AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CARLSON SOFTWARE

Please note: As of early 2025, neither That CAD Girl nor our sister company, Carlson CAD Solutions, are authorized dealers for Carlson Software.

Even though Carlson ended our dealership with only a few days notice, we’ve continued to support Carlson users with training, technical help and guidance on renewals and licensing. While we can no longer sell their products, we will continue to offer assistance to anyone using Carlson desktop software who needs help navigating their options.

Our whole-hearted commitment to being a trusted resource for all land development professionals includes recommending purchases of Carlson if and when we believe it’s a good fit even though we cannot facilitate the sale ourselves.

We’ll continue to offer advice, referrals and training wherever we can.

Scroll down to read more of the backstory and how we got here.

UPDATED 5/6/2025: I wish I had more to report, but I promised to keep you updated—and it’s been a while, so I owe you one!

We’re still hearing from past customers and new contacts almost daily—8 or 9 just this week—asking for advice, support and referrals related to Carlson desktop software. It’s been both humbling and eye-opening to see how many of you continue to reach out to us, even though we’re no longer authorized dealers for Carlson.

As Bruce Carlson once acknowledged, Carlson CAD Solutions and That CAD Girl were the only dealers who focused on sales and support of their desktop software. Now that we are no longer in that role, it is understandable that many of you are still looking for another dealer to fill that gap.

So, what’s changed between us and Carlson? Not much, really.

We’ve been informed by Carlson Software’s legal counsel that they do not believe they’ve acted improperly or interfered with our business relationships. While we may see things differently, we’re moving forward in good faith, we are assuming they do not intend to interfere in the future, and are continuing to reach out to other dealers to offer support and send along leads when possible.

Dealers we have reached out to over these many months have been willing to talk and are, obviously, interested in the opportunity to increase sales by collaborating with us. Unfortunately, they’ve decided not to move forward at this time—it’s understandable that they are cautious, likely due to uncertainty about how such a partnership might be perceived by Carlson.

We plan to keep trying – and hope we’ll soon come to an understanding and find ways to work together that will benefit everyone.

In the meantime, we’re still here, still offering support and training for Carlson desktop products, and we’re also working on some new partnerships we’ll be announcing soon. Keep an eye on our website for updates!

And as always—thank you for your trust, support and friendship over the years.

 – Jennifer


UPDATED 2/24/2025: Because we believe that Scott Griffin, and Carlson’s legal counsel, continue to unfairly characterize the details of the termination and its aftermath in emails TO US and with customers copied, I am linking to the email and termination letter here in the interest of full transparency.


UPDATED 2/9/2025: I am sincerely kicking myself for not doing this sooner but, if you’re reading this, I’d ask that you check out Dave Mollenberg and his team at Alpine Navigation in Grand Junction CO.

From their website:

Alpine Navigation offers service, sales and support for the Western Slope of Colorado and surrounding areas in the United States. We focus on the needs of the Heavy Construction, Mining, Aggregates, Agriculture, Public Works, Federal Lands, Energy, Ranching & Resort industries.

Until recently, Alpine Navigation was an authorized Carlson Software dealer specializing in sales of hardware and equipment. After Carlson CAD Solutions and That CAD Girl were terminated as dealers on 1/6, Alpine came to our rescue and helped our customers by following up on our leads and processing orders for Carlson desktop software and maintenance renewals.

Shockingly, Carlson terminated Alpine’s dealer contract only 2 weeks after, and because, we started working together. Their termination was effective immediately as of 1/22/2025.

So, please, if you are in Dave’s neighborhood… give him a ring and show him some love.


UPDATED 2/4/2025 We are incredibly grateful for the calls and emails of support we’ve received from our customers during this transition.

While we have been hesitant to post this, due to many requests, we are sharing the contact information for those at Carlson to whom you may wish to express your support of That CAD Girl and Carlson CAD Solutions, as well as your opinion on the termination of our Carlson dealer contract.

Email: [email protected] AND [email protected]

Phone: 606-564-5028


ORIGINAL POST CONTINUES BELOW

One Door Closes and Others Open

On Saturday, December 28, I received an email and letter advising me that Carlson Software was terminating the dealership agreements for both Carlson CAD Solutions and That CAD Girl, without cause, effective Monday, January 6, 2025.

