Grading Tips & Tricks

A Virtual Webinar Using Carlson Software – Improve Grading and Quantity Workflows

This webinar by That CAD Girl demonstrates practical grading workflows in Carlson Software, covering surface creation, merging, and pad design techniques. It provides step‑by‑step examples for building, editing, and inspecting TIN surfaces and grading pads using Carlson Survey, Civil, and Construction modules.

Key Topics:

  • Creating and merging TIN surfaces
  • Using public elevation data (NED/USGS)
  • Pad grading and slope projection
  • Design Pad Template vs. manual grading
  • 3D Polyline and elevation editing tools

Descriptions, transcripts and other details of this recording have been AI-generated and may contain errors.

This session was presented by Jennifer DiBona on 12/19/2018.



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Making Models from a Mess

A Virtual Webinar Using Carlson Software – Learn to Elevate 2D Drawings into 3D Models

This webinar, Making Models from a Mess, teaches Carlson Software users how to clean up poorly drafted CAD drawings and convert 2D entities into accurate 3D models for staking and surface modeling. It covers essential tools, workflows, and best practices for managing layers, fixing geometry, and elevating polylines to create usable 3D data.

Key Topics:

  • Cleaning and organizing messy CAD drawings
  • Elevating 2D polylines and contours to 3D
  • Managing layers and converting Civil 3D/Land Desktop data
  • Using Carlson tools for model building and stakeout preparation
  • Handling spot elevations, contours, and building pads

Descriptions, transcripts and other details of this recording have been AI-generated and may contain errors.

This session was presented by Jennifer DiBona on 10/25/2018.

2016 Virtual Classroom – Survey & GIS Virtual Workshop – Session 6
Recorded 05/17/2016

This session of the Surveying GIS Virtual Workshop focuses on transforming 2D CAD drawings into 3D models for use in surveying, construction stakeout, and model building. It provides step-by-step demonstrations of Carlson Software tools for elevating, labeling, and cleaning up engineering drawings to prepare accurate 3D surfaces.

Key Topics:

  • Converting 2D entities to 3D using Carlson Civil tools
  • Elevating building pads, curbs, and contours
  • Cleaning and preparing engineering drawings for modeling
  • Managing layers, blocks, and Civil 3D/Land Desktop data
  • Creating working drawings and exporting surfaces

Descriptions, transcripts and other details of this recording have been AI-generated and may contain errors.

This session was presented by Jennifer DiBona on 05/17/2016.

2016 Virtual Classroom – Survey & GIS Virtual Workshop – Session 5
Recorded 05/17/2016

This session of the Survey and GIS Virtual Workshop provided a detailed walkthrough of Carlson Software’s Field to Finish functionality, led by Scott Griffin. The presentation demonstrated how to automate drawing creation from field data, manage codes, and integrate 3D elements, pipes, and GIS attributes within Carlson Survey.

Key Topics:

  • Carlson Field to Finish setup and workflows
  • Code tables, special codes, and feature types (Tree, Pipe, Topo)
  • Creating 3D trees, pipes, and curb templates
  • Generating tree legends, SEW files, and 3D PDFs
  • Importing and converting PDF files using CADnet

Descriptions, transcripts and other details of this recording have been AI-generated and may contain errors.

This session was presented by Scott Griffin on 05/17/2016.

2016 Virtual Classroom – Survey & GIS Virtual Workshop – Session 4
Recorded 05/17/2016

This virtual class, hosted by That CAD Girl and presented by Jeremy Taylor, provides a comprehensive overview of Carlson’s field software—SurvCE and SurvPC—and demonstrates practical workflows for survey data collection, cloud file sharing, and GPS/localization setup. The session also covers integration with Carlson Survey desktop software and best practices for efficient field-to-office coordination.

Key Topics:

  • Differences between SurvCE and SurvPC
  • Using Carlson Cloud for file transfer and collaboration
  • Job setup, configuration, and data management
  • Integration with total stations and GPS rovers
  • Working with CAD files and alignments in the field
  • Ground vs. grid coordinate handling and localization

Descriptions, transcripts and other details of this recording have been AI-generated and may contain errors.

