That CAD Girl is happy to be a sponsor for the NC Society of Surveyors 18^th annual MAPS (Museum of Archives and Preservation of Surveying, Inc) Golf Tournament that is coming up Friday October 21, 2016. This year’s event will be held at the Silver Creek Plantation in Morganton, NC.

From their announcement:

This is a great way for you and your associates, clients and friends to enjoy a glorious day of golf, sportsmanship and fun! Upon completion of play, your scores will be posted and prizes will be awarded to the winners at dinner. Longest drive and closest-to-the pin contests will provide interesting additions to the main tournament activity. Prizes for these contests will be offered. Mark your calendar and start putting your foursome together now!

You can find out more by visiting their website at http://ncsurveyors.com/  or Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/nc.surveyors

I’m very excited to announce the official lineup for our end of year workshops!

We’ll be in the same locations this year and will generally follow the same format with a couple of exceptions. Based on your feedback we will have half-day sessions with Dean Goodman covering SurvNet Least Squares in both Statesville & Raleigh. And, by popular demand, we’re giving Mark Long his own room this year and he will be covering some pretty advanced material for roadway design and grading and also advanced hydrology.

Registration is now open!

Please note that the Hendersonville event has very limited seating and, once we hit our capacity, we’ll have to shuffle others off to Statesville. So, if Hendersonville is your first choice, make sure to register early.

All events are $99 for 8 hours and NC licensed engineers & surveyors will receive 8 PDH credits. Early registration discounts are available for Statesville & Raleigh only.

Also included at each event? Lunch! Snacks! Day-of-show pricing on software, hardware and maintenance renewals! Software giveaways!

2016 Hendersonville Workshop for Surveyors & Engineers on Tuesday, Nov 15^th

Topics: CAD & Carlson Tips & Tricks, Traverse Adjustment in Carlson Survey, Basics of Surfaces, Grading & Road Design

See More Details or Register Here

2016 Statesville Workshop for Surveyors on Wednesday, Nov 16^th

Topics: Dean Goodman with ½ day SurvNet Least Squares, CAD & Carlson Tips & Tricks, Beginning Surface Modeling, Centerlines & Profiles, Annotaton & Labeling Secrets of Carlson, Field to Finish from Start to Finish and Beyond Field to Finish – Using SurvCE, SurvPC & Carlson Survey to be More Productive

See More Details or Register Here

2016 Statesville Workshop for Engineers & Designers on Thursday, Nov 17^th

Topics: Mark Long with ½ day Advanced Roadway Grading and ½ day Advanced Hydrology, Drawing Cleanup & SiteNet for takeoffs and model building, Site Grading project from start to finish, Design Tools of Carlson Software and Profile & Cross Section Sheet Production

See More Details or Register Here

2016 Raleigh Workshop for Surveyors on Tuesday, Dec 6^th

Topics: Dean Goodman with ½ day SurvNet Least Squares, CAD & Carlson Tips & Tricks, Beginning Surface Modeling, Centerlines & Profiles, Annotaton & Labeling Secrets of Carlson, Field to Finish from Start to Finish and Beyond Field to Finish – Using SurvCE, SurvPC & Carlson Survey to be More Productive

See More Details or Register Here

2016 Raleigh Workshop for Engineers & Designers on Wednesday, Dec 7^th

Topics: Mark Long with ½ day Advanced Roadway Grading and ½ day Advanced Hydrology, Drawing Cleanup & SiteNet for takeoffs and model building, Site Grading project from start to finish, Design Tools of Carlson Software and Profile & Cross Section Sheet Production

See More Details or Register Here

Late yesterday afternoon Carlson Software released the 2017 version of their desktop software products! Click here to download 2017 and here to see the list of improvements in 2017.

If you are current on your maintenance plan, you can visit this page and use your 2016 serial number to retrieve your 2017 serial number.

If your maintenance has expired or you’re not able to generate your new 2017 serial numbers, please send me an email or request a proposal to find out pricing.

What could be more exciting? Nevermind, no need to respond.

Anyhoo… If you are interested in learning more about the National CAD Standard (NCS) and how it might help streamline your projects, take an hour and attend this live presentation to get your questions answered!

Did you think the NCS is only for architects? Is it just for CAD? Or BIM? Wondering if it’s as scary as you’ve always imagined? Need a quick overview to see what’s in there?

