AutoCAD Map 3D 2010
It is that time of year again when Autodesk is getting ready to roll out the latest releases of its stable of products, and included in that list is AutoCAD Map 3D 2010. The 2010 version of AutoCAD Map adds some extremely interesting new features, and I’m going to post new articles over the next couple weeks detailing some of the major changes.
Below is a list of some of the new features and enhancements:
Feature | Feature Comments |
Ribbon | New to AutoCAD Map 3D 2010 is the concept of the Ribbon, which is based on the AutoCAD Ribbon 2.0. The Ribbon features commands across the top of the window with tabs in place of the familiar menus. Using the Ribbon, the interface for AutoCAD Map 3D2010 is cleaner, less cluttered, and provides a better way to customize the look-and-feel. |
Bilk Copy | Bulk Copy has been enhanced in AutoCAD Map 3D 2010 to include the ability to copy calculated fields to feature sources. |
Survey | Several new features have been included to enhance the surveying capabilities of AutoCAD Map 3D 2010. These include: • Creation of Survey Datastore & Schema • Import/Export of LandXML into/from the Survey Datastore • Creation of domain features from Survey features • Point Group support • New Survey Environment • ASCII Point import |
COGO | Included in this release are new coordinate geometry (COGO) routines commonly used by surveyors, such as bearing/bearing, and distance/distance. These routines can be used to locate features in the field when only a compass and measuring tape are available. Bearing/bearing is often used to calculate points that would be too difficult or dangerous to access. AutoCAD Map 3D 2010 now features a new user interface. You can use the Ribbon to quickly select COGO commands. You can access the new COGO commands at the command line or on the Input and Inquiry toolbar. You can also use them "transparently". You can use them in the middle of other commands by entering an apostrophe ( ' ) before the command name. |
Workflow | Using the Windows Workflow Foundation, a brand new, powerful workflow framework and UI has been integrated into AutoCAD Map 3D 2010. This framework will enable users to build, save and share simple and complex workflows using a visual editor. Workflows can include logic and initiate calls to other workflows. |
Overlay | The Overlay toolset contains tools to overlay multiple feature classes to combine, erase, modify, or update spatial features in a new feature class. New information is created when overlaying one set of features with another. There are seven types of overlay operations; all involve joining two existing sets of features into a single set of features to identify spatial relationships between the input features. |
Editing FDO Data | Along with enhancements to the bulk copy feature set, AutoCAD Map 3D 2010 features enhanced editing capabilities. You can now edit feature attributes with the Standard Properties window and use all OSNAP modes to edit feature geometry. |
SQL Server Provider | TThe open source FDO Provider for Microsoft SQL Server 2008, developed by Autodesk and contributed to the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) enables users to take advantage of Microsoft SQL Server 2008’s native support for spatial data. Using the open source FDO Provider for SQL Server 2008 users can directly access and manipulate spatial data within the SQL Server 2008 database and share it with others, extending the value of the spatial information across the organization. |
The biggest change, at least visually, in this release is the addition of the Ribbon Bar which was introduced in AutoCAD 2009. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I tend to be an ‘old school’ kind of guy, and don’t care for a lot of
change and clutter in my UI’s. But… having used MS Office 2007 for the last year or so, I’ve gotten used to, and now prefer, the Ribbon Bar style UI. The Ribbon Bar is made up of multiple tabs, and the tabs contain multiple panels. Some panels contain more commands that be accessed by selecting the Arrow at the bottom of the panel to extend the panel.
In Map 2010, there are 3 Ribbon Bar configurations out-of-the-box: Tool-Based, Task-Based, and Map Classic. The latter of course does not need much explanation, and if you consider the names of the other tool, they’re also pretty self explanatory.
The Tool-Based Ribbon has commands organized in a similar fashion to the previous menu structures, where like commands are grouped together.
The Task-Based Ribbon has the commands orientated in a fashion that facilitate specific workflows or tasks.
Stay tuned for details on other new features coming over the next few weeks.
Take Care
Warren M
Comments
However, working with GIS data inside Map 3D 2010 still needs lots of improvement.
Compared to other GIS software packages, Map 3D still lacks the GIS analysis power and ease of use, Map 3D is on the right track with overlay capabilities, but still far behind.
While Map 2010 adds some nice functionality with the updated Overlay functions, it is still quite a long way from the capabilities of other GIS vendors (company 'E').
One of the biggest things I think that is going to improve these capabilities in Map is the new Workflow Foundation. This is going to allow developers to create custom workflows and analysis tools as this functionality matures over time.
Having said that, I don't believe Map will ever have the high end analysis capabilities that need to be performed in a full featured GIS. I could be wrong, but I just don't see that as a space where Autodesk wants to play.