CES323303

Civil 3D on Steroids: How to best configure Civil 3D

Brian Levendowski, PE
CTC Software

Learning Objectives
• Effectively set up all possible CAD content required for Civil 3D
• Configure mobile-friendly, local setup from scratch
• Build a standards setup that makes CAD content management a breeze
• Create Windows scripts to keep CAD content up to date for all users

Description
To work effectively, Civil 3D requires a myriad of data, including Templates, Libraries,
Subassemblies, and more. Now add in a need for users to be mobile. How can someone
possibly understand what all this data is, keep it up to date, and enable users to work off-
network—all with company standards in place? That’s where this class comes in.

We’ll summarize best practices on configuration of all files required to make Civil 3D run like
clockwork, including easy Tool Palettes configuration and flexible AutoCAD Profile
management. We’ll use scripts to set up a simple file-syncing system between users and the
server, enabling them to work off-network with all company standards in place. When users log
back in, they will automatically get any updates made to the standards. Sound like a dream? It’s
not.

The speaker has implemented this at many other firms, saving time and money, and bringing a
new meaning to the phrase “CAD Standards”. All you need to do is show up to this class!

Speaker Bio
As a Civil Engineer, Brian Levendowski, PE is the Civil Product Manager for CTC Software. He
spends his time developing custom applications and plugins for Civil 3D, AutoCAD and the
Infrastructure industry. He is a highly-rated and seasoned Autodesk University Speaker,
specializing in serving the civil infrastructure industry. He has lead many advanced
implementations of BIM software, including Civil 3D. He speaks regularly at regional and local
events, conferences, and professional association meetings. With a practical background as an
airport design engineer and inspector, as well as a land surveyor, he has valuable real-world
experience, and truly understands the application of Autodesk software in the civil engineering
industry.

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CAD Content Required for Civil 3D
There are 30+ files types needed for an effective Civil 3D setup. They can be broken into 10
categories, as shown below in the tree and table. Not all organizations will necessarily need all
files; it depends on the toolsets being used. It’s important to first understand all these file types
and their purpose. Refer to the table to understand where these files are used, and how to set
up Civil 3D to harness them automatically for all users.

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Category File Purpose Path/References

Profile PROFILE.arg Export of an AutoCAD Options>Profiles. Can export

profile. Saves all profile once built, then path to it
settings in Options, as with custom Desktop shortcut
well as most Civil 3D (.lnk file). NOTE: the .arg file is
content locations. more of a zipped-up export of a
Profile, not the actual profile
referenced when working in
AutoCAD, which is saved to
Windows Registry and other
places.
Civil 3D 20XX.lnkDesktop shortcut. Change the Profile switch (“/p”) in
Should be customized the Target field of the properties
to dictate startup to point to the full path and name
PROFILE.arg file. This of the PROFILE.arg.
will force import of the
.arg on first-time startup,
or dictate the profile
defined in the .arg to
continue working with.
Basics LINETYPES.lin Linetype definitions Options>Files>Support Files
Search Path
FONTS.ttf Font definitions “
SHAPE FILES.shx Complex Linetype “
shapes. LIN file
references these.
HATCHES.pat Hatch Definitions “
COMMAND Override or custom “
ALIASES.pgp command aliases.
ACADDOC.lsp Set system variables “
globally without
changing users’
AutoCAD Profile.
Interface CUI.cuix Defines Workspace, Options>Files>Customization
Toolbars, Ribbons, Files>Enterprise
Right-click menus,
Quick Access. In
particular, we want to
use the CUI to control
our Tool Palette
Groups.
Sheets PLOTTERS.pc3 Plotter properties. Options>Files>Printer Support
Chosen when plotting. File Path>Printer Configuration…
PLOTTER Associated with .pc3 Same location as .pc3 files, but in
CALIBRATIONS.pmp files. Contains custom folder “PMP Files”

