Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Use tools to assess a Civil 3D project before migrating it to the Autodesk Construction Cloud, including the Reference Explorer and the Autodesk DWG Migration for Docs tool.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
7 min.
Transcript
00:03
In this session, we'll explore some helpful resources you can use to assess a Civil 3D project
00:08
prior to migrating that project to the Autodesk Construction Cloud.
00:13
The first assessment tool we'll look at is the Reference Explorer found in Desktop Connector.
00:18
Using this tool, you can select a single project drawing to see a quick snapshot of the selected file and its references.
00:24
I'm going to come down to the Desktop Connector icon and open it, and then I'll choose Reference Explorer to open the application.
00:31
From here, I'll choose Browse for File.
00:33
I'll navigate to my project and select one of the primary drawings.
00:37
In this example, I'm selecting the grading plan and I'll click Open.
00:41
When the file is processed, it will show me all of the references associated with this file, whether they be xrefs or drefs.
00:49
If they were found or not, you can see one of the references is missing.
00:52
It will also show me the number of files that are referenced into each of the references.
00:57
Currently, I'm viewing this data in a list view.
00:60
If I select a graph, I'll get a better idea of the relationships between these files.
01:05
To make this a little easier to see, I'm going to click to maximize this window,
01:09
and then I'll use my mouse to pan and zoom the graph on screen.
01:13
Reviewing the graph, I know that this missing file would need to be fixed before I can migrate this project.
01:18
Likewise, I can see that I have a circular reference associated with the existing conditions drawing.
01:24
Circular references can negatively impact performance in the cloud,
01:27
so this circular reference would also need to be corrected prior to migrating this project.
01:32
For more information on how to use this tool to assess Civil 3D project files,
01:36
click the Help button and you'll find a video that walks through a detailed workflow.
01:41
For now, just know that this tool provides a quick overview of a selected file and its references.
01:46
Any corrections to these references would have to be done manually,
01:49
and you will likely need to review multiple project files to have a full understanding of an existing Civil 3D project.
01:56
I'm going to Click to close this.
01:58
Next, we'll look at the Autodesk DWG Migration for Docs tool.
02:02
This application takes a much more comprehensive look at an existing project
02:06
to identify challenges you may encounter during a migration.
02:10
Let me mention that this is a free download.
02:12
You can find it at the Autodesk App Store.
02:14
Just go to apps.autodesk.com and do a search for DWG migration and it's right here.
02:21
Simply click the link to download.
02:24
Having said this, please check with IT and your IT department to make sure it's OK to install this application on your machine.
02:31
In my case, I already have the tool, so I'll close the web browser and double click the icon to launch the application.
02:39
Note that this says repair local data integrity issues.
02:43
In this example, we're not going to be repairing anything.
02:46
For now, I'm showing you this tool for the purpose of assessing an existing project
02:50
and understanding the magnitude of effort required to migrate the project to the Autodesk Construction Cloud.
02:56
I'll click the icon to open the tool.
02:58
I will then come up and click Browse folder.
03:01
From here, I'll select the folder containing my existing Civil 3D project.
03:05
For this example, I'll open my Civil 3D Projects folder and then I'll choose this folder called 10356 Read Road and I'll click Upload.
03:15
To be honest, I would prefer that button said open, since we're not going to be uploading anything.
03:19
All we're doing is opening the project folder.
03:22
After selecting the folder, we'll see the project's directory structure over here to the left.
03:26
Using these toggles, we can choose the folders we'd like to search for potential migration challenges.
03:32
Now I'd like to review everything, so I'll leave all the toggles checked and I'll come down and click next.
03:37
The application then scans the entire project looking for things that may present challenges during a migration.
03:44
The amount of time it takes to scan will vary depending on the size and complexity of the project.
03:49
When finished, it will display a list of issues that include circular references and missing references.
03:55
You can see I have a few things I need to take care of.
03:57
Related data are files being referenced outside the project folder.
04:02
These could be files referenced from another project, the C drive, or another network drive letter.
04:08
Note that Civil 3D projects hosted in the cloud are considered a self-contained environment.
04:12
For that reason, they're not allowed to reference files outside of the project folder,
04:17
so all these items would need to be addressed before a migration.
04:20
The tool will also find references having absolute paths.
04:24
When working in the cloud, all file references are required to have relative paths,
04:29
so each of these items would need to be addressed before migration.
