Getting C3D 2024 Grading Optimization Not Easy

[Cadguru42]

So I decided to try out Grading Optimization for the first time. I've got C3D 2024 installed and remember reading on here that it's finally included with C3D 2024. Except, it's not. And Autodesk has made it a pain to actually find it to download and then use it.

1. Clicking Grading Optimization from the Home tab ribbon brings up a separate window that doesn't even take you directly to the place to get it.
   

   Clicking "How do I install Grading Optimization?" takes you to a webpage that has a convoluted method to get to the download. "Go to Autodesk Account. Select All Products and Services > Civil 3D > Available Downloads > Extensions."

   When you go to your account Grading Optimization is listed by itself as a product next to Civil 3D, which is confusing. That only has the 2022 and 2023 downloads for it. There is no info on that product page that says to go to Civil 3D>Available Downloads>Extensions in order to get the 2024 version.
2. After finally realizing that you have to go to Civil 3D first, getting it downloaded & installed, clicking the giant Grading Optimization button on the Home tab in the ribbon yields yet another window that says to go to another ribbon and tab.
   
   

   Who is doing the UI design at Autodesk? This is one convoluted process to get something that's being promoted as a great new feature. Why does the Home tab in the ribbon have a giant Grading Optimization button if that's not even where it works from? After it's installed, why not remove that button from the Home tab or at least program it to switch to the other ribbon automatically? 

With that said, how many people have used Grading Optimization? Does it work well? Save time compared to the "traditional" feature lines, corridors, etc. methods?

[tcorey]

Thanks for posting that. What threw me off was that I was expecting to find this in the same location as the 2022 and 2023 versions. As you have detailed, 2024 is alone.

[Cadguru42]

Another laughable aspect of the UI is when you have a single screen. I usually keep Toolspace and Properties docked. Opening the Help & Learning, Grading Objects, and creating a Building Pad caused my screen to look like this.

No need to see the model space itself I guess. 🙃

[povard]

Thank you for posting this! I've been searching for over an hour trying to figure out why it wouldn't show up even after installing and restarting. They didn't "optimize" the download experience very well.

[Cadguru42]

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@povard wrote:

Thank you for posting this! I've been searching for over an hour trying to figure out why it wouldn't show up even after installing and restarting. They didn't "optimize" the download experience very well.

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Glad I could help! These large corporations, including Autodesk, have stopped trying to make the user interface of their products actually user friendly anymore. 

As for the actual use of Grading Optimization it went great! I was able to make a preliminary grading plan for a small site that included a driveway and three building pads in just a few hours. 

[Cadguru42]

I'm back to working on this project where I used Grading Optimization. I added a new zone, used a drainage line and a low point, ran GO and told it to update the existing finished ground surface in the drawing. It creates an empty surface and didn't actually update the surface. 

It's been a few months since I touched the surface. Anyone know why my surface would be empty when I tell GO to update the surface?

[tbasilfinnegan]

Running Civil 3D 2024.  Finished optimizing and tried to Update Drawing.  Update existing surface option was grayed out so specified new surface. Hit the Finish button and the screen just sat there and spun for 30 minutes before I stopped it.

[Cadguru42]

Grading Optimization just isn't ready for real world use. 

[brian.strandberg]

I think its getting there, its not going to generate a final design but it will give you a reasonable look at first draft.

[EricPylesCBWV]

This post is a life saver. Thank you.

[Cadguru42]

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@Cadguru42 wrote:As for the actual use of Grading Optimization it went great! I was able to make a preliminary grading plan for a small site that included a driveway and three building pads in just a few hours. 

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This worked great for the preliminary surface. But GO does NOT use double floating point processing for it's calculations. For example, if you want a building pad at elevation 820.5 you'll get a surface that varies between 820.48 and 820.52. It also creates an edge of 0.3' around a building pad that you cannot control the elevation for, so it's not useful for final grading. 

It reminds me of InfraWorks. Seems great for preliminary work, but by the time you get it done and have to create the C3D design you might have well have started there in the first place. 

GO just isn't ready for a real project beyond a preliminary design stage. And you'll get a bloated drawing if you start with it and then need to abandoned it to create the original C3D grading features (feature lines, breaklines, corridors, etc.). So using GO would necessitate creating separate drawings for whatever use it would have. 

[Stephen_ArnoldAUDTZ]

You are totally correct. Super confusing that 2022 & 2023 Optimization have their own download locations, but 2024-2026 are listed under the "extensions" for Civil 3D. You would think it would be the total opposite. 

[hbajana]

Hi all,

When I go to the Analyze tab in Civil 3D 2024, there is no Grading Optimization button. What should I do?

Thanks

[AllenJessup]

Have you downloaded it and installed it? If not. See the first post.