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 calibrations and paper
sizes.
PLOT STYLE.ctb Translation file between Options>Files>Printer Support
(stb) screen appearance and File Path>Plot Style Table..
plot. Commonly controls
plot color and
lineweight.
PLAN Sheet Template. Options>Files>Printer Support
PRODUCTION Contains multiple layout File Path>Default Template for
TEMPLATE.dwt tabs for all sheet setups. Sheet Creation… Also
Includes Viewport, referenced in SHEET SET
PageSetup, Xref to TEMPLATE.dst
Titleblock. Users
reference this to create
read-to-go layouts.
TITLE BLOCKS.dwg Separate drawings for Xref’d into PLAN PRODUCTION
each size/type titleblock TEMPLATE.dwt
needed. Drawing in
modelspace.
SHEET SET Sheet Set Manager Options>Files>Printer Support
TEMPLATE.dst template all projects File Path>Sheet Set Template
begin from. References
all Sheets in a project.
Contains custom Fields,
paths, etc. Use
LAYER STATES.las Layer states to activate Browsed to to load in a dwg/t.
pre-configured layer
setups for sheets. While
these store in the dwt,
they can be exported to
an las file.
Tool BLOCKS.dwg Source drawing(s) Options>Files>Support Files
Palettes containing multiple Search Path.
blocks for use in Referenced by Tool Palettes.
drawing space.
DETAILS.dwg Source drawing(s) “
containing multiple
details made into
blocks.
TEMPLATE Base files with “
SUPPLEMENTS.dwg additional content for
primary base templates
that shouldn’t be stored
in the templates
themselves. (layers,
styles, etc.)

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 LISP ROUTINES.lsp Lisp Routines used for “
non-Civil 3D functions.
CAD SCRIPTS.scr Scripting of command “
line-based functions.
CAD CAD workflows for “
STANDARDS.docx users. Not a cad
manual, but workflows
that can’t be stored in a
template.
ASSEMBLIES.dwg Ready-made “
Assemblies matching
typical projects and
parameters. Users bring
into projects as starting
point. No need to build
Assemblies from
scratch every project.
CUSTOM Subassemblies made C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D
SUBASSEMBIES.pkt from Subassembly 20XX\enu\Imported Tools
Composer to company
standards. These are
loaded into Tool
Palettes, then C3D
writes the contents of
the PKT to a new
location.
AcTpCatalog.atc Background file. Options>Files>Tool Palettes File
Contains references to Locations
all PALETTES.atc files.
PALETTES.atc Tool palette tab. Once “
of these for every tab.
Contains paths to
source files, and
properties, such as
Layer, button name, etc.
IMAGES.png Auto-generated “
thumbnail images that
make up Tool Palette
buttons.
Base SURVEY.dwt Survey drawings Options>Files>Template
Templates template. Contains only Settings>Drawing Template File
survey-related styles, Location, AND …Default
layers, etc. Template File Name for QNEW
(note: if left blank, user prompted
to choose template)
DESIGN.dwt Design drawings Options>Files>Template
template. Contains only Settings>Drawing Template File

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 survey-related styles, Location, AND …Default
layers, etc. Template File Name for QNEW
(note: if left blank, user prompted
to choose template)
Utility PIPE NETWORK Catalog of parts for Pipe Home Tab>Create Design Panel
CATALOG Networks, gravity flow Drop-down> Set Pipe Network
networks. Parts Lists in Catalog *
.dwt and parts inserted
into drawings reference
this.
PRESSURE Catalog of parts for Home Tab>Create Design Panel
NETWORK Pressure Networks, Drop-down> Set Pressure
CATALOG pressured flow Network Catalog *
networks. Parts Lists in
.dwt and parts inserted
into drawings reference
this.
Survey FIGURE PREFIX Table of all Topo Codes Toolspace>Survey>Survey User
DB.fdb_xdef that generate linework. Settings (top left button)>Figure
Dictates Layers Survey Defaults *
Figures get created on
(like Object Layer
settings).
LINEWORK CODE Definitions of Automatic Toolspace>Survey>Survey User
SET.f2f_xdef Linework Codes and Settings (top left
bevhavior. button)>Linework Processing
Defaults *
SDB Default settings for new Toolspace>Survey>Survey User
SETTINGS.sdb_set Survey DB creation, Settings (top left button)>Survey
such as Units and Database Defaults>Survey
Coord. Zone. Database Settings Path *
SDB EXTENDED Default additional Toolspace>Survey>Survey User
PROPS.sdx_def attribute data for new Settings (top left button)>Survey
Survey DB creation, Database Defaults>Extended
such as Survey User- Properties Definition Path*
defined properties for
Manhole pipe data, tree
data, etc.
SURVEY USER Saves all settings in No path. Created and browsed
SETTINGS.usr_set Survey User Settings. Is to at with buttons at top of Survey
redundant, as these will User Settings.
save in AutoCAD
Profile, but is good
backup if user messes
up these settings and
don’t want to re-import
profile.