This session was presented by Jeremy Taylor on 05/17/2016.

2016 Virtual Classroom – Survey & GIS Virtual Workshop – Bonus Lunch Session 3
Recorded 05/17/2016

This session of the Survey and GIS Virtual Workshop features a demonstration of Carlson Software’s Precision 3D Topo, led by Nathan Cruise. The presentation showcases surface editing, visualization, field-to-finish workflows, and 3D modeling capabilities for survey and design professionals.

Key Topics:

  • Precision 3D Topo features and workflows
  • Surface editing and visualization tools
  • Field-to-finish automation and 3D modeling
  • Importing and managing survey data
  • Auto texturing and presentation tools

Descriptions, transcripts and other details of this recording have been AI-generated and may contain errors.

This session was presented by Nathan Crews on 05/17/2016.

2016 Virtual Classroom – Survey & GIS Virtual Workshop – Session 2
Recorded 05/17/2016

This Carlson Survey training session, led by Jeremy Taylor and hosted by That CAD Girl, provides a detailed walkthrough of traverse adjustment workflows using Carlson Survey’s raw data editor and processing tools. The session also covers creating cut sheets for construction staking and introduces least squares adjustments and SurvNet integration.

Key Topics:

  • Traverse adjustment and raw data processing in Carlson Survey
  • Angle balancing, compass and least squares adjustments
  • Cut sheet creation for construction staking
  • Integration with SurvCE and SurvNet

Descriptions, transcripts and other details of this recording have been AI-generated and may contain errors.

This session was presented by Jeremy Taylor on 05/17/2016.

2016 Virtual Classroom – Survey & GIS Virtual Workshop – Session 1
Recorded 05/17/2016

This session from That CAD Girl’s 2016 Virtual Workshop introduces practical tips and workflows for survey and GIS users in Carlson Software. It covers deed entry, control point search, georeferencing, Google Earth and Esri map integration, and creating GIS databases directly within Carlson.

Key Topics:

  • Entering and correcting deed descriptions in Carlson Survey
  • Using “Search Published Control” for NGS monuments
  • Georeferencing drawings and importing imagery from Google Earth or Esri ArcGIS
  • Integrating GIS data with SurvCE/SurvPC for field collection
  • Building a GIS database and performing attribute queries in Carlson GIS

Descriptions, transcripts and other details of this recording have been AI-generated and may contain errors.

This session was presented by Jennifer DiBona on 05/17/2016.

2016 Virtual Classroom – Civil & Hydrology Virtual Workshop – Session 6
Recorded 05/24/2016.

This session of the Carlson Civil & Hydrology training series provides a detailed walkthrough of hydrology workflows, watershed setup, storm drainage design, and detention pond modeling within Carlson Civil. Instructor Mark Long demonstrates practical, step-by-step methods for defining watershed layers, calculating runoff, designing storm networks, and creating detention ponds using Carlson’s hydrology tools.

Key Topics:

  • Watershed layer setup and runoff coefficient calculation
  • Hydrology methods: Rational, SCS, and HydroCAD
  • Storm drainage network creation and pipe design
  • Time of concentration and peak flow calculations
  • Detention pond design and stage-storage analysis

Descriptions, transcripts and other details of this recording have been AI-generated and may contain errors.

This session was presented by Mark Long on 05/24/2016.

2016 Virtual Classroom – Civil & Hydrology Virtual Workshop – Session 5
Recorded 05/24/2016.

This session of the Civil & Hydrology workshop, led by Mark Long from Carlson Software, provides a detailed walkthrough of road network design using Carlson Civil 2017. The training covers creating centerlines, profiles, templates, intersections, cul-de-sacs, and pad grading, with a preview of hydrology integration.

Key Topics:

  • Road Network (RoadNet) setup and configuration
  • Creating and editing templates, profiles, and intersections
  • Cul-de-sac and knuckle design
  • Pad grading and surface modeling techniques
  • Integration with hydrology modeling workflows

Descriptions, transcripts and other details of this recording have been AI-generated and may contain errors.

This session was presented by Mark Long on 05/24/2016.