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Carlson as third-party ƒ??add-onƒ? to AutoCAD

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(@james-fleming)
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So....I'm suddenly in the market for software as I find myself starting a survey department from scratch at a large regional (350 employees +/-) geotechnical engineering company that found themselves in over their heads on optical monitoring projects.?ÿ

Will?ÿCarlson run in AutoCAD LT or does it need the full 3D AutoCAD?

 
Posted : 13/03/2018 4:51 am
(@brad-ott)
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Not what you asked, because I don't know the answer, but I will say that it does run well these days with IntelliCAD.

 
Posted : 13/03/2018 5:19 am
(@norman-oklahoma)
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AutoCAD LT will not run any form of 3rd party customizations. You can, of course, buy Carlson OEM.?ÿ?ÿ

 
Posted : 13/03/2018 6:14 am
(@dan-dunn)
Posts: 366
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Nothing runs on AutoCAD LT, it is a closed program.

It does run on full AutoCAD or the included IntelliCAD.?ÿ

I can second that it does run very well on IntelliCAD.

 
Posted : 13/03/2018 6:15 am
(@james-fleming)
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Thanks.

CAD manager is on vacation my first week...so I'm on my own for my first shopping spree ??ÿ

?ÿ

 
Posted : 13/03/2018 6:26 am
(@jim-frame)
Posts: 7277
 

I find myself starting a survey department from scratch at a large regional (350 employees +/-) geotechnical engineering company

I thought you gave up the corporate life for the more laid-back realm of a small engineering company?

 
Posted : 13/03/2018 6:39 am
(@james-fleming)
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Posted by: Jim Frame

I find myself starting a survey department from scratch at a large regional (350 employees +/-) geotechnical engineering company

I thought you gave up the corporate life for the more laid-back realm of a small engineering company?

They made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

plus

You Can't Go Home Again

and

How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree?)

 
Posted : 13/03/2018 6:48 am
(@brad-ott)
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As long as you are having fun pal.?ÿ Life is short if you have fun.

 
Posted : 13/03/2018 7:38 am
(@cptdent)
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I STRONGLY recommend Carlson Survey?ÿwith Embedded AutoCAD. That is basically AutoCAD?ÿLT with Carlson Survey loaded on top. A VERY strong and Stable product. You have several Carlson Certified Training Partners near you. They can help you configure your package and customize the package to meet corporate needs. Throw in Carlson's Field To Finish and you have a setup that will pay for itself in less than 2 months.

"Carlson simply works and it works simply". If a 70 year old Mississippi redneck can set it up think what a "bonvivant" can do with it.

?ÿ

 
Posted : 14/03/2018 8:38 am
(@totalsurv)
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Posted by: cptdent

I STRONGLY recommend Carlson Survey?ÿwith Embedded AutoCAD. That is basically AutoCAD?ÿLT with Carlson Survey loaded on top. A VERY strong and Stable product. You have several Carlson Certified Training Partners near you. They can help you configure your package and customize the package to meet corporate needs. Throw in Carlson's Field To Finish and you have a setup that will pay for itself in less than 2 months.

"Carlson simply works and it works simply". If a 70 year old Mississippi redneck can set it up think what a "bonvivant" can do with it.

?ÿ

I agree it really has everything you need and as it is based on AutoCad you know what you see on your screen is exactly what the client will see. I have found this more difficult with intellicad. The latest version now includes the basic Autocad 2d line command that was previously missing which is great for what I do. Survnet least squares is also included which works well.

If we could just persuade Carlson to include the ability to process gps baselines and some point cloud importing and slicing tools all in the Embedded version as well it would be even better!!

?ÿ

 
Posted : 14/03/2018 10:06 am
(@jim-frame)
Posts: 7277
 

If we could just persuade Carlson to include the ability to process gps baselines and some point cloud importing and slicing tools all in the Embedded version as well it would be even better!!

Those are both pretty heavy-duty applications on their own, so I wouldn't expect to see them included in a moderately-priced product, especially one not tied to a hardware manufacturer.

?ÿ

 
Posted : 14/03/2018 12:17 pm
(@totalsurv)
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Posted by: Jim Frame

If we could just persuade Carlson to include the ability to process gps baselines and some point cloud importing and slicing tools all in the Embedded version as well it would be even better!!

Those are both pretty heavy-duty applications on their own, so I wouldn't expect to see them included in a moderately-priced product, especially one not tied to a hardware manufacturer.

?ÿ

Point cloud importing and slicing tools wouldn't really be considered heavy duty at this stage, even vanilla Autocad has them. Registering and indexing yes sure that would be more heavy duty requiring a third party application.

Magnet, TBC etc all offer full processing capabilities from import, GNSS processing drafting etc. Why not Carlson aspire to do the same. One can wish!!

 
Posted : 14/03/2018 12:38 pm
(@cptdent)
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Carlson has a Point Cloud Module and a GPS module available.

?ÿ

 
Posted : 14/03/2018 6:14 pm
(@cptdent)
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"Nothing runs on AutoCAD LT, it is a closed program."

?ÿ

I would refer you to the Embedded version as I stated above. You statement is not totally correct.

 
Posted : 14/03/2018 6:17 pm
(@richard-imrie)
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Bear in mind whatever you get, you're probably going to need someone in-house to maintain it.

 
Posted : 14/03/2018 7:51 pm
(@totalsurv)
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Posted by: cptdent

Carlson has a Point Cloud Module and a GPS module available.

?ÿ

I know. Just think it would be great to include the GNSS processor in Carlson Survey Embedded as well and a few basic point cloud tools. Similar to Magnet etc.

 
Posted : 15/03/2018 12:45 am
(@billvhill)
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Carlson has a lot of nice routines for surveyors, but for general drafting you can't?ÿ beat AutoCad or Civil 3d.

Just my .02

 
Posted : 15/03/2018 6:33 am
(@james-fleming)
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Never mind.

Turns out I have access to full AutoCAD, it's just not on the generic company intranet list of available software...you got to be special ??ÿ

?ÿ

?ÿ

 
Posted : 15/03/2018 9:22 am
(@dan-dunn)
Posts: 366
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Posted by: cptdent

"Nothing runs on AutoCAD LT, it is a closed program."

?ÿ

I would refer you to the Embedded version as I stated above. You statement is not totally correct.

AutoCAD LT is a closed program in that you can not add your own or third party programs to it.

I used Carlson OEM with the embedded version of AutoCAD up through version 2009, after which I switched to Carlson with IntelliCAD.?ÿ I find that Carslon with IntelliCAD 8.3 runs just as well as the Carlson OEM did.

AutoCAD LT and the version of AutoCAD in the Carlson OEM while similar, are not the same.?ÿ My understanding, from talking to Carlson representatives, is that Carlson pays to use a subset of the AutoCAD program which includes the features Carlson needs to run its program.?ÿ This may or may not be the same as Autodesk includes in AutoCAD LT.?ÿ Neither program includes the ability for the consumer to add his or third party features.?ÿ The use of LISP, .NET or VBA is disabled in both programs, although you can write menu macros.

My suggestion is to contact Carlson and request a 30 day demo of each and see which Carlson version of Carlson (Carlson with IntelliCAD, Carlson OEM or Carlson with AutoCAD) best fits your needs and budget.

 
Posted : 16/03/2018 7:55 am