Aside from default settings in the programs (hello CONT-MNR and CONT-MJR!), there have never really been CAD standards in the land surveying & civil engineering world but the National CAD Standard is a good option for those who want a quick-start. Carlson Software and Civil 3d both include NCS-based templates on installation and it’s easier than ever to implement.

Also, attend this webinar to learn more about what the Survey/Civil Task Team has already accomplished in making the NCS more applicable to those of us in the land development industries.

Here’s that link to REGISTER again

Many of you have been to our end-of-year workshops where we have a full day of presentations, software specials and giveaways but, because of holidays and travel etc, attending has not been an option for a lot of others who would like to attend.

So this is something new we’re trying in May – humor us as we’re going to try to replicate the workshops online! We won’t be able to serve our excellent Carolina BBQ but, other than that, we’re going to try to do everything else. Somehow.

Day One will be focused on Carlson Survey & GIS and Day Two on Civil & Hydrology – the details of each day’s classes are below.

Each day’s presentation will include 5 sessions and you will be able to attend any or all of them. Each session will vary in length and you will have an opportunity to ask questions and have them answered during the presentation.

Afterward we will be sending out email “confirmations of attendance” for each session that lists the name, date and time of the session, the presenter and how long you were logged into the session according to the Go To Webinar report. There is no guarantee you will be able to get PDH or CEU credit for the training but, depending on your state’s licensing board, the report we provide should be sufficient documentation.

Also, note that you must have registered and logged in under your personal name to get “credit” for attending each session. I will send reports of attendance based strictly on the details of the Go To Webinar report.

In addition to offering “day of show” software specials, we will also be doing software giveaways each day. It’ll be tricky but we’ll figure out a way!

The cost is $199 for each day of training but, if you are already eligible for my webinars (i.e. you’ve purchased software from me in the last 12 months) you can register for each day for $99. Also, we are offering $20 off for early registration.

There are limited “seats” available and the early registration deadline is May 6 – so sign up today!

See below for details and registration links

Survey & GIS Virtual Workshop  
Tuesday 5/17/2016 (registration deadline is Friday 5/13)

Register Here

All times Eastern

8:30 – 9:30 Jennifer DiBona – Tips & Tricks in CAD & Carlson Software

10:00 – 11:30 Jeremy Taylor PLS – Traverse Adjustment in Carlson Software

1:00 – 2:00 Jeremy Taylor PLS – Tips & Tricks in SurvCE/SurvPC & the Carlson Cloud

2:30 – 4:00 Scott Griffin, Director of Sales for Carlson Software – Field to Finish in Carlson Software (including tree surveys)

4:30 – 6:00 – Jennifer DiBona – Making Models from a Mess: Carlson Tools to Elevate 2D Drawings to 3D for Staking & Surface Models

Civil & Hydrology Virtual Workshop
Tuesday 5/24/2016 (registration deadline is Friday 5/20)

Register Here

All times Eastern

8:30 – 9:30 Jennifer DiBona – Tips & Tricks in CAD & Carlson Software (different material than 5/17)

10:00 – 11:30 Jennifer DiBona – Overview of Surfaces & Grading

1:00 – 2:30 Scott Griffin – Subdivision Layout & Design

3:00 – 4:30 Mark Long, Civil & Hydrology Support & Training for Carlson Software – Road Design, Site Design, Pond Design & Hydrology, Part 1

5:00 – 6:30 Mark Long – Road Design, Site Design, Pond Design & Hydrology, Part 2

If you’re not sure what to do about the impending DOOM! of losing your perpetual software licenses, perhaps it’s time to consider Carlson Software!

You can follow this link to view my recent Overview Of Carlson Software: All Substance, No Styles webinar.

I posted most of this a long time ago but here are my top TOP advantages of using Carlson Software:

Gives Users Platform Choice
Carlson Software runs on both AutoCAD and IntelliCAD allowing their users a choice of CAD platform. The 2016 version of the software can be run on top of a separately purchased license of AutoCAD, AutoCAD Map or Civil 3d for versions as far back as those built on AutoCAD 2010 (and, in some cases Land Desktop 2009).

The IntelliCAD that is included for Free is a virtual clone of AutoCAD that works natively in DWG format files (no need for import, export or conversion).

Free Technical Support
Carlson Software provides free technical support by phone as well as email, discussion groups and webcasts. This is also Carlson’s way of ensuring that customers have direct input into future updates.