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 Intersection ASSEMBLY Pointer file to a set of Saves to AutoCAD Profile
SETS.xml Assemblies to be used automatically.
for Intersection creation.
User chooses one in
Intersection Wizard.
PRIMARY Source files that ASSEMBLY SETS.xml points to
ROAD.dwg ASSEMBLY SETS.xml these files.
PRIMARY reference. Modify these
THROUGH.dwg Assemblies as desired
PRIMARY HALF for company standards.
LEFT.dwg
PRIMARY HALF
RIGHT.dwg
SECONDARY
ROAD.dwg
SECONDARD HALF
LEFT.dwg
SECONDARY HALF
RIGHT.dwg
CURB
RETURNS.dwg
QTO PAY ITEM LIST.csv External list of Pay Saved in .dwt files
Items referenced by
QTO Manager.
FORMULA FILE.for Unit conversion “
formulas (ex. Cubic feet
to Tons) used by QTO
Manager
CATEGORIES Categorical grouping file “
FILE.xml refenenced by QTO
Manager. (optional)
DATA Data extraction Browsed to on each use.
EXTRACTION.dxe templates for function
DATAEXTRACTION
* Saves to AutoCAD profile, but unlike settings in Options, the profile must be the one loaded on
Civil 3D launch for these settings to hold. Switching to the correct profile in Options after C3D
launch will NOT change the survey user settings and utility catalog paths.

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Configuring a Local Setup
The main reasons for doing a local setup are:
1. Allow users access to all company content while off the network.
2. With the scripting setup described below, CAD managers can easily create a “master”
computer that is the exact replica of what all users get, allowing easy editing and
maintenance of CAD content. CAD Managers can know exactly what the setup will look
like before pushing it out to users because the “master” machine has the exact same
setup. CAD Managers can also “try things out” on the “master” computer before pushing
out the changes to the users.
3. Utilizing a local setup typically gives faster performance to the end user.

This is a general process on how to set up a local configuration in Civil 3D. It’s not that different
from the scenario of CAD content being on a server, but just local instead. The only addition is
the use of Windows scripts to sync users’ local data to a master copy.

1. Establish a “master” computer, virtual or physical, and install Civil and other desired
design apps.
2. Create a local CAD content folder structure and place content in the appropriate places.
(by the way, this is also a great time to get rid of all that old stuff you’ve been meaning
to) Recommend placing on C drive in something like: “<ORG ABBREVIATION>-CAD”.
Here’s an example of a simple yet flexible folder structure. It might look like something
you’d put on your server, but we’re putting it local at first. Be sure to consider multiple
versions for future deployments. I like to put all content in a year folder, then when we
move to a new version simply copy that whole folder, rename it to the new year, then
recreate your profile for the new version. For the tool palette ATC files you can also do
some mass find/replacing to swap out 2019 for 2020, for example, so that all paths
update and you don’t have to manually recreate all your tool palettes.