This decision came without any warning or explanation and took us completely by surprise.

In order to comply with their decision, we’ve removed all options to purchase Carlson products from Carlson CAD Solutions and paused software-related payments in our online portal.

Our Top Priority: You, Our Customers
Right now, our focus is on supporting our customers across the US. We put the highest value on the relationships we have built on trust and respect over the last 17+ years as Carlson Software dealers.

Carlson CAD Solutions and That CAD Girl will continue to be a resource for sales advice, tech support and training for Carlson’s Desktop Software!

With regard to sales of new licenses, maintenance and upgrades – we are working to connect with other Carlson dealers so that, if desired, our customers will have a closer, local option in addition to the support we’ll offer. The holiday timing hasn’t made it easy, but we’re doing everything we can to make this as smooth as possible.

To Carlson Dealers:
If you’re interested in helping our past customers in your region and haven’t heard from us yet, please call me directly at 254-417-8351.

To Our Customers:
If you’ve been working with Claire, Jenny, Joni or me on pricing, proposals, upgrades, maintenance renewals, tech support or anything else, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can email us, call our main line at 804-227-5766 or call my cell directly at 254-417-8351. We’ll do everything we can to help with any outstanding issues.

What’s Next?
That CAD Girl Webinar Series & Customer Portal: These services aren’t going anywhere! In fact, we’re shifting our focus back to what we love most—sharing our expertise in CAD and Carlson Desktop Software while providing the very best training and customer service available.

We’re working on adding more and better webinar content featuring some exciting new presenters. As a thank-you for sticking with us, and for a limited time, we’re offering one year of free access to our Webinar Series and that will also include access to your Customer Portal for self-service management of your Carlson serial numbers and maintenance reports.

We’ll keep you updated on new offerings through our newsletter, CarlsonCADSolutions.com and here on ThatCADGirl.com.

What Hasn’t Changed?
Our commitment to YOU—helping you buy what you need and use what you buy.

This is a big change, but we’re looking forward to what’s ahead and can’t wait to share the next chapter with you. Thank you for all your support—we owe the last 17 years of success to you!


Carlson Year End Specials – Sweet Suites & Bundles of Hardware

Carlson announced their year-end specials early this year and they have lots of great offerings for hardware and software… but we’ve done a little better!

Click here to browse all the discounts – pricing is good through 12/31/2016. And, don’t forget! If you purchase new software through That CAD Girl you will be eligible for 12 months of our live and interactive webinars. You can see the list of upcoming webinars here.

If you’ve never attended one of our webinars, we’d love to have you attend as a guest for one of our upcoming sessions. Click here to send a request or to request a custom proposal or live demonstration.

Also (hint, hint) you may want to register for our newsletter because we MAY have other That CAD Girl exclusive specials to announce later this month!

 


2014 That CAD Girl Workshop – Time to Register!

 

It’s workshop and PDH time again!

We’re mostly following the same calendar as last year with a 1/2 day in Asheville and 2 full days in Statesville and Raleigh. Each event includes drinks, snacks, lunch, door prizes/giveaways and “day-of-show” pricing for Carlson Software including new seats and maintenance renewals.

Register for the Statesville events by Sept 30th or for the Raleigh events by Oct 31st for early registration discounts. Late fees will be applied to registrations within one week of each event.


Carlson Software Workshop in Asheville NC, Monday Nov 17th
View Announcement  –  Register Now!

Statesville Workshop for Surveyors and Contractors, Tuesday Nov 18th
View Announcement   –  Register Now!

Statesville Workshop for Engineers and Designers, Wednesday Nov 19th
View Announcement  –  Register Now!

Raleigh Workshop for Surveyors and Contractors, Tuesday Dec 9th
View Announcement  –  Register Now!

Raleigh Workshop for Engineers and Designers, Wednesday Dec 10th
View Announcement  –  Register Now!


 

Carlson TerraVision 2014

Carlson Takeoff 2015

 


Carlson Tip of the Day… Wiped Out Property Corner Symbols

I get this question quite a lot and thought it would be a good topic for Tips of the day…

Problem: Lines or polylines of a boundary show up inside your open property corner symbols. See the image below for an example:

Property Corner Symbols without AutoCAD Wipeout

 

The additional problem is that, if you trim the lines inside the symbols to make it look cleaner, you’re actually modifying the length of property lines so the distances from corner-to-corner are no longer accurate.

