and a full size screen of course.

I do a fair amount of programming, and moving the cursor around requires the arrow keys, which are useable, but the up/down keys are 1/2 size. So if you're a keyboard warrior and cut/copy/pasting paragraphs of code or text, you might find it a bit slower but not unusable.

It's got my stamp of approval. I've been waiting for hardware to come out in this size and still be usable.

[Anonymous]

This solution worked perfertly (on Autocad) until I rebooted and restarted, then went back to the way it was.  I've checked the registry and the changed are still there, the manifest file is still there, but everything is like it was before the fix.