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 3. Open Civil 3D and create a new Profile in Options, ex. “C3D 20XX - <ORG ABBREV>”.
Use Add to List with the C3D Imperial Profile current.
4. Path to all content, according to the table above.
5. Set up your ACADDOC.lsp to manage system variables separately from the acad profile.
If you don’t know how this lisp works, you simply place it in a Support Path in options
and then Autocad will automatically run it upon startup of every drawing. While we could
push out a new profile to update or change system variables for our users, we’d also be
overwriting a lot of preferences, and that wouldn’t make them very happy. With the
ACADDOC.lsp we can plug in settings for these variables, change them over time, and
know that it will push out to users without changing their pink background or excessively
large pick box. Here’s some syntax examples of system variables you might put in
your ACADDOC.lsp.
(command "geomarkervisibility" "0")(princ)
(command "filedia" "1")(princ)
(command "cmddia" "1")(princ)
(command "mirrtext" "0")(princ)

6. For your CUI, this will be an Enterprise CUI. While we can add any number of
commands to the CUI, editing it is particularly clumsy compared to Tool Palettes, which
is where we’ll store most of our on-demand content. We do, however, want to use the
CUI to control our Tool Palette sets. Historically, use of Tool Palette groups makes for
very slow performance. To get around this, don’t use Tool Palette Groups, but use the
CUI to switch between entirely different Tool Palette Paths (basically, entirely different
tool palettes sets).

a. Create a button that switches the tool palette path to each of the different Tool
Palette sub categories folders noted above (Docs, Details, Blocks, etc.)
b. Use the system variable *_TOOLPALETTEPATH as follows to set the path in the
CUI command macro (note you must use forward slashes in the CUI). Think of
each of these paths as a Tool Palette “Group”. We won’t use any actual Groups
(that you’d find in the Customize Palettes command), but rather separate tool
palette sets for the performance reasons mentioned. Another reason to not use
Tool Palette Groups is that their definition is stored in the Profile.aws file, which is
buried in the user AppData folder and contains some of the user preferences that
we don’t want to overwrite. To automate pushing out of Tool Palette Groups we’d
have to keep this Profile.aws file in sync and it would wipe out some user
preferences every time we synced content to user computers. (I used to do it this
way, but learned this trick along the way and do this all the time now).

7. Once the CUI buttons are configured, set this as the Enterprise CUI in Options.

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8. Build your Tool Palettes, starting with the appropriate CUI button to configure the Tool
Palette so the background files write to the correct location.
9. Use Design Center to path to Source DWGs, and create Palettes from there, drag and
drop onto a palette. Be sure the DWGs are in their final location. With the folder structure
above I like to place all source drawings in one subfolder. So for Details, all source
DWGs would be in one folder. Furthermore, organize your DWGs with multiple
blocks/details per drawing, such that you have one DWG per tab in the tool palettes.
Name this DWG the same as what you’ll name the Tool Palette tab to help keep things
straight.

10. To create commands on a “Tools” palette, first draw a polyline, drag it onto a palette,
then change the macro in the properties of that button. Change name, description,
image as desired. Here’s example of how to open a non-CAD doc. NOTE: if you put the
path in the Options>File>Support File Search Path, you don’t need to put the path in the
Tool Palette. This goes for ALL Tool Palette content source files. This is considered
making Tool Palettes “pathless” and is an option to be considered if pathing is to
change.
a. For lisp routines, follow this syntax, then add the full path to Support File Search
Path in Options or before the lisp here:
^C^C (LOAD"Limits of Construction.lsp"); CONST
b. For loading documents (pdf, doc, etc.): ^C^CShell “C3D Survey Workflow.docx";
c. To insert all Layers, styles, etc. from a source drawing (think of these as
supplemental templates) to the current drawing, follow this syntax. For things I
don’t’ always want in the base templates I use this method.
^C^C-insert "*Drawing.dwg";0,0;;;
d. There are many other commands you can add to tool palettes, including anything
you can execute in the command line (-HATCH, -PURGE, for example, as well

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 as calling up Windows commands). Google is your friend; be creative!.