Here’s an alternative: You can download a modified set of Carlson’s point symbols that include a “wipeout” entity that hides the lines behind/underneath the open symbols instead of trimming them and changing the length of the lines. Using the new set of symbols, the same property lines and symbols look like those in the image below (notice that the distances of linework are unchanged):

Property Corner Symbols with AutoCAD Wipeout

 

How to do this?

Here is the knowledge base article on Carlson’s website that includes a ZIP file with the new symbol DWG files and instructions on where the files must be saved.

 


Carlson Geoid12 files for SurvCE

For those who have been waiting, patiently or not, for a Carlson update that will allow you to create a Geoid 2012 file for your Carlson SurvCE collector – here is the update from Carlson.

 


Carlson SurvCE and Field to Finish Training with Jeremy Taylor PLS

Join us on Monday, May 7th when Jeremy and I will be presenting this part-field and part-office training with SurvCE.

Topics for the day will include:

  • Set up and configuration of SurvCE with your equipment
  • Managing data files and import/export options between the field and the office
  • Field collection for boundary, features and topo including GIS collection
  • Working with the Map Menu to import and export .dwg, .dgn, .mxd and shapefiles
  • Stakeout techniques
  • Overview of Field to Finish

 

Register Here

SurvCE and Field to Finish Training Announcement


Carlson’s New Supervisor+ GPS Tablet

Many of you saw Carlson’s new Supervisor+ GPS tablet at our workshops last November and December but it’s just now being officially rolled out…

Come by our booth at the NC and SC Surveyor’s Conventions in the next couple weeks and give it a test drive.

Read the specifications here

 

Carlson Supervisor+ GPS Tablet

 


Join Us For A Technology Breakfast – Various Breakfast Spots in North and South Carolina

Starting in April 2011 we will be hosting a “Technology Breakfast” for current and/or prospective Carlson Software and hardware customers.

These events will be held on the 3rd and 4th Friday of each month and will start at 7:30am. Once a month we will meet at the Cracker Barrel at I-40 in Garner, North Carolina. Other events will be held in various locations in North and South Carolina.

Each breakfast and meeting will last for 1-2 hours and will provide an opportunity for us to demonstrate the future direction of Carlson data collection and field hardware. After breakfast, we will retreat to the parking lot for the field demonstration. Some events will also have a classroom component in a conference room at a neighboring hotel.

Technology Breakfasts will be free of charge but pre-registration is required. Call us at 919.417.8351 or email [email protected]. There is a limit of 10 people at each meeting.

The full list and details for Technology Breakfast meetings can be found here.

Apr 22nd Cracker Barrel at I-40 in Garner, North Carolina.
May 13th Cracker Barrel at I-85 in Gastonia North Carolina
May 20th Cracker Barrel at I-40 in Garner, North Carolina
June 17th Cracker Barrel at I-40 in Garner, North Carolina
June 24th Cracker Barrel at I-77 in Columbia, South Carolina

Keep checking our training page for more details about the new hardware or software to be presented at each event and for additional meetings planned for Asheville, Morehead City, Hickory and Wilmington, North Carolina.


Meet Jeremy Taylor – Now Helping Me Out with Hardware & Data Collection

I’m happy to announce that Jeremy Taylor, PLS of Taylor Land Consultants has agreed to start helping me out with Carlson Software, data collector, GPS and other hardware sales. I asked him if he’d mind pitching his voice higher as he answered the phone:

Having never been a practicing land surveyor, I have not been able to promote or discuss Carlson’s stable of data collection software or hardware as well as I’d like. I have hoped to find someone who knew the products well and could present them well, but was not a salesman. I think Jeremy will be the perfect fit.

He is very well-known and just as well-respected here in the Raleigh NC area and, I believe, will be a great resource for all of us. Like me, Jeremy is a fan of Carlson’s offerings but is more concerned with providing the right solution for our customers rather than simply trying to sell the latest and greatest piece of equipment. Please take a moment to read Jeremy’s Bio here.

If you have questions on SurvCE, Carlson Survey, data collectors or GPS equipment, please feel free to contact Jeremy at (919) 335-3444 or email him at [email protected]. Going forward I think you can expect to see more of a focus on these products including special pricing and field demonstrations.