04:32
Finally, this tool will identify issues with long file paths.
04:36
In this example, I don't have any, which is a good thing.
04:39
Please note that the cloud has a file path limit of 244 characters.
04:44
That 244-character limit represents the path and the file name.
04:48
If you're over the limit, you'll need to rename files or folders where necessary as part of the migration process.
04:55
Hovering over the help icon will display more information about each of the respective issues, as well as some tips for resolving them.
05:02
Clicking the View Details button displays a list of the affected files.
05:06
In this case, I clicked on absolute path, so it's showing me all the files in the project that have absolute paths.
05:12
If I click to expand a file, it will show me each of the files where the absolute path exists.
05:17
Now, it's important to note that many of the project issues can be fixed within this tool.
05:22
If I select this first file, for instance, I can click the Resolve button.
05:26
Depending on the number of affected files, this may take a few seconds.
05:29
When it comes back, I can see the issue has been resolved
05:32
and each of these affected drawings will now use a relative path to connect to the selected file.
05:38
Let's go back to the overall issues list using the button in the lower right corner.
05:42
Back at the list, we can see that we had 18 issues with absolute paths and four of the files have been resolved.
05:48
Now, remember I said earlier that we're only here to assess this project, not to make changes.
05:53
Fortunately, this resolution has not yet been applied.
05:56
For now, these files are essentially targeted for modification.
05:60
These edits wouldn't actually occur until a later step in this process.
06:04
For now, we'll assume I've finished my assessment, so I'll come down and click Cancel to close out of this application,
06:10
and I'll click yes to confirm that I do not wish to edit any of the files.
06:14
If you're interested in exploring this tool further, click the online help link for more information.
06:20
If you're considering migrating an existing Civil 3D project to the cloud,
06:24
remember that this process can be a heavy lift depending on the complexity of the project and the current level of completion.
06:30
To better understand the magnitude of effort required to migrate a project,
06:34
try using the Project Explorer or the DWG Migration for Docs tool to assess the project files and identify potential challenges.
06:42
That said, if you are considering migrating an existing Civil 3D project to the cloud,
06:47
please get in touch with the IDP team first to ensure the migration process is fully vetted and goes as smoothly as possible.
Video transcript
00:03
In this session, we'll explore some helpful resources you can use to assess a Civil 3D project
00:08
prior to migrating that project to the Autodesk Construction Cloud.
00:13
The first assessment tool we'll look at is the Reference Explorer found in Desktop Connector.
00:18
Using this tool, you can select a single project drawing to see a quick snapshot of the selected file and its references.
00:24
I'm going to come down to the Desktop Connector icon and open it, and then I'll choose Reference Explorer to open the application.
00:31
From here, I'll choose Browse for File.
00:33
I'll navigate to my project and select one of the primary drawings.
00:37
In this example, I'm selecting the grading plan and I'll click Open.
00:41
When the file is processed, it will show me all of the references associated with this file, whether they be xrefs or drefs.
00:49
If they were found or not, you can see one of the references is missing.
00:52
It will also show me the number of files that are referenced into each of the references.
00:57
Currently, I'm viewing this data in a list view.
00:60
If I select a graph, I'll get a better idea of the relationships between these files.
01:05
To make this a little easier to see, I'm going to click to maximize this window,
01:09
and then I'll use my mouse to pan and zoom the graph on screen.
01:13
Reviewing the graph, I know that this missing file would need to be fixed before I can migrate this project.
01:18
Likewise, I can see that I have a circular reference associated with the existing conditions drawing.
01:24
Circular references can negatively impact performance in the cloud,
01:27
so this circular reference would also need to be corrected prior to migrating this project.
01:32
For more information on how to use this tool to assess Civil 3D project files,
01:36
click the Help button and you'll find a video that walks through a detailed workflow.
01:41
For now, just know that this tool provides a quick overview of a selected file and its references.
01:46
Any corrections to these references would have to be done manually,
01:49
and you will likely need to review multiple project files to have a full understanding of an existing Civil 3D project.
01:56
I'm going to Click to close this.
01:58
Next, we'll look at the Autodesk DWG Migration for Docs tool.
02:02
This application takes a much more comprehensive look at an existing project
02:06
to identify challenges you may encounter during a migration.