11. If adding in some out-of-box tool palettes is desired in your custom tool palette groups, first
go to the out-of-box Profile and export these to .XTP files. Then import them into your new
custom Tool Palettes. Yes, you can add a second path to the Tool Palettes in Options, but
since we’re going with “CUI Tool Palette Groups” it’s best to just recreate them by exporting
to XTPs first. It only takes 10 minutes.
12. For custom Subassemblies (PKTs), when you import them on the tool palette they will
automatically write files here: C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 20XX\enu\Imported Tools
a. While it’s possible to move these source files into our “CTC-CAD” content folder,
Corridor rebuild performance substantially worsens when the custom
Subassemblies are used and the source files don’t reside in this native location.
We must understand that even though a Subassembly is inserted into the
drawing, it is still looking for the .DLL file that defines it, and it does this with
every Corridor rebuild. It has something to do with C3D first scanning for this
native location first, then if it doesn’t find it looking elsewhere. It does this for
every station in your Corrido. I just know Corridors rebuild faster with custom
Subassemblies if you leave the source DLLs in the native location. You can see
this location and DLL in Subassembly Properties:

b. Since we are already syncing content to user’s C drive, it’s not much of a bigger
deal to also copy this custom Subassembly files to the Program Data location.
We’ll show this in the scripts below, but know that you simply need to import the
PKTs as you normally would on the Tool Palette.

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13. Set Survey User Settings as desired on the Survey Tab of Toolspace. This is where you
path to support files for use with Survey Databases.

a. These need to be set if you’re using automatic linework and survey databased. It
also configures c3d to create unique User-defined Properties for Survey Points
and Figures for every SDB you create. Important files to make Survey Databases
work.
14. Once all Profile settings are complete, including any other settings in Options that are
desired to make up the “standard starting profile” for all users, export the profile to an
.ARG file from the Profiles tab. Name it the same as the Profile and place this in the
Standards folder for profile.
15. Make a copy of the Civil 3D 20XX Imperial desktop icon, and place this in the Standards
Profile folder as well. Go to the properties of the icon and change the path for the Profile
switch to path to your .arg file instead.
NOTE: the profile switch also allows you to specify a profile name instead of pathing to
an .ARG, which is how it comes out-of-the-box. However, pathing to an .ARG has the
added advantage of automatically importing the .ARG if the profile is not yet created.
Once the profile is created, however, pathing to the .ARG file will NOT continually
overwrite the profile, it will simply tell C3D to start with the one of that name.
/p "C:\CTC-CAD\20XX\C3D\Profile\CTC.arg”

16. Plan a location on a server where all this CAD Content will be copied to with a Windows
Script. This would be a secure location that only CAD manager types and/or the “master”
computer can write to. Users don’t need to know where this location is because simple
scripting (explained below) will be copying and syncing these files to their computers
automatically every time they log into windows.
17. Follow the scripting method below to keep the data on this “master” computer in sync
with the server, and in turn all other user computers.

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Writing Windows scripts to sync CAD Content
By placing all content local, we will end up with multiple copies of the same content on
everyone’s computer. Obviously, users could change their templates, tool palettes, etc. making
a mess of the standard and defeating the point of the standard in the first place. This is where
some simple Windows Scripts come into play. They will allow us to have many copies of all the
content on every computer, but with all copies being synced to a central server. Sort of like a
shared folder in Dropbox that is cached to your local computer.

Windows scripts (batch files) can be a variety of file types, most commonly .BAT or .CMD. It
doesn’t make much difference, but we will use .CMD files. They are simply text files with the
extension changed, and can be edited in a text editor (recommend Notepad++). They use
Windows command prompt commands, but are simply saved in a file.

We will use only ONE command to create our scripts: ROBOCOPY will be used to copy files.

To learn more about ROBOCOPY and other commands, open a command prompt, type
“<command name> /?”, for a helpful guide. You can also type “help” in the command prompt to
get a list of all standard windows commands.

To put a helpful comment in your script, simply type “REM” prior to any comments.

