Carlson Training for my 17 year old daughter

Be Careful. Be very careful.

She, (Not being under pressure) will almost assuredly learn more than you know about it. And, she will ask you questions, like: "Why don't you use Xref to do that?" Or, "Paperspace is way better for that"...

Anyway, it is cool that she is interested!

N

Brad

I have Carlson Embedded Survey 2010 on a desktop and also my laptop
for use in the field under 1 license.

I think you can legally have Carlson Survey on a desktop and laptop but
can only use one at a time.

You would need to contact Carlson to find out.

> (2) What laptop setup do you recommend?
The only things I regard as critical are a I3 or better processor and a video card that allows the use of dual monitors. Any new laptop that has those things will have enough of everything else for survey drawings. If she gets into 3d renderings and manipulating point clouds that will be different.

You are a very lucky man to have a young one take an interest in what you do. Plus she is looking at the "office" side of the process instead of being interested in those young rodmen that you know are actually "beasts" when it comes to your daughter.

now to your questions:

(1) I have Carlson Survey 2010 with embedded AutoCAD. I have not had to pay Carlson any annual fees. That is your Acad2007 mucking up the works. A copy of Carlson Survey with embedded AutoCAD will, in the long run, cost less than loading Carlson on top of AutoCAD and unless you are a BIG lisp user, you will not lose any features or functionality.
The Intellicad platform has made great strides and is, I hear , a sound platform now. What I am really looking at is that if you upgrade you current software to the latest Carlson Survey package you will (a) increase YOUR productivity. (b) have no more additional costs or fees (c) be able to load the "home use" copy on your daughter's computer for her use. You solve that problem with ONE license.

(2)What laptop? Man that all depends on your budget. If your daughter is for real in this thing then I would look at an Dell Precision laptop, 64 bit system, loaded up with all the RAM that it will hold, a hot Invidia graphics card and big ole hard drive. BUT, she's 17 and things will change MANT times before she really focuses in on what she really wants out of life, as we all know. One of the Dell cheaper models , like the Inspiron , mat serve very well. Approach it with "What do I want as a back-up computer" mindset.

(3) See (1). Carlson Survey with embedded AutoCAD. For her, the reasoning is that should she take this craft to another location later, the AutoCAD skills will serve her better in an AutoCAD office rather than the Intellicad version. The two packages are , at the same time, very much alike, BUT oh so different.

(4) Actually both of the software packages you now have allow a seconds copy for home use (with some rules on common use). Buying ONE copy of the Current Carlson pack works out cheaper as outlined above.

(5) By all means introduce her to That Cad Girl. The online training will be awesome. Also a one or two day in person seminar would make a great vacation for you and your daughter. Be sure to go to Jen's web site and order all of he training books. They are incredible. VERY well made and full of information that is written in plain English. Check out www.cadapult.com for Rick Ellis' book on Carlson Survey. Rick gives a very good overview of the software while Jin goes into the little details that you really need to know to make everything play well together. Also Harry Ward's Carlson College give an outstanding course in Front Royal, Virginia. The classes are very well done and the town of Front Royal is a treat in itself.

And if she does ask the dreaded questions that Nate listed tell her "XREF" stands for "eXternal REFerence" and means just that and NEVER should be made a permanent part of any drawing. That's why we have Blocks" and the when she mentions Paper Space tell her, "Nothing to it. I can get a 2 page instruction sheet from CptDent that will make you an expert on paper space from the get-go".

Also remind her that I did as she wishes to do at one time and worked for my father. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. o.O

:good:

> (3) What software setup do you recommend? I am hoping that we can get her into software that is exactly (or very close to) the same as my current C2011/A2007 setup, so that she and I can communicate well when she has specific questions for me.

Brad, knowing how to operate CAD programs and draft plans is an asset that will help your daughter in several different fields of work in the future. I wonder if she can't enroll in a few local college classes and qualify for a free educational copy of AutoCAD? I would not recommend starting her off on Intellicad. AutoCAD is the industry standard and will help her the most in getting a job.

I use the latest AutoCAD software and the basics are still the same as version 2000. There have been changes to the interface, but all the same commands still exist.

As for Carlson - I would check to see if their latest version is compatible with AutoCAD 2007. I would say the learning curve for the newest software would be nearly nill for you. Your able to have 2 seats installed under one license - one on the work PC and one on a laptop for home use.

The current version of Carlson is compatible with Acad2007. We have one computer that has Acad 2007 and Carlson 2008 on top of it and my Boss's copy of Carlson 2015 dumbs down the data just fine. No problems yet (other than REALLY wanting to upgrade that computer!!)

I would check on the student option

It would not last forever and maybe it would last long enough for her to learn how to use the program before applying her skills on your business computer.

+1 on the home license. Just install it on the laptop and check that toggle on registration.

I ran 2007 till a a few months ago, upgraded to 15. Which I like a lot better (reminds me of LDD), but 07 was still better than any of the autodesk monolithic civil iterations after 09 or so.

Oh- running 07 I had no issues with an I3 processor. Generating and editing surfaces in 15 seems to bog it down a bit- which is why I've decided not to take any topo cad work home from now on...

Based on this:

The student license probably won't work unless enrolled in a post-secondary program.
Your CAD platform is getting old, 2007. It may difficult to get deals / codes with Autodesk on past releases.

I would suggest:

Look into Carlson 2011 home license on a laptop with Intellicad as a platform. She can play with the program after business hours when office computer is off.

As you do not want to pursue having Autodesk as a vendor, it will give you a chance to explore intelliCAD without spending any money and keep working with CAD platform until you run it to the ground.

Carlson Is One Thing - CAD Is Another

Carlson is very instinctive to a trained surveyor.

CAD may be less so. But let's assume your daughter is not a trained surveyor yet.

Much can be learned about CAD at a local community college, so consider a basic CAD drafting course.

I am thinking that a student version is much more applicable to AutoCAD than to Carlson.

If you are thinking about Carlson the basics and more could be learned on a DOS machine and AutoCAD 10.

A dual screen is more about working speed than about learning, so it is not a priority.

Almost any box out there can handle CAD drafting for all but the most expert.

My suggestion is to go to Wal-Mart, get a refurbished HP, a big flat screen monitor or two, and an 11x17 color printer/scanner combination , all for less than $700 hardware budget and invest the rest in classes. After CAD there is an assortment of online surveyor courses that can keep one a student for a long time.

As far as student software, being a student is only part of the license, do anything for profit and you have violated the license.

Paul in PA

Oh yeah, and while she's learning Carlson - don't forget the GIS side of the equation.

Carlson Is One Thing - CAD Is Another

Paul,

Carlson does provide a student package of Carlson Survey. They are usually issued to students at local community colleges and/or vo-tech centers. A nice lady out of Arkansas handles that process. I believe her contact info is listed on the Carlson web site.

> (5) Are there other training sources that you recommend that I have not listed above?

One resource I point out to my clients is the now freely available course content presented at the 2013 Carlson User Conference.

Between the current tutorials (click to show the toolbars) and the various Carlson survey movies (along with aforementioned training outlets), I don't think there is a significant shortage of educational material.