Windows 7 XP mode

Windows 7 64 bit will run 32 bit software without issue. The real issue is some older 32 bit programs actually using 16 bit libraries or installers.

I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate and have had no probleme with any of my older software.
Like you, I was a diehard LDD fan. They absorbed it into C3D. That lists at $6,400 MSRP. That's a lot of money for a software package that you will utilize only 20% of in your survey work.
That's the dilema my company just faced. We looked at costs and features and decided that Carlson Survey with embedded AutoCad at $2,500 a seat for a stand alone set up was a better deal. We switched over 10 seats to Carlson and have not looked back since.
To date, I have had no compatability problems with my clients that are on C3D. So far, I have found nothing that I cannot do in Carlson that I could do in LDD. Matter of fact, i have found I can do more, faster and easier in Carlson. The learning curve is minimal, not near what I went through going from LDD r14 straight to LDD 2007.
It's economics, pure and simple. You pay less, lose nothing and work faster. Look into it.

> The learning curve is minimal, not near what I went through going from LDD r14 straight to LDD 2007.

Less of a learning curve...? Really? There was virtually no change between Softdesk R14 and LDD 2007, except for the locations of menus. How could there be less of a learning curve when moving to Carlson?

Some of your comments leave me very confused...

You could use LDD 2006, but why? If you have C3D, you also have access to LDD 2009. The LDD part didn't change between 2006 and 2009, but the core Autocad part got much better.

I know LDD 2009 has no problems on Win 7 x64. Never tried LDD 2006, though.

There are 2 downsides to XP mode that I found:

1. As I understand it, you have to dedicate RAM to the virtual machine. In other words, when XP mode is running whatever RAM you declared for it isn't available to your Win7 applications. Since things like AutoCAD are RAM-hungry, you'll probably want to dedicate 2GB to your XP VM, so you'll want a lot or RAM installed in the Win7 machine. I have 12GB on my system, which seemded to work okay even when 2GB was eaten up by XP mode.

2. The XP Mode file system is semi-independent of the Win7 system. While working in the VM you can copy files back and forth, but the VM filesystem -- again, as I understand it -- is actually a single Win7 file. So individual data files under XP mode can't be backed up unless you copy them out to the Win7 system first. (I suppose you could back up the entire VM file every time, but if you're using the cloud for backup that's going to be time-consuming and expensive.) The nuisance of trying to automate those backups was enough to get me to finally upgrade my accounting software to a Win7-compatible version. Having done that, I don't need to use XP mode anymore.

Thanks for the replies.
Our IT staff says they can't get LDD06 to work properly in XP mode. I guess I can use LDD2009, but there are some distinct differences SINC. Fortunately none of those differences should effect the things I need to check. Primarily I am dependent on transformation settings working correctly, and there is still a bug in C3D 2011 where Grid Rotation angle will not accept any angle between zero and -0°59'59". Greater than zero works fine, as do angles less than -1° .
I wonder why they took out stuff like "SS" for selection set in LDD2009? That was a very powerful tool. Select Similar and Quick Select just don't do it for me.

LDT2009 works in Windows7 (without virtual machine). I recommend that option if it is open to you. VM is kind of neat, but it is, and always will be, a work-around.

What are the distinct differences between LDD 2006 and LDD 2009? We had moved to C3D by the time LDD 2009 came along, and I rarely used it. In the limited time I spent with it, I didn't find any differences. I found differences in the core Autocad, to be sure - things like Annotative Text, MLeaders, a better CUI Editor, better visual styles - but not anything in the LDD part.

For the C3D grid rotation bug, can't you just add 360 to your value, e.g. 359°59' instead of -0°01'? I know, you shouldn't have to, and it's kind of ridiculous, but it works, right?

As for the selection sets, I agree. The Quick Select and Select Similar are pretty powerful, but they have limitations. Once Jeff added the BuildSelectionSet command to the Sincpac-C3D, it turned out to be so useful that we also added a similar command with options tailored specifically for Cogo Points.

> Once Jeff added the BuildSelectionSet command to the Sincpac-C3D, it turned out to be so useful

So useful, in fact, that it's been embedded in AutoCAD for years -- if not decades -- via the AutoLISP ssget function. Not to knock adding a GUI to it, but suggesting that it's something new is a bit of a stretch. Now, adding point attribute filtering is more along the lines of something to market, er, brag about.