To make this work, we need to be able to edit and load content on a “master”, non-production
computer. We then need to copy the content from the master computer to a location on a
server. Finally, this content needs to copy from the server to all user computers when there’s an
update and in an automatic way, eliminating any action on the users’ part. Conceptually, this
looks something like this:

Server

Master
Computer
User
Computers

Option 1

Taking this a bit further, lets think about the process. When you make changes to the master,
you may want to copy this content to the server to back it up instead of just leaving your work on
the master computer. If we do that however, that content will be pushed out to users before it is
ready, since the user script will run automatically. So we can optionally set up a “backup”
location on a server, then a “production” location on the server. This production location may
consist or more than one server in fact (one for each office). With this setup, work on the master
computer can be continually synced to the backup location. When it’s ready, the server script

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can then be run to copy the content to all production servers and “release” it to end users.
Here’s what this setup looks like:

Server Server
“Backup” “Production”
Master Folder Folders
Computer User
Computers
Option 2

Whether you choose option 1 or 2, the scripting is pretty similar. For option 1, you’ll need 2
scripts, master and user. For option 2, you’ll need 3 scripts, master, server, and user.

Master Script
1. CAD manager runs this after CAD content changes on master computer.
2. Copies the following content to the backup server folder (op 2), or the production
server folder (op 1)
a. Entire CAD Content folder from C drive.
b. Customized desktop icon on master desktop.
c. Custom Subassemblies (if applicable) from C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D
20XX\enu\Imported Tools

Example: (the “backup” folder is only needed or option 2)

robocopy "C:\CTC-CAD" "W:\Backup\CTC-CAD" /MIR

robocopy "C:\Users\%username%\Desktop" "W:\Backup\CTC-CAD\20XX\C3D\Profile"

"C3D 20XX - CTC.lnk"

robocopy "C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 20XX\enu\Imported Tools” “W:\Backup\CTC-

CAD\20XX\C3D\Tool Palette\Subassemblies\Source” /MIR
The “/MIR” switch means that this will sync files in the second path to the first path, meaning
that any files that are added, deleted, or changed in the source will be reflected in the
destination location. Robocopy also only copies changes to the files, so incremental updates will
run very quickly.

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Server Script
1. Only used if doing option 2.
2. Copies all files from the server backup folder to the server production folder(s). If your
organization has multiple offices and production servers, this option will be necessary. If it’s
only one office, or all users work from one server, you still may consider it for the security
and backup reasons discussed previously.

Example:
robocopy "W:\Backup\CTC-CAD" "W:\Production\CTC-CAD" /MIR

User Script
1. Copies the following files from the server production folder to user computers.
a. Entire CAD Content folder to C drive
b. Customized desktop icon to user desktops
c. Custom Subassemblies (if applicable) to C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D
20XX\enu\Imported Tools
d. Shortcut to User Script to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start
Menu\Programs\StartUp. NOTE: When Windows starts up by a user logging into his/her
computer, any shortcut in this location will run. So we use this script to copy a shortcut to
itself to this location at first deployment of the content and software. In this way, any
updates will be automatically copied down in the future because this shortcut will run and
points to the user script on the server. It also allows us to make any changes we may
need to the user script and have it automatically affect all users, since all the script
shortcuts point to the same script. If the user logs in and is not on the company network,
the user script will simply not execute because the shortcut can’t find it.

Example: (the “production” folder is only needed for option 2)

robocopy "W:\Production\CTC-CAD\" "C:\CTC-CAD\20XX" /MIR

robocopy "W:\Production\CTC-CAD\20XX\C3D\Profile" "C:\Users\%username%\Desktop"

"C3D 20XX - CTC.lnk"

robocopy “W:\Production\CTC-CAD\20XX\C3D\Tool Palette\Subassemblies\Source”

"C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 20XX\enu\Imported Tools” /MIR

robocopy "W:\Production\Scripts" "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start

Menu\Programs\StartUp" "C3D 20XX USER.bat - Shortcut.lnk"

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Maintenance of your content
Everything is in place for you to edit content on the master computer and push it out to users.
Verify it works to your liking then change the log file on the master computer (if applicable), then
copy the updates to the server by running your MASTER to SERVER script. With the new log
file updated on the server, the SERVER to USER script will see that it does NOT match the user
log file and copy over all the new files.

