Transparent commands have been in Autodesk Civil 3D since the beginning versions but still remain a highly underutilized part of the program. This could be because they work differently than most other commands in AutoCAD and Civil 3D. Up until this most recent update, these commands are most easily accessed via two toolbars docked vertically on the right hand side of the screen (by default).
These tools are meant to be invoked while you are within a different command. As an example, since I frequently work with land surveyors, one of the transparent commands I use the most is to draw lines by bearing and distance. I realize that there is a separate command accessed from the Home ribbon tab to draw a line by bearing distance, but old habits die hard, and I have usually already hit “L” and picked my first point before I remember that command. This is a time where the transparent commands come into play. From within the line command, I can simply hit the button for “Bearing Distance” and Civil 3D prompts for that type of input. There are also commands that make drawing lines by entering point numbers or by picking point objects a breeze.
With Civil 3D 2019.2 (released in December, 2018), Autodesk is looking to make the transparent commands more prominent and useable. In addition to the toolbars, there is now a “Transparent Commands” ribbon tab.
Best I can tell, all of the tools that are on the toolbars are also on the ribbon tab. Its also nice to have the command names beside the icons to help hone in on the right tool.
Another reason these tools have been historically difficult to use is that they have been command line driven. Users have gotten used to the UI and wizards within Civil 3D and don’t always look at the command bar.
With some of the tools, Autodesk has created contextual ribbon tabs while they are use. The example below shows the contextual tab for the “Station Offset” transparent command. Other enhancements to this specific command include the ability to lock either a station or offset so that the program does not continually prompt for those values.
Now that transparent commands are more “transparent”, please give them a try. I guarantee once you get used to using them, your proficiency will increase.
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