02:10
Let me mention that this is a free download.
02:12
You can find it at the Autodesk App Store.
02:14
Just go to apps.autodesk.com and do a search for DWG migration and it's right here.
02:21
Simply click the link to download.
02:24
Having said this, please check with IT and your IT department to make sure it's OK to install this application on your machine.
02:31
In my case, I already have the tool, so I'll close the web browser and double click the icon to launch the application.
02:39
Note that this says repair local data integrity issues.
02:43
In this example, we're not going to be repairing anything.
02:46
For now, I'm showing you this tool for the purpose of assessing an existing project
02:50
and understanding the magnitude of effort required to migrate the project to the Autodesk Construction Cloud.
02:56
I'll click the icon to open the tool.
02:58
I will then come up and click Browse folder.
03:01
From here, I'll select the folder containing my existing Civil 3D project.
03:05
For this example, I'll open my Civil 3D Projects folder and then I'll choose this folder called 10356 Read Road and I'll click Upload.
03:15
To be honest, I would prefer that button said open, since we're not going to be uploading anything.
03:19
All we're doing is opening the project folder.
03:22
After selecting the folder, we'll see the project's directory structure over here to the left.
03:26
Using these toggles, we can choose the folders we'd like to search for potential migration challenges.
03:32
Now I'd like to review everything, so I'll leave all the toggles checked and I'll come down and click next.
03:37
The application then scans the entire project looking for things that may present challenges during a migration.
03:44
The amount of time it takes to scan will vary depending on the size and complexity of the project.
03:49
When finished, it will display a list of issues that include circular references and missing references.
03:55
You can see I have a few things I need to take care of.
03:57
Related data are files being referenced outside the project folder.
04:02
These could be files referenced from another project, the C drive, or another network drive letter.
04:08
Note that Civil 3D projects hosted in the cloud are considered a self-contained environment.
04:12
For that reason, they're not allowed to reference files outside of the project folder,
04:17
so all these items would need to be addressed before a migration.
04:20
The tool will also find references having absolute paths.
04:24
When working in the cloud, all file references are required to have relative paths,
04:29
so each of these items would need to be addressed before migration.
04:32
Finally, this tool will identify issues with long file paths.
04:36
In this example, I don't have any, which is a good thing.
04:39
Please note that the cloud has a file path limit of 244 characters.
04:44
That 244-character limit represents the path and the file name.
04:48
If you're over the limit, you'll need to rename files or folders where necessary as part of the migration process.
04:55
Hovering over the help icon will display more information about each of the respective issues, as well as some tips for resolving them.
05:02
Clicking the View Details button displays a list of the affected files.
05:06
In this case, I clicked on absolute path, so it's showing me all the files in the project that have absolute paths.
05:12
If I click to expand a file, it will show me each of the files where the absolute path exists.
05:17
Now, it's important to note that many of the project issues can be fixed within this tool.
05:22
If I select this first file, for instance, I can click the Resolve button.
05:26
Depending on the number of affected files, this may take a few seconds.
05:29
When it comes back, I can see the issue has been resolved
05:32
and each of these affected drawings will now use a relative path to connect to the selected file.
05:38
Let's go back to the overall issues list using the button in the lower right corner.
05:42
Back at the list, we can see that we had 18 issues with absolute paths and four of the files have been resolved.
05:48
Now, remember I said earlier that we're only here to assess this project, not to make changes.
05:53
Fortunately, this resolution has not yet been applied.
05:56
For now, these files are essentially targeted for modification.
05:60
These edits wouldn't actually occur until a later step in this process.
06:04
For now, we'll assume I've finished my assessment, so I'll come down and click Cancel to close out of this application,
06:10
and I'll click yes to confirm that I do not wish to edit any of the files.
06:14
If you're interested in exploring this tool further, click the online help link for more information.
06:20
If you're considering migrating an existing Civil 3D project to the cloud,
06:24
remember that this process can be a heavy lift depending on the complexity of the project and the current level of completion.
06:30
To better understand the magnitude of effort required to migrate a project,
06:34
try using the Project Explorer or the DWG Migration for Docs tool to assess the project files and identify potential challenges.
06:42
That said, if you are considering migrating an existing Civil 3D project to the cloud,
06:47
please get in touch with the IDP team first to ensure the migration process is fully vetted and goes as smoothly as possible.
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