While we have the ACADDOC.lsp in place to make changes to system variables without
resetting user profiles, there may be a reason to push out a whole to new profile to users. It
should be avoided whenever possible, but if need be, it can be done. You won’t be able to do
this by simply making changes in Options and then exporting a new .ARG file. If you look at the
first line in an ARG in a text editor you’ll see that actual name of the Profile that’s been created.
While this can be the same name as the ARG, they are two different things. If you simply make
changes to the MASTER profile, then export and overwrite a new ARG, the user computer won’t
pick up the changes because the profile name is the same in their C3D compared to the new
ARG you made. Meaning, if this profile already exists in the users C3D it won’t import these new
settings. So you must create a new profile to have it pushed out to users. Follow these steps,
but know that this will reset all user preferences found in Options.
1. Go to Options>Profiles
2. With your Profile current, click Add to List
3. Make the new name similar to the old, but add a date after it so that it has a different
name.
4. Set this Profile current, THEN make the changes you want to the profile settings.
5. Export this new profile to an ARG of the SAME name as the previous in your Profile
folder in your content.
6. That’s it, you’re done.

When users login the next day with the new ARG synced to their computer, and they launch
C3D, it will look at the first line in the ARG that’s pathed to in the Desktop icon and see that it’s a
new profile name. C3D will then automatically create a whole new profile with all the new
settings you specified. While it may be tempting to want to delete the old profiles on user
machines, it’s not hurting anything and really just gives a record of past updates. Don’t waste
your time trying to delete it out of the user registry.

Migrating to a new version of C3D

Using the folder structure recommended, keeping all content in year-specific folders, makes
migration to the next version of C3D easy. We’ll be able to maintain both versions for users with
the same script syncing system until we decide to finally pull away the older version. Below are
the general steps on how to do this:
1. Install C3D 2020 on the master computer. Open it and make a new profile right away,
naming it appropriately, and export the ARG to the appropriate folder in the 2020
structure. Close C3D.
2. Make a copy of the C3D 2020 out-of-box desktop icon, and rename it to your company’s
name. Open the properties in it and set the /p switch to point to the ARG you just
exported.

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 3. On the master computer, make a copy of the 2019 folder and all it’s contents in your
CAD content folder. Rename it to 2020 or whatever the new version is.
4. Through file explorer, rename all files that have a year in them: templates, etc.
5. Remove any of the out-of-box tool palette content you may have added from 2019, from
the new 2020 content.
6. If custom subassemblies were used, make a copy of them to the new program data
folder for 2020 from the 2019 program data folder.
7. Update your tool palette metadata files: Open all the Tool Palette .atc files in Notepad++
and do a find and replace on 2019 for 2020. You can do this across multiple files at
once.
8. Launch C3D 2020 with the new icon, then launch C3D 2019 and put it side by side with
2020.
9. Rename the CUI if needed, then open in the CUI Editor. Change the tool palette sets
paths to reflect the 2020 version.
10. Set all paths in Options, Survey user settings, Pipe Catalog paths, etc. in 2020 by
looking at 2019. Let the ACADDOC.lsp control as many sysvars as possible, though you
can set them in Options as well.
11. Using your CUI buttons, check that each tool palette set loads appropriately.
12. Copy any 2020 out-of-box tool palettes you may want and add to your setup, as
described in the previous Tool Palettes section.
13. Open and save all templates in 2020 to migrate them. Depending on how many versions
you’re moving forward, you may have to do a lot of testing and bug fixing in your
templates (potentially a large task, but not the focus of this session).
14. Migrate any other version-specific source content: dwg, pipe catalogs, etc.
15. Using the same scripts as before, we’ll simply add to them, copy any of the Robocopy
commands and paths that have 2019 in them, and change to 2020. Until you’re ready to
roll out 2020, put “REM” in front of these 2020-specific commands in the User Script.
16. When fully tested and ready to roll out to users, first remove the “REM” command in front
of your 2020-specific commands in the User Script. Then install C3D 2020 and run the
user script for the user.
17. All set!

Conclusion
With this configuration in place you’ll enjoy all the benefits of an organized CAD configuration
that’s easy to build and maintain. One primary goal of the CAD manager should always be to
make things as easy as possible for users so they can focus on their job. If you can do some
things that will help people save time every day you’re doing your job. If users don’t have to
browse for something, ask someone where something is, or set up their own C3D configuration
you’re doing something right. Happy CAD managing!

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