Sinc, I know you are a die hard AutoCad fan and have a lot tied up in your software package, but please reread the posts. It looks like he is talking a transition from R14 to 2010 C3D, not LDD 2007. Now that is one hell of a learning curve. And a waste of money in tight times for a firm that does surveying only. That's why we changed.
Everytime I post something positive about Carlson I can count on you to come up with one of your lame responses.
There is no confusion in my post. A statement of pure economic facts and truth about the ability of Carlson software.
I have had NO compatability problems with multiple clients, Corps of Engineers included. I know you don't like Carlson. That's real evident. I know you have written a package to make AutoCad "easier". I see your investment in time and money and I thus understand your undieing loyalty to Autodesk.
I was the same way about LDD. I kept Carlson out of the office for 5 yerars because I prefered LDD. Then I got into Carlson and saw the things I could do in the field and the office that I could not do in LDD and I faced a monumental learning curve if I went on into 2010 C3D. I compared features and costs and we switched to Carlson. You think that is stupid, my Boss disagrees with you.
I have a product that is comparatively inexpensive, works in the field and in the office, allows me to do things I could not do in LDD2007 and satisfies our clients and my Boss. What's confusing about that?

32 bit hardware locks are the only problem that is difficult for me to overcome (until a very nice man from Alaska on this board sent the file that over-rode the damn thing and opened it up to a full use).

The trick is, to right-click on the setup file and select the compatibility mode prior to installation, then before you run it, right click the icon and verify that it's still in that mode and to select "Run as Administrator". I've had no problems.

TGO was kind of a trick to get going, but there are detailed instructions on this board that will get you through.

It's as good of a system as XP was, and better in some ways, but it feels different at first, but it doesn't take long to get used to.

As I understand the memory allocation setup, has anyone tried running it in full XP mode, with all RAM dedicated to XP, or is that not possible?

I'm considering upgrading my machine to 7 from (shudder) Vista, full wipe and fresh load as opposed to an upgrade. I'll still have to keep my Dell so I can download the TCA 1103 (card slot) and 48GX (9 pin serial) but would love to have the speed of current technology with the stability of XP Pro.

> As I understand the memory allocation setup, has anyone tried running it in full XP mode, with all RAM dedicated to XP, or is that not possible?

My understanding is that the XP virtual machine is subject to the 4GB addressable limit (reduced to about 3.7GB by system overhead) of a 32-bit machine. You can probably allocate as much as you want -- thus depriving your Windows 7 OS from using it -- but the amount usable by the VM remains at 4GB.

OK so I got it installed, and it runs, but only if I right click acad.exe and choose "run as administrator".
Seems to work just fine so long as projects are on a local drive. I still can't find any network drives though to open a project based drawing.

This what my directory listing looks like in VM/XP mode. All the directories followed by "BLUEDOT19" are those available to me in Windows 7. Do you have something similar?

Yeah, through windows explorer.
I do not however have any of the network drives available when I try to open a drawing though.
It's a weird IT thing. I swear that all this cumbersome crap is so plenty of IT people have constant jobs.

Tim, I hate to say it but I don't think your IT guys are doing you any favors. We started using XP mode when we first got Win7, but then we got a new IT guy.

Now, no more XP mode and we are running all our programs in Win7. Including LDD 2000 and C3D 2010 on the same computers, along with TGO and all the other older programs that we used to open XP mode to run. And I can tell you that it really works great.

Sigh. Wrong on virtually all counts, again...

I don't "hate Carlson". Quite the opposite. And my software isn't geared to make "AutoCAD easier"... It adds functionality and power to Civil 3D, making it even better than it already is.

I have no "undieing loyalty to Autodesk". In fact, I don't think they really like me, because I'm so critical of them. But we get amazing amounts of work done with their software, very quickly and to very high standards. The thing that confuses me is your constant statements that anything but Carlson is a waste, and particularly how C3D is a waste. I'm glad Carlson is working for you, but that doesn't mean it's the only option. What's confusing about that?

I never said it was "new". And I guess it was only implied in my previous post, but I usually explicitly say that we took the "Build Selection Set" from LDD and essentially recreated it in C3D.

(ssget) can be very useful, but it's rather esoteric. Not very user-friendly. It's OK for people who have some experience customizing Autocad with Lisp, but for average users, it leaves a lot to be desired.

And actually, I often even forget to show that command when I'm demoing Sincpac-C3D features. Despite its usefulness, it's really one of "the little ones"... There are other features that really are "new", and not found in any other existing software.