Dynamic Objects are Basic Autocad Entities (Translation: no proxy entities!)
Carlson’s product line creates dynamic objects with basic Autocad text, attributes, lines and polylines. This allows easy sharing between project team members regardless of the version of DWG, DXF or DGN file being transferred.

No Forced Upgrades
Carlson supports all products for all versions and has no product retirement

Carlson Plays Well With Others
Carlson Software’s goal is to have their software be compatible with as many other software and hardware manufacturers as possible. There is a seemingly endless list of “Import from…” and “Export to…” commands in the software.

Price!
Yes, it’s important but I put it at the bottom of this list. The pricing for Carlson Software programs having features comparable to AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT or Civil 3d are very reasonable both for the initial purchase and, optionally, maintenance to keep the latest and greatest version of the software.

Click here to request a custom proposal for adding CADNet to your existing license, for a new “Super-Sweet-Suite” that includes Survey, Civil, Hydrology, GIS AND CADNet or other Carlson software or hardware products.

Click here to learn more about my webinar series that’s included with every software purchase – We help you buy what you need AND use what you buy…

Seems like every day since Thanksgiving has a name… “Black Friday”, “Cyber Monday”, “Small Business Saturday”, etc. I tried to think of something catchy for today but “Musical Chairs Money Monday” doesn’t roll off the tongue even if it does capture the essence of the next few days.

Until I got in business for myself in 2001 I never fully appreciated how much business was transacted those last few days of the year – or why.  Now I understand it’s like playing musical chairs with your money… Spend! Spend! Spend! to make sure someone ELSE pays taxes on that money instead of you!

With that in mind, I am running some additional specials on software and hardware here at the very end of 2015 – including some specifically for new That CAD Girl customers.

Look for my Newsletter to go out later today (or tomorrow). You can sign up for the newsletter here or request a custom proposal here.

Many of you have already taken me up on the offer to watch the recording of my recent Intro to CADNet: Working with Images and Linework webinar so I decided to do the same with today’s Overview Of Carlson Software: All Substance, No Styles webinar.

There are a lot of changes coming to purchasing options of some of the most widely used Survey and Civil software programs and, along with Carlson’s Year-End Specials, that means there’s no better time to investigate and evaluate Carlson to see if it would be a good substitute for your Land Desktop, Civil 3d, Eagle Point, TerraModel or other program.

Click here to request a custom proposal for adding CADNet to your existing license, for a new “Super-Sweet-Suite” that includes Survey, Civil, Hydrology, GIS AND CADNet or other Carlson software or hardware products.

Click here to learn more about my webinar series that’s included with every software purchase – We help you buy what you need AND use what you buy…

One of Carlson’s Year-End Specials this year is for existing Carlson users to add Carlson CADNet for $995 – the retail price is $1,595 and maintenance is an additional $159.50. (Hint: I provide additional discounts for existing and new customers!)

Understandably this has generated a lot of renewed interest in this module. I have received a lot of calls and emails from folks requesting more information and wondering if, and how, CADNet might increase your productivity.  So, in response, I’ve decided to post the recording of my October 8, 2015 webinar on the topic, “Overview of Carlson CADNet – Working with Images & Converting to Linework”.

Click here to request a custom proposal for adding CADNet to your existing license, for a new “Super-Sweet-Suite” that includes Survey, Civil, Hydrology, GIS AND CADNet or other Carlson software or hardware products.

Click here to request a custom proposal.

Click here to learn more about my webinar series that’s included with every software purchase – We help you buy what you need AND use what you buy…

See below for access to the CADNet webinar recording:

One of Carlson’s Year-End Specials this year is for existing Carlson users to add Carlson CADNet for $995 – the retail price is $1,595 and maintenance is an additional $159.50. (Hint: I provide additional discounts for existing and new customers!)

Understandably this has generated a lot of renewed interest in this module. I have received a lot of calls and emails from folks requesting more information and wondering if, and how, CADNet might increase your productivity.  So, in response, I’ve decided to post the recording of my October 8, 2015 webinar on the topic, “Overview of Carlson CADNet – Working with Images & Converting to Linework”.

Click here to request a custom proposal for adding CADNet to your existing license, for a new “Super-Sweet-Suite” that includes Survey, Civil, Hydrology, GIS AND CADNet or other Carlson software or hardware products.

Click here to request a custom proposal.

Click here to learn more about my webinar series that’s included with every software purchase – We help you buy what you need AND use what you buy…

See below for access to the CADNet webinar recording: